Chapter 6

Concept 6.1

*Microscopy : The use of microscopes to see cells that are too small to the naked
eye

-Light microscope (LM): visible light passes through specimen, and glass lenses,
which magnify image

The quality of image depends on

1. Magnification - up to 1,000 times the actual size; ratio of an object image

size to its real size
2. Resolution- measure of clarity of image, or distance between two points
3. Contrast- visible differences in parts of sample

Most organelles (membrane enclose; eukaryotic) are too small to be resolved by the
LM

*There is two types of electron microscope (Ems) used to study subcellular

structures

1. Scanning electron microscope (SEMs)

-focus beams of electrons onto surface of specimen

-provides images that look 3-d

- very expensive

-more detail and has great depth

2. Transmission electron microscope (TEMs)

-focus beam of electron through specimen
-used mainly to study internal structures of cells
- provides extra detail of the internal ultrastructure

*cytology- study of cell structure

*biochemistry- study of molecules and chemical processes (metabolism) of cells

Concept 6.2

Cells= life
 – They are the basic structural and functional unit of every organism
– 2 types of cell: prokaryotic or eukaryotic
– Prokaryotic cells: organisms of domain and Archaea
– Eukaryotic cells: organisms of protists, fungi, animals and plants

Basics features of all cells:

– -plasma membrane ( selective barrier)

– -Cytosol (semifluid jelly like substance)
– -Chromosomes (carry genes in form of dna)
– Ribosomes (function=synthesis of proteins)

**Our red blood cells do not have a nucleus while our white blood cells do!

1. Prokaryotic cells characterizes by having:

a. No nucleus
b. Dna in an unbound region nucleiod (DNA is not enclosed)
c. No membrane-boound organells
d. Cytoplasm is bound by the plasma membrane (PM); it is also the region
between nucleus and PM in an eukaryotic cell

-Prokaryotic cells are much smaller than eukaryotic cell

1. Eukaryotic cells characterizes by having:

a. DNA in nucleus bounded by a membranous nuclear envelope; bounded by
a double membrane (4 sets of phospholipids)
b. Membrane enclosed organelles
c. Cytoplasm in region between PM and nucleus
d. Much larger than prokaryotic cells

~The plasma Membrane is a selective barrier:

- It allows sufficient passage of oxygen, nutrients and waste to service

volume of every cell

-is double layer of phospholipids.

~Cell size: the surface area to volume ratio of a cell is critical!

- As surface area increases by factor of n2 volume increases by factor of n3

- small cells have greater surface area than volume; large organisms = more cells