1.

1 - Introduction
to Cells
IB Biology 11

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 IB Biology Focus
Understanding Applications
● Specific content required ● Develop understanding by
studying specific examples
● Learning about specific
experiments

Nature of Science Skills

● Trends & Discrepancies ● Apply understanding through
● Ethical Implications of Research practical activities & analysis

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 Understanding
● According to the cell theory, living organisms are composed of cells
● Organisms consisting of only one cell carry out all functions of life
in that cell
● Surface area to volume ratio is important in the limitation of cell
size.
● Multicellular organisms have properties that emerge from the
interaction of their cellular components
● Specialized tissues can develop by cell differentiation
● Differentiation involves expression of some genes and not others in
a cells genome
● The capacity of stem cells to divide and differentiate & their
therapeutic uses

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 Applications
● Questioning the cell theory using atypical examples,
including striated muscle, giant algae and aseptate fungal
hyphae
● Investigation of functions of life in Paramecium and one
named photosynthetic unicellular organism
● Use of stem cells to treat Stargardt’s disease and one other
named condition
● Ethics of the therapeutic use of stem cells from specially
created embryos, from the umbilical cord blood of a
new-born baby and from an adult’s own tissues

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 Skill
● Use of a light microscope to investigate the structure of cells
and tissues, with drawing of cells

● Calculation of the magnification of drawings and the actual size

of structures and ultrastructures shown in drawings or
micrographs.

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What is Cell Theory

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Cell Theory

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 The Functions of Life
● Nutrition - obtaining food (provide energy & growth)
● Metabolism - chemical reactions inside the cell, cell respiration to release energy
● Growth - an increase in size
● Response - the ability to react to changes in the environment
● Excretion - getting rid of waste products
● Homeostasis - keeping conditions inside tolerable
● Reproduction - producing offspring either sexually or asexually

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 Commonalities b/w Cells
● Every living cell is surrounded by a membrane, which separates the cell
contents from everything else outside.
● Cells contain genetic material which stores all of the instructions needed for
the cell’s activities
○ DNA - could be non-membrane bound (prokaryotes) or membrane bound
(eukaryotes)
● Many of these activities are chemical reactions, catalysed by enzymes
produced inside the cell
● Cells have their own energy release system that powers all of the cells
activities
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 Looking for Trends &
Discrepancies

Scientific Develop Make

Find Trends
Investigation Theory Predictions

Discrepancy Exceptions to
is serious the the trend
theory is called
Discarded Discrepancy

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Discrepancies to
the Cell Theory

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Striated Muscle
Fibres
● Muscle cells fuse to form fibres
that are long >300mm

● Multinucleated, but one

continuous membrane

● Challenges idea that cells

function as independent units

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Aseptate Fungal
Hyphae
● Fungi may have structures
called hyphae which are
separated into cells by internal
walls called septa
● Some have no septa, continuous
cytoplasm
● Challenges idea that living
structures are composed of
discrete cells

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Giant Algae
(Acetabularia)
● Certain species of unicellular
algae grow very large (7 cm
in length)

● Challenges the idea that

larger organisms are
always made of many
microscopic cells

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Unicellular Organisms

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 Paramecium &
Scenedesmus Example
Please read on own time, IB Specific Example

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Understanding Emergent
Properties

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 Emergent Properties
● Characteristics of the whole organism are called emergent
properties
○ Examples Heart is made up of cells - one individual cell
can’t pump the blood but together they can and this
would be an emergent property of the heart.

