L5 Flashcards
What is the other word for sex cells?
Gametes.
What are the gametes in a male called?
Sperm.
What are the gametes in a female called?
Ovums (egg cells).
What are the five main components in a sperm?
The tail, the cell membrane, the middle piece, the head and the nucleus.
In a sperm, what is the function of the tail?
This is used to allow the sperm to swim to the ovum and go through the jelly coat the ovum has.
In a sperm, what is the function of the cell membrane?
This protects the cell and responds to the physical changes in the environment around it.
In a sperm, what is the function of the middle piece?
This contains mitochondria which supplies the energy needs to move.
In a sperm, what is the function of the head?
This contains the nucleus.
In a sperm, what is the function of the nucleus?
This contains 23 chromosomes which have the genetic information from the father, you can also say that it contains the DNA.
What are the three main components in an ovum?
The jelly coat, the membrane and the nucleus.
In an ovum, what is the function of the jelly coat?
This prevents too many sperm cells from entering the ovum at the same time.
In an ovum, what is the function of the membrane?
Another name for this is the zone pellucid or the egg wall. This helps the sperm enter through the ovum’s hard outer layers. When you get older, the wall gets harder, and then, the egg can’t be fertilised.
What is an adaptation of a sperm cell?
It has a long tail which allows it to swim to the egg.
What is a second adaptation of a sperm cell?
It is small but many of them are made. This increases the chances of the sperm cell finding the ovum.
What is the third adaptation of a sperm cell?
Part of the sperm’s head (acrosome) releases enzymes (proteins that act like a biological catalyst) to digest an egg membrane/break through the egg’s membrane.
