Chapter 5 - The Fundamental Unit of Life

Long Answer Type Questions

Q1) What is protoplasm?
Ans. Protoplasm is the living colloidal and liquid substance that makes up a cell.
Protoplasm has two parts- cytoplasm (the jelly-like mass between the cell
membrane and the nuclear membrane) & nucleoplasm (the jelly-like mass inside
the nucleus).
Q2) What is cytoplasm?
Ans. Cytoplasm is the fluid content inside the plasma membrane. It consists of
many living cell organelles, excluding the nucleus, and many non-living cell
inclusions.
Q3) What are cell organelles?
Ans. Cell organelles are “small organs” of the cell. They are membrane-bound
living structures inside the cell that have specific shape, structure, and functions.
They are embedded in the cytoplasm.
Q4) Differentiate between organ and organelle.
Ans. Organ is any distinct part of an organism that is specialized to perform one
or more functions. e.g., eye, ear, leaf, roots, etc. Organelles are parts of a cell
having definite structure and function. e.g., nucleus, mitochondria, etc.

Q5) Why do we use stains before observing cells under the microscope?
Ans. Cell staining is a technique that can be used to better visualize cells and cell
components under a microscope. By using different stains, one can preferentially
stain certain cell components, such as a nucleus or a cell wall, or the entire cell.
Q6) A cell placed in a solution swell up. What kind of solution is it? Why does it
happen?
Ans. It is a hypotonic solution & water enters the cell by endosmosis causing the
cell to swell up.
Q7) What is a nucleoid?
Ans. The poorly defined nuclear region present in a prokaryotic cell is called
nucleoid. It contains genetic material only and lacks nuclear membrane and
nucleolus.
Q8) What is the significance of membranes in living organisms?
Ans. Every living cell has a membrane that separates its contents from the
external environment. All the parts within the cell (cell organelles) are also
separated by membranes to keep their activities separate from each other. This
increases the efficiency of the cell.

Q9) Why viruses are not considered as living?

Ans. One of the requirements of living things is that they must be made of cells.
Viruses are not made out of cells. A single virus particle is known as a virion and
is made up of a set of genes bundled within a protective protein shell called a
capsid. Viruses do not have nuclei, organelles, or cytoplasm like cells do. They
don’t show characteristics of life until they enter a living body and uses its cell
machinery to multiply.
Q10) If the organization of a cell is destroyed due to some chemical or physical
influence, what will happen?
Ans. Cell is the smallest unit of life, which is capable of all living functions. If the
organization of a cell is destroyed due to some chemical or physical influence,
then the ability of the cell to perform all life functions such as nutrition,
respiration, excretion, etc., will be severely affected.

Q11) What would happen if the plasma membrane ruptured or breakdown?

Ans. Plasma membrane regulates the movement of substances in and out of the
cell by diffusion or osmosis, hence if the plasma membrane gets ruptured it will
lead to

• Leakage of the contents of the cell

• Eventually death of the cells
Q12) What are the functions of smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum?
Ans. Rough endoplasmic reticulum – As they have ribosomes attached on their
surface, they are called rough ER. So they are involved in protein synthesis.
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum – As they don’t have ribosomes on their body
surface, they are called smooth ER. They are concerned with synthesis of lipids
and fats.
Q13) What is membrane biogenesis?
Ans: Some of the proteins synthesized by rough endoplasmic reticulum and
some of the lipids produced by the smooth endoplasmic reticulum are used in
the synthesis of the cell membrane. This is known as membrane biogenesis.

Q14) What will happen to a cell if its nucleus is removed?

Ans. With the passage of time the cell will die, as the nucleus which controls and
coordinates all the functions of the cell is absent.
Q15) Name two cells which lack nucleus?
Ans. Red blood cells of humans and other mammals lose their nuclei, and this
enables them to carry more haemoglobin and so pick up more oxygen.
Phloem sieve tubes in plants lose most of the cell organelles including their
nuclei, which makes it easier for materials to flow through it.
Q16) What is the difference between gene and DNA?
Ans. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is an extremely long macromolecule that is
the main component of chromosomes and is the material that transfers genetic
information from parents to the offspring in all life forms. Genes are functional
segments of DNA. They contain the information for inheritance of features from
parents to the next generation.

Q17) Why is the nucleus so significant in a cell?

