Topic 1 Cells

Revision
1. What is an organelle or subcellular structure?

A structure inside a cell

2. Identify the following animal cell organelles

1 2

5 4
Cell membrane Mitochondrion

Nucleus
(chromosomes
made of DNA

Ribosomes
Cytoplasm
3. What are the functions of the following organelles?

Mitochondrion/Mitochondria

The site of aerobic respiration

Ribosomes

Protein synthesis
 4. Label the parts of a plant
cell

5. What substance are plant cell walls made out of

and what is it function?

Cellulose
It strengthens the cell
6. Plant and animal cells are eukaryotic cells. What
does this mean?

They have a cell membrane, cytoplasm and genetic

material enclosed in a nucleus.
Bacterial cell

7. Copy the diagram

8. Compare a eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell

Eukaryotic Prokaryotic
Eukaryotic Prokaryotic
Nucleus No nucleus –a loop
of DNA in the
cytoplasm

Membrane-bound No membrane-
organelles such as bound organelles
mitochondria

Bigger Smaller
Animal
Plant
 Animal
Ciliated epithelium
Animal
Fat cell
9. What are the rules for a biological drawing?

• Clear lines and no sketching

• No colour
• No shading
• Horizontal line labels that do not cross over
• Label and annotations.
• State the magnification.
10. Produce a biological drawing of these onion cells.
10. Produce a biological drawing of these cheek cells
 Units of measurement
• 1mm = 1000 micrometres

• 1 micrometre (µm) =1000 nanometers (nm)

• 1 nanometer = 1000 micrometres

Red blood cell
7.5µm
100µm in diameter
11. Complete the hierarchy of organisation:

• Atom
• Molecule

• Organelle
• Cell
• Tissue-a group of similar cells with the same
function
• Organ-consist of a collection of tissues
• Organ system
• Organism
Epithelial cells lining
Neurone or nerve cell
the mouth

Bone cells Guard cell

Red blood cells Skeletal muscle cells

Sperm cells Root hair cell

Fat cells Palisade mesophyll cells

Egg cell Ciliated epithelial cell

12. How is a sperm cell adapted for its function?
• Acrosome-contains enzymes that digest the
egg cell membrane so that the sperm head
can enter.
• Flagellum-movement
• Mitochondria-the site of aerobic respiration
and energy production for swimming.
 13. Define Magnification

How many times bigger an object

appears to be compared to its
actual size.
14. Define Resolution

The minimum distance apart that

two objects can be in order for
them to appear as separate items.

Greater resolution means the image

is clearer and more precise.
 The light Microscope

Eyepiece
Coarse focus

Stage

Objective lens

Fine focus Light Source

15. Compare a light microscope to an electron
microscope

Light Electron
Use a beam of light Use a beam of electrons
Live specimens Dead specimens-mounted
in a vacuum why?
Colour image Black and white image
Low magnification and High magnification and
resolution resolution
What is it-images taken using an electron
microscope.
16. Units of measurement

• One million micrometres in a meter

• One micrometre =10-6m
• One thousand micrometres in a millimetre
• One thousand nanometres in a micrometre
• One nanometre = 10-9m

17. Nanometre nm
Micrometre µm
 I AM Calculations

I
A M
Image size
Actual size =

Magnification
Magnification = Image size
Actual size
18. What is the actual length of one of these intestinal
epithelial cells if magnification is x1000?
19. The real/actual length of this palisade mesophyll cell
is 20µm.
How many times has it been magnified?
 20. Describe the structure of DNA.

A double stranded molecule twisted into the shape of a

double helix.
The two strands are held together by pairs of
complementary bases A-T and G-C.
 21. Why do we need to replace body cells?

Growth, development and repair, for example, replacing

dead skin cells.

22. What is the sequence of events between a cell being

produced and that cell dividing itself into two daughter
cells?

The cell cycle

23.What three things need to happen before a
cell divides?

• The cell needs to grow

• The number of sub-cellular structures such as
ribosomes and mitochondria are increased.
• The DNA replicates to form two copies of each
chromosome.
 24. What happens in Mitosis?

• One set of chromosomes is pulled to each end of

the cell when the nucleus divides
• The cytoplasm and cell membrane divide to form
identical cells (cytokinesis)
 Mitosis and cytokinesis

Chromosomes
Chromosomes
in the parent Chromosomes make
line up along
cell are in copies of themselves.
the centre.
pairs (diploid)

Two identical
Chromosome Cell starts to daughter cells are
copies are pulled split in two. produced.
apart.
24a. Mitosis in bacteria is termed?
Binary fission.

24b. Why do the number of cells level out?

