Surface area : Volume
Ch 8.2 pg 201

Cell Size Limits
Are whale cells the same size as sea stars cells?
Yes!

Getting things into cell at an efficient rate
– Nutrients
– Water
– Oxygen
Removing things from the cell quickly
– wastes
DNA limits cell size
– If cell is too big then DNA cannot make enough proteins to support the cell

Surface Area to Volume Ratio - How much space is on the outside (cell membrane) compared to the space on the inside of the cell.
As the surface area of something increases, it’s volume increases faster
Surface area = L x W x # of sides (cm 2 ) the surface of an object. The outside covering of a cell. (cell membrane)
Volume = L x W x H (cm 3 ) The space inside the cell
A small object has a high surface area to volume ratio ex: 6/1
A large object has a small surface area to volume ratio ex: 24/8

It takes more time for the nutrients to reach the center of this cell

It takes less time for the same nutrients to reach the center of this cell

1.
As a cell gets larger which increases at a faster rate, the surface area or the volume?
Volume
2.
If a cell were larger, would it’s interior structures be closer or further from the cell membrane?
Further
3.
What problems might occur if cells were too large?
Not enough nutrients in fast enough

As cell size increases, the surface area to volume ratio Decreases (small surface area to volume ratio) , which can lead to death of a cell.
Having a large surface area to volume ratio is important to the functioning of cells since it gets materials, nutrients, O 2 , & wastes into & out of it faster.
Cells divide before they get too big!