Why do Muscle cells need to be supplied with more food when there is a lack of oxygen than plenty oxygen?

When there is a lack of oxygen, muscle cells need to be supplied with more food because they switch from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration. Aerobic respiration is the process of breaking down glucose in the presence of oxygen to produce energy. Anaerobic respiration is the process of breaking down glucose without oxygen to produce energy. Anaerobic respiration is less efficient than aerobic respiration and produces less energy. Therefore, muscle cells need to be supplied with more food when there is a lack of oxygen in order to produce the same amount of energy.

Here is a more detailed explanation of the difference between aerobic and anaerobic respiration:

* Aerobic respiration: This is the process of breaking down glucose in the presence of oxygen to produce energy. Aerobic respiration takes place in the mitochondria of cells. The overall chemical equation for aerobic respiration is:

$$C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 -> 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + energy (as ATP)$$

* Anaerobic respiration: This is the process of breaking down glucose without oxygen to produce energy. Anaerobic respiration takes place in the cytoplasm of cells. The overall chemical equation for anaerobic respiration is:

$$C_6H_{12}O_6 -> 2C_2H_5OH + 2CO_2 + energy (as ATP)$$

As you can see, anaerobic respiration produces less energy than aerobic respiration. This is because anaerobic respiration does not produce ATP through the process of oxidative phosphorylation. Oxidative phosphorylation is the process of using oxygen to produce ATP from ADP.

When there is a lack of oxygen, muscle cells need to switch from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration in order to produce energy. This is because aerobic respiration cannot take place without oxygen. Anaerobic respiration is less efficient than aerobic respiration and produces less energy. Therefore, muscle cells need to be supplied with more food when there is a lack of oxygen in order to produce the same amount of energy.