Aerobic respiration is the metabolic process by which respiratory components (mostly glucose) in aerobic cells completely oxidize in the presence of oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and water as well as the complete release of kinetic energy. Respiration is a function of every aerobic organism.
Glycolysis, the first stage of this process, occurs in the cytoplasm, and the Krebs cycle and the electron transport system, the second and third stages, respectively, occur in the mitochondria.