Final answer:
Intermediate filaments have good tensile strength due to their regular arrangement and ability to resist tension. They help maintain cell shape and structure and form special cell-to-cell junctions.
Step-by-step explanation:
Intermediate filaments have good tensile strength due to their regular arrangement and ability to resist tension. They are made up of long fibrous subunits of a protein called keratin. Unlike microtubules, which resist compression, intermediate filaments resist tension, the forces that pull apart cells. They help maintain cell shape and structure, anchor organelles together within a cell, and form special cell-to-cell junctions.