GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 CELL

CELL is the basic unit of life.

 Cells are involved in all processes that sustain life. Whatever is needed by the
microscopic cells in your body determines what you need as macroscopic organism.

 Everything that you ingest is absorbed by the cells, and everything that is eliminated
by the cells will be excreted by your body.

 The cells in your body also have different functions. New cells are produced in two
ways. One is through mitosis, a type of cell division that produces identical daughter
cells. The other is through meiosis, a type of cell division that produces haploid
daughter cells. Mitosis occur in body cells, whereas meiosis occurs in sex cells
(egg and sperm)

 All living things are made up of one or more cells. Living things that are made up of
only one cell, such as bacteria and protozoa, are called unicellular organisms or
prokaryotes, whereas those that are made up of many cells, such as plants and
animals, are called multicellular organisms or eukaryotes.

 Multicellular Organisms are macroscopic, which means they can be seen by the
unaided eye. unicellular organisms, on the other hand, are mostly microscopic,
which means they are so small that you cannot see them with unaided eyes. You
have to use a microscope to see them.

 The microscope is an instrument used to view objects that cannot be seen by the
unaided eye. It can magnify the size of very small objects.

 A century passed before several improvements on the microscope were made. These
latest microscopes were used by

 Matthias Jakob Schleiden and Theodore Schwann. Schleiden was a professor of

botany at the University of Jena, Germany. Schwann was a professor of physiology at
the University of Louvain, Belgium.

THE CELL THEORY

Cell Theory is one of the most important principles in biology. Cells are the basic unit of
life. The cells perform many processes that are important in sustaining life. These include
growth and repair, metabolism, reproduction (cell division), and digestion, to name a few.
The discovery of the cell theory influences other fields of biology such as genetics, evolution,
biochemistry, and taxonomy. The cell theory is the foundation of cell biology, which, as a
field, has made important contributions in the advancement of life.

 The basic unit of life is the cell - SCHLEIDEN

 All organisms are made up of cells - SCHLEIDEN

 All cells arise from preexisting cells – RUDOLF LUDWIG KARL VIRCHOW
GENERAL BIOLOGY 1 CELL
PLANT AND ANIMAL CELL

ROLES OF EACH STRUCTURE IN THE CELL

STRUCTURE ROLE
Nucleus  Controls the activity of the cell.
Mitochondria  Respiration occurs here releasing
energy.
Chloroplast  Light energy is absorbed & changed
into food here.
Ribosome  Proteins are made (synthesised)
here.
Cell wall  Support the cell and keeps its
shape.
Vacuole  Full of cell sap & maintains shape
Cell membrane  Controls the movement of
substances in & out.
Cytoplasm  These is where many reactions take
place.