Name___________________________
Grade 8
Unit B: Cells and Systems Study Guide
1. What are the six primary characteristics that identify living things?
-Are made of Cells
-Need Energy
-Respond to the Environment
-Grow and Develop
-Reproduce
-Have Adaptations for their environment (physical, behavioral)
2. Why do certain animals have different structures to perform the same function?
Organisms accomplish the six characteristics in different ways, and therefore need different
structures to achieve the same result. i.e. Humans have lungs, Insects have spiracles
3. How are cell, tissues, organs, and organ systems related?
A Cell is the basic unit of life, A bunch of cells form tissue, tissues combine to form Organs,
Organs combine to form Organ Systems
4. Identify what type of cell the organelle can be found (Animal, Plant, or Both) and Explain what
function each organelle performs in the cell?
a. Cell Membrane
(Both) “gate keeper” controls what enters and exits the cell
b. Cytoplasm
(Both) “Kitchen” or “factory floor”, is the liquid contained inside the cell that allows the
contents of the cell to move around
c. Nucleus
(Both) “command center” directs all cellular activity such as movement, growth, and other
life functions
d. Vacuoles
(Both) “Storage rooms” where nutrients, water, or other substances can be stored by the
cell.
Plants contain One large vacuole, and animals have many small vacuoles
e. Mitochondria
(Both) “Power Houses” the chemical reaction Cellular Respiration occurs here, creating the
energy that the cell can use to survive
Animal Cells have lots of these in each cell
Plant Cells, contain only a few since they use primarily Photosynthesis to produce energy
f. Cell Wall
(Plant) “Frame” Provides strength and support to plant cells since they don’t contain
microtubules
g. Chloroplasts
(Plant) “Solar Panels” perform photosynthesis creating usable energy in plant cells
5. Describe how you calculate total magnification?
Occular Lens (x10) X
Objective Lens (x4, x10, x40)
= Total Magnification
6. Identify the Advantages and Disadvantages of Single-Cellular and Multi-Cellular Organisms
Type of Organism
Single-Cellular
Advantages
Independent, contains
everything it need to survive
Reproduce quickly allowing it to
adapt to environment
Disadvantages
Short Life Span
///////////////////////////////////
Can Grow to be quite large if
need be
///////////////////////////////////
Specialized cells means that each
cell is dependent on other cells
for survival
Small
(Unicellular)
//////////////////////////////////
(Multi-Cellular)
7. Illustrate and Labe these Unicellular Organisms (p. 114)
Paramecium
Amoeba
See page 114
8. Explain the difference between Osmosis, and Diffusion?
Diffusion is the movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low
concentration
Osmosis is the movement of WATER molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of
low concentration
9. What are the 4 types of tissue found in Animals, provide an example of each?
Epithelial (skin),
Connective Tissue (bone, blood),
Nervous Tissue (Brain)
Muscle Tissue (3 types, smooth muscle (walls of most organs), Cardiac Tissue (Heart), Striated
Muscle (movement muscles)
10. What are the 3 types of tissue found in Plants, what is their function?
Photosynthetic Tissue (uses suns energy to make energy, found in leaves)
Protective Tissue (Water proofs plant, protects plant, found in all three organs)
Transport Tissue ( transports nutrients throughout the plant, Phloem/food, Xylem/water) all three
organs)
Plant organs: roots, stem, leaves
11. List and describe the two types of digestion in the body?
Mechanical Digestion: involves the physical breakdown of food into small particles
Chemical Digestion: Use of enzymes and chemicals to break larger molecules into smaller particles
12. What is peristalsis?
Wave like movement caused by the smooth muscle lining the esophagus
13. Describe the route that food takes during digestion from the mouth to the rectum?
Mouth Esophagus  Stomach  Small Intestine  Large Intestine  Rectum
14. What makes the lungs inflate & deflate?
Inflate: Diaphragm contracts, and rib muscles contract causing the chest cavity to enlarge and the lungs
to fill with air
Deflate: Diaphragm relaxes, rib muscles relax, causing the chest cavity to shrink and the air to expelled
out of the lungs
15. What gases are exchanged and where does this occur in the lungs?
O2 enters the blood stream, CO2 leaves the blood stream, occurs at the Alveoli of the lungs
16. If you were a blood cell, what would be the path you would take to travel a complete loop of the
circulatory system starting and ending at the Left Atrium of the Heart?
Right Atrium  Right Ventricle  Pulmonary Artery  Capillaries in the lung surrounding the alveoli
 Pulmonary Vein  Left Atrium  Left Ventricle  Parts of the Body  Right Atrium via Vena
Cava
17. Describe the difference between arteries, capillaries, and veins?
Arteries: carry blood away from the heart
Veins: carry blood back to the heart
Capillaries: Connect arteries to veins, but their thin wall (single celled thick) is where the exchange of
nutrients occurs
18. Explain the process of Urine Formation by the excretory system?
Kidneys filter organic out of the blood via the nephrons
Waste travels out of the kidney through the ureters to the bladder
The bladder stores the urine until it is ready to be expelled out of the body through the Urethra
19. What is dialysis?
Is a mechanical process of filtering blood through a semi permeable membrane that removes the waste
that the kidney normally would if it was working
20. What are two distinct parts of the nervous system, and what function do they perform in
regards to responding to stimuli?
Central Nervous System (CNS)- Brain and Spinal Cord: processes the info from sensory neurons, and
sends info telling motor neurons how to respond
Peripheral Nervous system (PNS)- All parts of body except for brain and spinal cord: Contains sensory
neurons that detect a stimulus, and motor neurons that respond to the what the CNS makes of that
sensory information
21. Complete the summary Chart (p. 93-96) of the Organ systems
Organ System
Organs
Functions in the Body
///////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
//////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Circulatory
System
////////////////
Respiratory
System
////////////////
Digestive System
/////////////////
Nervous System
/////////////////
Excretory System
See Text Book pages 94 – 96
22. What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a weakened version of a virus that our body can fight off easily allowing us to build
antibodies that will make us more efficient at fighting the infection the next time were exposed to the
full strength virus
23. What are 4 factors that affect human health?
-Diseases or conditions that you have inherited from your family
-Sensitivity to environmental conditions, such as smog, or specific substances such as pollen, dust, or
dairy products
-How you respond to physical, emotional, and psychological stresses
-How you treat your body in general i.e. diet, exercise, sleep, smoking