Electron carriers such as NADH deliver their electrons to an electron transport chain embedded in the inner membrane of the mitochondrion The chain consists of a series of electron carriers Most of which are proteins that exist in large complexes Electrons are transferred from one electron carrier to the next in the electron transport chain Let's take a closer look at the path electrons take through the chain As electrons move along each step of the chain they give up a bit of energy The oxygen you breath pulls electrons from the transport chain and water is formed as a by-product The energy released by electrons is used to pump hydrogen ions, the blue balls across the inner membrane of the mitochondrion creating an area of high hydrogen ion concentration Hydrogen ions flow back across the membrane through a turbine much like water through a dam The flow of hydrogen ions spins the turbine which activates the production of ATP These spinning turbines in your cells produce most of the ATP that is generated from the food you eat The process you've just observed cellular respiration generates 10 million ATPs per second in just one cell That ATP can power a biker up the trail or it can power your brain cells as you learn challenging biology topics