Cells

Question 1

Microscope

Answer 1

an instrument for viewing small objects

Question 2

Cells

Answer 2

the smallest unit of life. Cells are the building blocks of living things. There are many different sized and shaped cells in animals and plants, as well as single-celled organisms.

Question 3

light microscopes

Answer 3

instrument for viewing very small objects. A light microscope can magnify things up to 1500 times.

Question 4

electron microscopes

Answer 4

instrument for viewing very small objects. An electron microscope is much more powerful than a light microscope and can magnify things up to a million times.

Question 5

monocular

Answer 5

describes a microscope through which the specimen is seen using one eye only

Question 6

binocular

Answer 6

a microscope with two eyepieces, so you use both eyes to look at the object

Question 7

stereo

Answer 7

describes a microscope through which the specimen is viewed using both eyes

Question 8

unicellular

Answer 8

describes an organism having only one cell

Question 9

multicellular

Answer 9

having many cells. Most plants and animals are multicellular.

Question 10

micrometre

Answer 10

a length of one millionth of a metre

Question 11

nanometre

Answer 11

a unit of measurement equal to one billionth of a metre

Question 12

nanotechnology

Answer 12

a rapidly developing field that includes studying and investigating cells and other objects of the smallest dimensions

Question 13

Prokaryotes

Answer 13

organism classified as belonging to the Prokaryotae kingdom

Question 14

eukaryote

Answer 14

member of the group of organisms that has a membrane around the nucleus in each of their cells

Question 15

cell membrane

Answer 15

structure that encloses the contents of a cell and allows the movement of some materials in and out

Question 16

cytosol

Answer 16

the fluid found inside cells

Question 17

ribosomes

Answer 17

small structures within a cell in which proteins such as enzymes are made

Question 18

cytoplasm

Answer 18

the jelly-like material inside a cell. It contains many organelles such as the nucleus and vacuoles.

Question 19

metabolism

Answer 19

the chemical reactions occurring within an organism that enable the organism to use energy and grow and repair cells

Question 20

binary fission

Answer 20

reproduction by the division of an organism (usually a single cell) into two new organisms

Question 21

mitochondria

Answer 21

small rod-shaped organelles that supply energy to other parts of the cell. They are usually too small to be seen with light microscopes. Singular = mitochondrion.

Question 22

chloroplasts

Answer 22

oval-shaped organelle found only in plant cells. Chloroplasts contain the pigment chlorophyll. They are the ‘factories’ in which carbon dioxide and water are changed by sunlight and water into food by the process of photosynthesis.

Question 23

cellular respiration

Answer 23

cellular respiration: the chemical reaction involving oxygen that moves the energy in glucose into the compound ATP. The body is able to use the energy contained in ATP.

Question 24

photosynthesis

Answer 24

the food-making process in plants that takes place in chloroplasts within cells. The process uses carbon dioxide, water and energy from the sun.

Question 25

chlorophyll

Answer 25

the green-coloured chemical in plants that absorbs the light energy used in photosynthesis to make food from carbon dioxide and water