Chapter 2
Structure and function of cells

This chapter is designed to enable students to:
 Investigate the defining characteristics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
 Identify cell structure and organisation
 Identify cell organelles and understand their function
 Investigate the different modes of transport of materials across plasma membranes
 Understand and apply the principal of surface area to volume ratio

All cells are similar in some ways:
• Each cell is a small compartment surrounded by a cell membrane , which holds in the fluid (cytosol) that the organelles float around in.
• All cells also have DNA in some form inside of them, that carries their genetic material.
But cells can also differ greatly. Living cells can be classified into two groups based on differences of their internal structure:
• Prokaryotic cells – very basic internal structure with no membrane-bound nucleus (e.g. bacterial cells)
• Eukaryotic cells – more complex internally, with membranebound organelles, including a nucleus (e.g. animal cells)

A biological drawing of an animal cell
A biological drawing of a plant cell
Draw up a table to show which organelles are: a) Only present in plant cells and b) only present in animal cells c) present in both animal and plant cells

• Present in all living cells both eukaryotic and prokaryotic.
• Controls the movement of dissolved substances in and out of the cell, therefore maintaining the internal environment of the cell.
• It is made up of protein and lipid (fat) molecules.
• A model designed to describe the appearance of the plasma membrane is shown below

• All cells need to be able to take in and expel various substances across their cell membrane in order to survive, grow and reproduce.
• Because the membrane (m/b) only allows some substances to pass through, it is called partially permeable
• Dissolved substances can cross the plasma m/b in a number of ways:
- Diffusion
- Osmosis require no energy
- Active transport
- Bulk transport requires energy

• A way that substances move into and out of cells, that requires no energy by the cell.
• Movement is from a region of high concentration of that solute to a region of low concentration for that solute, through a semi-permeable membrane.
• Refer to Fig 2.7
• Movement will continue until the concentration of the solute on both the inside and the outside are equal.

• Osmosis is a special type of diffusion – it involves water
• So, osmosis is the movement of water across a semi permeable membrane from a region where it is at a high concentration, to a region where is at low concentration.
• Osmosis can result in cells lysing (bursting) or shrinking depending on the solution they are in.
• Refer to the blue box of information on p28.
• E.g. Freshwater fish do not need to drink, they rely on osmosis to get their water. Over what surface might the fish obtain their water?

• AT is another way in which substances can move into and out of cells
• Different to diffusion and osmosis in that it requires energy from the cell in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP
• Movement of molecules is the opposite to that in diffusion – molecules move from a region of low concentration to a region of high concentration
• Refer to figure 2.9 b
• In comparing diffusion to active transport we use the slippery slide model
- going up the slippery slide (concentration gradient) requires energy
- going down the slippery slide does not require energy

• This special type of diffusion that requires energy.
• This occurs as some substances cannot dissolve through the plasma membrane to cross it.
• These molecules are carried through the protein channels by special molecules called carrier proteins.
• The inherited disorder cystic fibrosis results from a defective carrier protein that is meant to transport chloride ions into the cell

• Particles can also be moved into and out of cells via bulk transport.
• Exosytosis is the bulk transport of substances out of a cell.
It involves:
1. a vesicle forming around the particles that need to be moved out,
2. the vesicle moves up to and fuses with the cell membrane,
3. the lipid bilayer opens up and moves the contents of the vesicle out of the cell
• Refer to Fig 2.13

• Endocytosis is the bulk transport of substances into a cell.
• Endocytosis can involve the bulk transport of: a) Solids – called phagocytosis b) Liquids – called pinocytosis
It involves:
1. A cleavage forming in the lipid bilayer and the particles moving into that,.
2. the cell membrane coming together to form a lisosome
3. The lisosome breaking off from the membrane and then dissolving the particles inside it with digestive enzymes
Only some cells (white blood cells and single celled organisms) are capable of phagocytosis, whereas most cells are capable of pinocytosis.
• Refer to Fig 2.11 and 2.12

