Cellular Respiration Virtual Lab (ANSWER KEY)
*Access the Google Slides Student Worksheet here*
Cellular Respiration
Test Your Knowledge! What do you already know?
Where do cells get the energy to fuel Respiration? Cells get energy from food.
What types of organisms use Respiration to make energy? Any organism that can
break down food for energy can use Respiration - this includes all animals and plants.
Hypothesize! What are the products of Photosynthesis that are required for
Cellular Respiration? Cellular Respiration needs the Oxygen and Glucose from
Photosynthesis in order to take place.
Starter: Eukaryotic Cells
Access the interactive using the link at the
top of the page. This interactive is broken
into two parts - you will need to move
through the stages of the Photosynthesis
simulation in order to access the stages of
the Cellular Respiration simulation.
What organelle is the site of Respiration? The Mitochondrion.
Hypothesize! Why do you think animal cells only carry out Respiration, but plant
cells can perform both Respiration and Photosynthesis? Animal cells lack chloroplasts
and therefore lack the ability to carry out photosynthesis. Plant cells however have both
organelles - the chloroplast to produce food from sunlight and the mitochondria to break
down glucose for energy when sunlight is limited.
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The Mitochondrion
The Mitochondrion is the main site of Cellular Respiration in cells. Label the
structures in the mitochondrion below and give a brief description of each.
Stages of Cellular Respiration
The processes of Cellular Respiration can be separated into two stages: Glycolysis,
Aerobic Respiration, & Fementation. Watch the interactive and observe how the
molecules present move and change through these processes. What is the
intermediary molecule that connects Glycolysis to Aerobic Respiration? Pyruvic Acid
is the intermediary molecule.
During Cellular Respiration, there are three processes that directly produce ATP.
What are these processes and how much ATP do they yield?
These three processes are Glycolysis - which yields 2 ATP, The Krebs Cycle - which yields 2
ATP, and the Electron Transport Chain - which yields 32 ATP.
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As you investigate the different stages of Cellular Respiration, use the information
to complete the table below.
Glycolysis Aerobic Respiration
Where in the cell does it Cytoplasm Mitochondria
take place?
What is the main Glucose O2 (Oxygen)
reactant?
What are the main - CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) & H2O
products? (Water)
How much energy is 2 ATP 34 ATP
produced?
Fill in the chemical equation for Cellular Respiration based on the reactants and
products seen in the interactive.
Glucose + 6 O2 → 6 CO2 + 6 H2O
In Cellular Respiration, the Electric Transport Chain is responsible for the bulk of
ATP production. What is it about this process that results in so much energy and
how does it create the waste products needed to fuel Photosynthesis in plant cells?
The Electron Transport Chain produces so much energy due to the movement of electrons
as Hydrogen ions and Oxygen combine to form water molecules. Not only is water one of
the critical reactants for Photosynthesis, but this movement of electrons converts 32
molecules of ADP into ATP.
Look at the final possible stage of Respiration: Fermentation. How is this process
different from Aerobic Respiration? When would this process be useful for cells?
Fermentation, unlike Aerobic Respiration, does not require oxygen to take place. This could
be beneficial when the cell lacks sufficient oxygen or during the production of certain
molecules like ethanol.
© 2021 Building Brix of Science
© 2021 Building Brix of Science
