Mitochondria
Mitochondria are the power houses of a cell. They provide a cell with ATP (adesine tri-phosphate) energy... at over 1,000,000 ATP per second! Considering they have that much to do, the mitochondria are made of a double membrane. The inner membrane is folded many times to increase surface area to produce more energy (these folds are called cristae), while the outer membrane keeps the mitochondria separated from the cytoplasm. The mitochondria work with a plant cells chloroplasts in cellular respiration. The chlororplasts provide the glucose that mitochondria turn into ATP for the cell. In an animal cell, where there are no chloroplasts, the mitochondria don't work with any specific organelle (like a vacuole or Golgi body) that I could find. They give the cell energy needed to function by releasing it into the cytoplasm, which delivers it to the rest of the cell.
Chloroplasts
Found only in plant cells, chloroplasts are a double membraned organelle, like the Mitochondria. The first membrane separates the chloroplast from the cytoplasm while making a disk shape called the granium. The second holds little disks, called thylakoid disks, that contain chlorophyll, a green pigment that captures sunlight and turns it into chemical energy, or food. The process where chlorophyll captures sunlight and turns it into energy is called photosynthesis, which is how plants make food.
The chloroplast's main function is to make glucose. That glucose, then, gets transferred through the cell to the chloroplast's work buddy, the mitochondria. The mitochondria take in that glucose and turn it into ATP, which in turn, provides energy for the cell. Now isn't that a lovely friendship?
The chloroplast's main function is to make glucose. That glucose, then, gets transferred through the cell to the chloroplast's work buddy, the mitochondria. The mitochondria take in that glucose and turn it into ATP, which in turn, provides energy for the cell. Now isn't that a lovely friendship?