Ans. Nucleus has the following important functions-
(i) It controls all cell activities
(ii) It contains hereditary material that transmits hereditary information from one
generation to the next
(iii) It helps in cell division

Q18) How are chromatin, chromatid and chromosome related to each other?
Ans. The material in the nucleus of a cell that forms the chromosomes during cell
division is called chromatin.
Chromosomes appear as definitely shaped structures in the nucleus of a cell and
are the carriers of hereditary characters from parents to offsprings.
The arms of chromosomes are called chromatids.
Q19) When does the chromatin network separate out to form chromosomes?
Ans: The network of chromatin fibres separates out to form chromosomes, when
a cell is at dividing stage (dividing/about to divide).
Q20) Why mitochondria are called the powerhouse of the cell?
Ans. The energy required for various chemical activities needed for life is
released by mitochondria in the form of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)
molecules.

Q21) Why the inner membrane of mitochondria is deeply folded?

Ans. These folds create a large surface area for ATP-generating reactions.

Q22) Why ATP is called the energy currency of the cell?

Ans. The body uses the energy stored in ATP for making new chemical
compounds and for mechanical work. So, ATP is called energy currency of the
cell.
Q23) Why is mitochondria and chloroplast called semi-autonomous cell
organelles?
Ans. Both mitochondria and chloroplast possess their own DNA and ribosomes,
using which they can synthesize their own proteins. Hence, these two cell
organelles are called as semi-autonomous.
Q24) What are the similarities between mitochondria and chloroplast?
Ans. Both have their own DNA and proteins, so are semi-autonomous cell
organelles.
Both have a double membrane and look similar eternally.
Q25) What are the dissimilarities between mitochondria and chloroplast?
Ans.
• While chloroplasts are found only in plant cells, mitochondria are found
both in plant and animal cells.
• While chloroplasts are concerned with photosynthesis, mitochondria is
responsible for energy generation in the form of ATP.
• While the inner membrane of mitochondria is deeply folded, the inner
membrane of chloroplast doesn’t show any such folds.
Q26) Can a single cell live independently on its own? Explain by giving examples.
Ans. Yes single-celled or unicellular organisms can live independently.
Unicellular organisms such as Amoeba and Paramecium carry out digestion,
respiration, excretion and reproduction on their own. By the process of diffusion,
they capture and digest food and carry out respiration, and reproduction occurs
by binary fission.
Q27) Cell size may range from a few micrometer to a metre. Support this
statement with the help of examples.
Ans. The shape and size of cells are related to the functions they perform. Most of
the cells are microscopic in size, i.e., it is impossible to see them with naked eyes.
For example, the bacterial cell ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 micrometer. The smallest cell
being Mycoplasma (Pleuro Pneumonia Like Organism), while some cells are large.
For example, a neuron in human body can be as long as 1 meter. Thus, cells may
vary from a micrometre to a meter.

Q28) Do all cells in our body look alike in terms of shape, size and structure?
Explain with the help of examples. What similarities do they have?
Ans. Cells look different because they all perform different functions in the body,
and therefore are made up of different components. A brain cell, for example,
performs differently than a muscle cell. Therefore, the proteins that make up
the cells are different, giving each cell a unique appearance.

Most of the times the shape and size of a cell is related to its functions. e.g., neuron
(nerve cell) is long and branched to transmit messages at a fast speed; WBCs have
amoeboid shape to engulf foreign substances; muscle cells are spindle-shaped to
contract and relax smoothly.

Features that are similar in most of the cells are: -

(i) Cell membrane/ Plasma membrane (The outer limiting layer)
(ii) Cytoplasm (The jelly-like mass)
(iii) Nucleus (The control centre of the cell)

Q29) Explain the concept of division of labour in multicellular organisms giving an

example.
Ans. A multicellular organism like human being shows division of labour. This
means that different parts of the human body perform different functions, e.g.,
heart pumps blood, stomach digests food and so on. Similarly, each cell also shows
division of labour. Each cell has got certain specific components within it called cell
organelles. Each cell organelle performs a specific function in the cell such as
making new material like protein synthesis by ribosomes, food synthesis by
chloroplasts, clearing up waste materials from the cell by lysosomes and so on.
Thus, a cell is able to live and perform all its functions because of these organelles.
Q30) How do substances like CO2 and water move in and out of the cell?
Ans. The cell membrane is selectively permeable and regulates the movement of
substances in and out of the cell.