● Thus, we say that multicellular organisms show emergent

properties via the sum of specialized cells

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Whole Picture

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 Multicellular Organisms &
Differentiation
● Cells in multicellular organisms differentiate to carry out
specialized functions by expressing some of their genes but
not others.
● Euchromatic - active genes, packaged in expanded form
● Heterochromatic - inactive genes, packaged in condensed
form

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 Why Specialize?
● Cells in a tissue can carry out their role more efficiently than
if they were trying to perform multiple “jobs”
● Develop ideal structures, with enzymes needed to carry out
reactions
● Humans have 220 distinctly different highly specialized cell
types

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 Specialized Plant Cells
● Leaf Cells
● Filled with chloroplasts for photosynthesis
● Stem Cells
● Designed to transport water & other materials
● Root Cells
● Designed to absorb water from soil

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 Specialized Animal Cells - 1
● Skin Cells
● Unique layer of protective cells
● Bone Cells
● Built for strong structure to provide protection
● Muscle Cells
● Filled with mitochondria for producing power

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 Specialized Animal Cells - 2
● Nerve Cells (Peripheral)
● Hyper sensitive and fast conductors of electrical impulses
(nerve impulse)
● Nerve Cells (Brain)
● Designed to receive and transmit nerve impulse
● Fat Cells
● Great at storing energy

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Stem Cells

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 How we can access stem cells?
● Embryonic Stem Cells

● Cord Blood Cells

● Adult stem cells

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 Stem Cells
● Stem cells are unspecialised that have two main
qualities:
● Self Renewal - continuously divide/replicate
● Potency - capacity to differentiate into specialized cells
● Meristematic cells in plants equivalent to stem cells
in animals

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 Types of Stem Cells
● Totipotent: can form any cell type, plus extra embryonic
cells. *Embryonic cells only totipotent*
● Pluripotent: can form any cell type
● Multipotent: can differentiate into a number of closely
related cell types
○ Example: adult cord blood stem cells
● Unipotent: can not differentiate but are capable of self
renewal
○ Can only self renew and give rise to one specific cell

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 Therapeutic
Uses of Stem
Cells - Do
some research
and report
back!
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 Stargardt’s Disease
● Inherited juvenile macular degeneration
○ Causes progressive vision loss
● Caused by gene mutation
○ Impairs energy transport in photoreceptor cells
● Treated by replacing dead cells in the retina with
functioning ones derived from stem cells.
● Restores vision in animal/human trials

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Ethical Implications of Stem
Cell Research

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Understanding
Microscopes &
Magnification
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SI Units of Length

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Most Relevant to Biology...

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 Magnification
● Image Size - size of picture
● Actual Size - how big the specimen
is in the real world
● Magnification - how much larger
the image size is than actual size
● Same units necessary when
calculating **

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Limitations on Cell Size

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 Limitations on Cell Size
Surface Area -- sum of the areas of all faces on a 3D shape

Volume -- quantity of a 3D shape enclosed by a closed

surface, example - the space that a substance or space
occupies/contains

*Rate of reactions in cell is proportional to the volume of

the cell.

If the ratio is too small then substances

will not enter as quickly as they are
required and waste products will
accumulate because they are produced
more rapidly than they can be excreted.

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 Light microscopes
● Use visible light and combination of lenses to magnify images
● Can be viewed in natural colour, however stains improve viewing
specific structures

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Virtual
Microscope
Activity
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Light Compound Microscope

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 Drawing Cell Structures
Drawing Materials: All drawings should be done with a sharp pencil, on white unlined paper.

Positioning: Center drawing on the page. Do not draw in a corner. This will leave plenty of room for the addition of labels.

Size: Make a large, clear drawing.

Labels: Use a ruler to draw straight, horizontal lines. The labels should for a vertical list. All labels should be printed.

Technique: Lines are clear and not smudged. Avoid ‘feather’ pencil lines and gaps.

Accuracy: Draw what is seen. A small section shown in detail is sufficient. When drawing on low power do not draw individual
cells. Show only the distribution of tissues. When making high power drawings, draw only a few representative cells, indicate
thickness of walls, membranes etc.

Title: Should state what has been drawn and what lens power it was drawn under. For example: ______________ drawn as seen
through 400X magnification. Title is informative, centered and larger than other text. The title should always include the
scientific name (which is italicized or underline)

Scale: Include how many times larger the drawing is compared to life size and a labeled scale bar that indicates estimated size.

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Drawing Cell Structures

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