The diagram shows a cell from the flight muscle of a migrating bird. The bird can fly for many hours and its muscle cells need a continuous supply of energy...
Question 1 Report
The diagram shows a cell from the flight muscle of a migrating bird. The bird can fly for many hours and its muscle cells need a continuous supply of energy. The cell contains many of the small oval structures shown in Fig. 1. A scientist compares this cell with a human skin cell from the same sized area of tissue.
(a) Name structure P. [1]
(b) Describe the function of structure P in these cells. [2]
(c) Explain why this bird muscle cell is likely to contain more structures P than a human skin cell. [2]
Answer Details
(a) Structure P is a mitochondrion. [1]
(b) A mitochondrion is the site of aerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration releases energy, captured in ATP, for cell activities such as muscle contraction. [2]
(c) Flight muscle contracts repeatedly during long flights, so it has a particularly high energy demand. More mitochondria allow a greater rate of aerobic respiration and greater ATP production than in a skin cell. [2]
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