Movement of CO2: -

• CO2 is produced during cellular respiration. So, it is present in high

concentrations inside the cell. This CO2 must be excreted out of the cell. In
the cell’s external environment, the concentration of CO2 is low as
compared to that inside the cell. Therefore, following the law of diffusion
CO2 moves from a region of higher concentration (inside the cell) to a
region of lower concentration (outside the cell).
• Similarly, O2 enters the cell by the process of diffusion when the
concentration of O2 inside the cell is low as compared to its surroundings.
Movement of water: -

• Water also follows the law of diffusion. It moves from a region of its higher
concentration (i.e., very dilute solution) to a region of its lower
concentration (very concentrated solution) through a semi-permeable
membrane. Such a movement is known as osmosis.
• However, the movement of water across the semi-permeable membrane is
affected by the amount of substance dissolved in water.
Q31) What is endocytosis? Why does it occur in animal cells only?
Ans. Endocytosis is the process of capturing a substance or particle from outside
the cell by engulfing it with the cell membrane. The membrane folds over the
substance and it becomes completely enclosed by the membrane. At this point a
membrane-bound sac, or vesicle, pinches off and moves the substance into the
cytoplasm.
Endocytosis is found exclusively in animal cells because they have a flexible
plasma membrane as the limiting layer. They don’t have a rigid cell wall which
might have caused a hindrance in the process of endocytosis.
Q32) Why do freshwater organisms like amoeba have contractile vacuoles?
Ans. Unicellular freshwater organisms like Amoeba keep on absorbing water
from the surroundings by the process of osmosis(endosmosis) as the cell
membrane acts like a semi-permeable membrane. This can cause the organism to
swell and eventually burst. But this doesn’t happen as there are special
contractile vacuoles which continuously keep eliminating the excess water from
their bodies and maintains a balance of water inside the organism’s cell. This
process is called Osmoregulation.
Q33) Why lysosomes are called “waste disposal system” of the cell?
Ans.
• Lysosomes are membrane-bound sacs filled with powerful digestive
enzymes capable of digesting all organic matter.
• They help to keep the cell clean by digesting any foreign material like
bacteria and food, as well as worn-out cell organelles.
• During disturbances in cellular metabolism, for example, when the cell gets
damaged, lysosomes burst, and enzymes digest their own cell. Therefore,
they are also known as “suicidal bags of the cell.”
• As lysosomes are involved in the cleaning up of the cell, hence they are
known as the waste disposal systems of the cell.
Q34) Write down the steps to be followed to prepare a temporary mount of onion.
Ans. Steps to be followed during the preparation of a temporary mount of onion
are as follows: -
1. Pour some distilled water into a watch glass.

2. Peel off a leaf from half a piece of onion and using the forceps, pull out a

piece of transparent onion peel (epidermis) from the leaf.

3. Put the epidermis in the watch glass containing distilled water.

4. Take a few drops of safranin solution in a dropper and transfer this into

another watch glass.

5. Using a brush, transfer the peel into the watch glass containing the safranin

solution.
6. Let this remain in the Safranin solution for 30 seconds, so that the peel is

stained.
7. Take the peel from the Safranin solution using the brush and place it in the
watch glass containing the distilled water.
 8. Take a few drops of glycerine in a dropper and pour 2-3 drops at the center
of a dry glass slide.
9. Using the brush, place the peel onto the slide containing glycerine.
10. Take a cover slip and place it gently on the peel with the aid of a needle.
11. Remove the extra glycerine using a piece of blotting paper.
12. Place this glass side on the stage of the compound microscope and view it.

Q35) Mention the precautions to be taken while preparing a temporary mount of

an onion peel.
Ans.
• Use a brush to transfer the peel from one apparatus to another.
• Staining of peel should neither be too dark, nor too light.

• Extra glycerine stain should be removed using blotting paper.

• Avoid the formation of air bubbles.

Q36) What are vacuoles? What are their functions?

Ans:
• Vacuoles are clear fluid/gas filled spaces in the cytoplasm.
• In plant cells, it is larger and less in number as compared to the animal cells.
• Vacuoles help in the storage of water, food and other waste substances.
Q37) 10. What is plasmolysis? What happens to a plasmolysed cell when it is
placed in water?
Ans:
• The detachment of cell membrane of the plant cell from the cell wall when
put in Hypertonic Solution is known as Plasmolysis.
• The cell that has undergone plasmolysis i.e., plasmolysed cell when placed
in water, the water moves into the cell from the solution due to the higher
concentration of water in the solution (Endosmosis) and therefore the cell swells.