Shortage of
nutrients.
• Humans grow by making new cells in a process called
mitosis.
• The process starts when a fertilised egg divides into a ball
of cells called the embryo.
• The cells are all genetically identical at this stage but
they will differentiate or specialise for a particular
function.
 25. What is a stem cell?

A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell of an organism

that are able to divide and become other types of
cell/become specialised/differentiated.
 Stem cells from human embryos can be cloned and
made to differentiate into most different types of
human cells.

26.What is the advantage in therapeutic cloning an

embryo?

An embryo is produced with the same genes as a patient.

Stem cells from the embryo are not rejected by the
patient’s body.
 Umbilical cord stem cells

26a. Give one advantage of using a child’s own umbilical

cord cells instead of using stem cells to treat a
condition later in life?

No chance of rejection.
27. Stem cells from adult bone marrow can form
many types of cells including blood cells.
What are the potential risks of this treatment?

The transfer of viral infection.

 28. Stem cells from meristems in plants can be used
to produce clones of plants quickly and economically.
What are the benefits of this process?

• Rare species can be

cloned to protect from
extinction
• Crop plants with special
features such as disease
resistance can be cloned
to produce large numbers
of identical plants for
farmers.
 29. Describe the process of diffusion.

Diffusion is the spreading out of the particles of any

substance in solution, or particles of a gas, resulting in
the net movement from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration.

30. What are the factors that affect the rate of

diffusion?

• The diffusion gradient

• The temperature
• The surface area of the membrane
• The thickness of the membrane
 31. Give two examples of diffusion in humans.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide in gas exchange between the

alveoli and the blood.

The waste product Urea from the liver cells into the
blood plasma and to the kidneys for excretion.
32. What features does a single-celled organism like
Ameoba have to ensure sufficient transport of
molecules into and out of the cell to meet the needs of
the organism?
33. Why do most multicellular organisms need an
exchange surface and a transport system?
34. Describe how the mammalian lungs are adapted for
efficient gas exchange.
35. Describe how fish gills are adapted for efficient gas
exchange.
35. Describe how the small intestine is adapted for
efficient absorption of the products of digestion such as
glucose and amino acids.
36. Describe how the roots and leaves in plants are
adapted for exchanging materials.
 37. Describe osmosis.

The diffusion of water from a dilute

concentration to a concentrated solution through
a partially permeable membrane.
38. Describe what has happened to these plant cells
in terms of osmosis.
39. Describe what has happened to these red blood
cells in terms of osmosis.
 Required Practical 2: Investigate the range of
concentrations of salt or sugar solutions on the
mass of plant tissue.

1. Use a cork borer to cut five potato cylinders of the same diameter.
2. Use the knife to trim off any potato skin on each potato cylinder. Then
trim each potato cylinder so that they are all the same length.
3. Accurately measure the mass of each potato cylinder.
4. Accurately measure the length of each cylinder.
5. Measure 10 cm3 of each concentration of sugar or salt solution and put
into boiling tubes. Label each boiling tube clearly.
6. Measure 10 cm3 of the distilled water and put into the fifth boiling
tube. Label the boiling tube clearly.
7. Add one potato cylinder to each boiling tube.
8. Leave the potato cylinders in the boiling tubes for a chosen amount of
time.
9. Remove the potato cylinders from the boiling tubes and carefully blot
them dry with the paper towels.
10. Measure the new mass and length of each potato cylinder again
Calculate the change in mass and length of each potato cylinder.
Record your results in your table.
Calculate the percentage change in mass and length of each potato cylinder and
record your results in your table.
Write a paragraph to state what has happened and how this relates to the theory
of osmosis in cells.

40. Identify the variables:

Independent: Concentration of the sugar solution.

Dependent: percentage change in mass/length of the potato cylinders.
Control: diameter and length of potato cylinders, volume of sugar
solution, same potato and variety of, same time left in the solution.

41. Why are the potato cylinders blotted dry before

measuring their mass?
To ensure the change in mass is only due to the gain or loss of
water of the potato by osmosis.
 43a. How is percentage change in mass of the potato
cylinders calculated?
Percentage change in mass = difference in mass X 100
original mass
43b. Why is it calculated?
To allow for a fair comparison as the masses of the potato
cylinders as they were not the same mass at the start.
43c. How is the concentration of the solution in the
vacuole of the potato tissue determined using this
method?

+ Intercept = isotonic solution

Percentage
change in
mass
Concentration of solution

-
 43. Describe active transport.
Moves substances from a more dilute solution to a
more concentrated solution (against a concentration
gradient). This requires energy from respiration.

44. Give two examples of active transport.

• Mineral ions absorbed into plant root hairs from

very dilute solutions in the soil.
• Sugar molecules absorbed from lower
concentrations in the gut into higher
concentrations in the blood.