Assume Cell 1 produces 1.0 x 105 ATP molecules while Cell 2 produces 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules. Which mitochondria, A or B, has the hardware to produce 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules? What told you this?
To determine which mitochondria, A or B, has the hardware to produce 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules, we need to compare the ATP production of each cell to the desired value.
Cell 1 produces 1.0 x 105 ATP molecules, while Cell 2 produces 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules. We are looking for the mitochondria that can produce 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules. Comparing the two cells' ATP production, we can see that:
Cell 1: 1.0 x 105 ATP molecules
Cell 2: 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules
Since Cell 2's ATP production matches the desired value of 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules, we can conclude that mitochondria B is the one with the hardware to produce 1.0 x 108 ATP molecules.
We determined this by comparing the actual ATP production of each cell to the desired value.