Final answer:
Cells acquire energy through cellular respiration, a multistep process involving glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation, resulting in the production of ATP. This biological process needs oxygen to work efficiently, making it an aerobic pathway.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cells can produce energy via cellular respiration, an intracellular process that harnesses energy from the breakdown of glucose in the presence of oxygen. This resultant energy is stored as Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP), which is utilized by cells to perform various functions. Cellular respiration consists of three main stages:
- Glycolysis - the breakdown of glucose into pyruvate, yielding a small amount of ATP.
- The Krebs cycle - further oxidation of pyruvate into carbon dioxide, generating electron carriers.
- Oxidative phosphorylation - the electron carriers donate electrons to the electron transport chain, which leads to the production of a significant amount of ATP via chemiosmosis.
Apart from the oxygen-based cellular respiration, some organisms are capable of producing ATP in the absence of oxygen through alternative pathways such as anaerobic respiration or fermentation that primarily utilize glycolysis. The end products of cellular respiration are carbon dioxide and water, and it is considered an aerobic process because it requires oxygen.