Cells Flashcards
(195 cards)
The cell
is the simplest bit of living matter that can exist independently
Unicellular Organisms’ Characteristics
Unicellular organisms demonstrate all basic life processes nutrition respiration movement excretion growth irritability and reproduction
Cell Shapes and Sizes
Cells come in a variety of shapes and sizes including round square rectangular and star-shaped with some able to change shape
Cell Size Range
Cell sizes vary greatly from tiny bacterial cells (1 µm) visible only with powerful microscopes to large ostrich egg yolk cells (100 mm)
Chlamydomonas
A motile unicellular organism with a cup-shaped chloroplast (fig. 10-1A); it’s a free-living autotroph performing all life activities
Chlamydomonas Protoplasm Complexity
The protoplasm in Chlamydomonas is complex enabling it to carry out all the functions of a living organism
Chlamydomonas and Starch
Chlamydomonas cells form starch grains in their cytoplasm when exposed to light indicating their ability to produce food
Chlamydomonas Movement
Chlamydomonas cells move using flagella and are sensitive and responsive to environmental changes
Chlamydomonas Light Response
Chlamydomonas cells exhibit phototaxis moving from dimly lit areas to brighter ones
Chlamydomonas Water Regulation
Chlamydomonas cells eliminate excess water via contractile vacuoles which repeatedly fill and expel water
Chlamydomonas Reproduction
Young Chlamydomonas cells grow to their full size and reproduce through sexual or asexual methods (fig. 10-1B)
Amoeba
The Amoeba is the simplest heterotrophic unicellular organism (fig. 10-2)
Amoeba’s Food Sensitivity
Amoeba is sensitive to the presence of food in its environment and quickly moves toward it
Amoeba’s Food Acquisition Features
Amoeba has features that aid in obtaining food sensitivity to organic substances movement with pseudopodia and food capture/ingestion via pseudopodia into food vacuoles
Amoeba’s Water Regulation
An Amoeba uses a contractile vacuole to get rid of excess water that enters the cell
Amoeba’s Growth and Division
The Amoeba cell grows to a certain size ceases growing and reproduces by dividing into two daughter cells
Paramecium
Paramecium is also a unicellular organism but its cell body is more complex than that of the Amoeba (fig. 10-3)
Paramecium’s Movement and Feeding Structures
Paramecium has cilia that aid in movement direct food into its gullet and strain food particles
Paramecium’s Digestive Pathway
Paramecium has a fixed mouth for food intake and an anal pore for expelling undigested food; food vacuoles circulate along a set path in the cytoplasm
Paramecium’s Sensory Structures
Paramecium has sensory cilia that help it move to areas where food is abundant
Paramecium’s Water Balance System
Anterior and posterior contractile vacuoles with radiating channels remove excess water from the body
Euglena
Another common unicellular organism is Euglena
Chlamydomonas Preparation for Observation
To observe a Chlamydomonas cell prepare a wet-mount using a drop of water from a Chlamydomonas culture
Chlamydomonas Light Response Experiment
To observe the response of Chlamydomonas cells to light of different intensities take a tube containing a culture of Chlamydomonas cells