Surface Area to Volume Ratio This is a very short lesson on a bit of math you'll encounter in biology, but it's fairly important. Remember how the mitochondrion has a double membrane? Here's a simplified drawing of the mitochondrion. In the Electron Transfer Chain (ETC), ATP energy is created. It is found in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion. Compare these two pictures: which one has more ETCs? The wrinkled mitochondrion has more ETCs, which means it can produce more energy. More energy means the cell will be more successful. Notice that the wrinkled mitochondrion has more membrane than the rounded mitochondrion - if we were to stretch the inner membrane until it was flat and without wrinkles, there would be much more membrane. This idea, that more membrane equals more ETCs, can be exhibited by the Surface Area to Volume Ratio. More membrane per volume means a higher surface area to volume ratio (6 units^2 SA: 1 unit^3 V) (so, more wrinkled). A lower ...
Welcome! The information here can help anyone who wants to learn biology, whether it be high school biology or AP level biology. If you don't already know some basic chemistry, learn that first! A lot of stuff in the biochemistry topic builds on chemistry, so knowing it beforehand will help when going through these topics. Comment for any questions! And most of all, have fun learning biology :)