Viruses replicate by doing what inside a host cell?

• A. Photosynthesize
• B. Divide on their own
• C. Hijack host cellular machinery
• D. Use mitochondria

Answer: (C)

Viruses replicate by hijacking the host cell’s machinery. They can’t carry out metabolism or make proteins on their own, so once a virus enters a cell, it redirects the cell’s resources—ribosomes, enzymes, nucleotides, and energy—to read viral genes, synthesize viral proteins, and copy the viral genome. The host cell’s machinery then assembles these viral components into new virus particles, which can go on to infect more cells.

That’s why photosynthesis isn’t the method—viruses don’t have chloroplasts or light-driven energy processes. They don’t divide like cells, either, because they’re not cellular entities and rely entirely on the host cell to produce new copies. And they don’t independently “use” mitochondria for replication; they simply exploit the host’s energy and machinery inside the cell.