CHAPTER 5

The Fundamental
Unit of Life

5 The Fundamental Unit of Life

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CELLS
 Cells are the fundamental structural units of living organisms
and the basic units of life.
 Cell was discovered by Robert Hooke.
While observing cork through his microscope, Hooke saw tiny
boxlike cavities, which he illustrated and described as cells.
He had discovered plant cells

Prokaryotic – Size: generally small ( 1-10 µm) Where 1 µm = 10 −6m.

 The nucleus is not well defined and known as a nucleoid.
 Single, circular chromosome.
 Membrane-bound organelles absent. Eg: Bacterial cell
Eukaryotic – Size: generally large ( 5-100 µm).
 The nucleus is well defined and surrounded by a nuclear membrane.
 Possess more than one and linear chromosome.
 Membrane-bound cell organelles are present. Eg: Human cell.

GRADE: IX (TERM I – 2022:2023) PAGE 1 OF 3 NAVEEN V (BIOLOGY)

CELL STRUCTURE IN EUKARYOTIC CELLS:
 Most eukaryotes are multicellular.
 A number of cells can work together to form tissues and organs.
 The various components present within the cell are known as cell organelles.
 All these components are special and specific to their functions.
 It contains cell organelles such as plastids, mitochondria, Golgi bodies, etc.
 Fungi, plant, and animal cells are eukaryotic.
Cell membrane:
 The cell membrane separates cells from one another and also the internal contents from the
surrounding medium.
 It is porous and allows the movement of substances or
materials both inward and outward.
Cytoplasm:
 It is the jelly-like substance present between the cell
membrane and the nucleus.
 Various other components, or organelles, of cells are
present in the cytoplasm.
Cell walls in plants:
 A cell wall is an additional covering over the cell
membrane in plant cells.
 It gives shape and rigidity to these cells.
 It gives a rigid structure to plant cells and that is
why they can withstand the stress of high-velocity
wind, rain, high temperature etc.

GRADE: IX (TERM I – 2022:2023) PAGE 2 OF 3 NAVEEN V (BIOLOGY)

 Nucleus
 It is generally spherical and located in the centre of the cell.
 The nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane called the nuclear membrane.
 It uses information in the chromosomes to decide what each organelle should do and the functions
of the cell.
 The nucleus contains an even smaller concentrated
material called nucleolus.
 The nucleolus is present in the nucleus.

Chromosomes
 The nucleus contains thread-like structures called
chromosomes.
 These carry genes and help in inheritance or transfer
of characters from the parents to the offspring.
 Chromosomes are composed of DNA in the form of
Chromatin and protein.
 Chromosomes contain information for the inheritance of features from parents to next generation
in the form of DNA molecules.
DNA
 DNA molecules contain the information necessary for constructing and organising cells.
 Functional segments of DNA are called genes.

OTHER ORGANELLES:

Endoplasmic Reticulum
 It is a membranous organelle.
 It is found in all eukaryotic cells.
 The ER is divided into two types based on their
physical and functional properties viz. Smooth
and Rough ER.

Rough ER
 It synthesizes and secretes proteins in the cells.

Smooth ER
 The SER is involved in the synthesis of phospholipids, the main lipids in cell membranes and are
very important in the process of metabolism.
 They also transport the products of the rough endoplasmic reticulum to other cell parts like the
Golgi apparatus.

Golgi Apparatus
 Golgi Apparatus also termed as Golgi Complex
is a membrane-bound nucleus.
 Its main function is to modify proteins.
 These modified proteins are placed in Golgi so
that it can transport elsewhere in the cell when
required.

GRADE: IX (TERM I – 2022:2023) PAGE 3 OF 3 NAVEEN V (BIOLOGY)