• Present in prokaryotes, plants and fungi.
• Semi-rigid, protective structure that lies outside the cell m/b.
• Composition varies depending on organism group:
- plants: cellulose
- fungi: chitin
- bacteria: complex polysaccharides

We will be looking at the structure and function of the following organelles in detail:
• Nucleus
• Mitochondria
(control centre)
(energy supply)
• Ribosomes
• Endoplasmic reticulum
• Golgi complex
• Lysosomes
• Chloroplasts
(protein makers)
(transport systems)
(controlled distruction)
(sunlight trappers)
• We will also briefly look at vacuoles, cilia, peroxisomes, endosomes and vacuoles.

• Present in eukaryotes and encloses the DNA.
• Absent in prokaryotes, DNA is dispersed throughout cell.
• The nucleus is often referred to as the control centre of the cell, as the DNA (held in the nucleus) is responsible for all of the cells activities, including:
- reproduction, instruction ribosomes to manufacture protein, cell death.
• DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyrobonucleic acid.
• Some specialised cells in the body have no nucleus (red blood cells) while others (liver cells) have two.

• Provide the cell with the energy it requires to carry out all of its functions.
• Only present in eukaryotes.
• The form of energy used by the cell is adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
• ATP is manufactured in the mitochondria by a chemical process known as cellular respiration, the equation for which is shown below:

• Ribosomes are the site at which all of the protein required by the cell is synthesised (made).
• Ribosomes are present in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, and are so small that they can only be seen with an electron microscope.
• The protein synthesised by the cell depends on the specialised function of that cell, for example
- Red blood cells make haemoglobin
- Pancreas cell make insulin
- Liver cells make protein enzymes, like catalase
- Stomach cells make digestive enzymes
- Muscle cells make contractile proteins, actin and myosin

• These are two different organelles, but they are often referred to together.
• This is because they work together inside the cell, to make up the cell transport system, whether that be within the cell or out of the cell as to be transported around the body.
• Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) transports substances within the cell, and includes smooth ER and rough ER (has ribosomes attached – for protein transport).
• The Golgi complex (also called Golgi body or Golgi apparatus) is a prominent feature of cells that make a lot of protein, as its role is to transport protein out of the cell.
Refer to Fig 2.16 and 2.17

• Present in eukaryotes, absent in prokaryotes.
• Sac-like structures, surrounded by a membrane and filled with fluid which contains dissolved digestive enzymes.
• Can release these enzymes within the cell, resulting in cell death.
• Programmed cell death like this is called apoptosis.
• Important for:
- cells that have a limited life span (e.g. cells that form the webbing between fingers of an early human embryo)
Refer to Fig 2.18 and 2.19
- digesting unwanted materials within cells

• Specialised organelles only found in plant cells.
• Made from a series of membranes which form layers called grana.
• Filled with a fluid called stroma.
• Chloroplasts are green in appearance due to the presence of light trapping pigment called chlorophyll.
• Chlorophyll is one of the key components of the chemical process known as photosynthesis (see equation below) – the means by which plants use the energy from the Sun to make their own glucose.

• Vacuoles – large fluid-filled sacs, mainly found in plant cells or single celled animals. Contain water and some dissolved solutes, can have a contractile mechanism to help pump water out of some freshwater protists.
• Endosomes – involved with endocytosis in animal cells, pass newly ingested material to lysosomes for digestion.
• Peroxisomes – rich in enzymes that detoxify various toxic materials that enter the bloodstream of animals.
• Cilia – found in some single celled eukaryotes, whip like structures formed by extensions of the plasma membrane involved in synchronised movement.
• Flagellum - whip like structure found in some eukaryotic organisms and some bacteria involved in movement.

• Multicellular organisms, as the name suggests are made of many cells.
• When an organisms is made up of more than one cell, its
‘body’ has different levels of organisation.
Cells
Tissues
Organs
Organ systems
Organism

• Quick-check questions
- 1-3 p31
- 4-8 p35
- 9-14 p42
- 15-16 p46
• Chapter review questions