3. Cells And Movement Flashcards
What is the basic unit of life?
The cell
What are microscopes?
Instruments which magnify an image of an object.
What is the material placed under a microscope referred to as?
The object
What is the appearance of the object under a microscope called?
The image
What is the equation relating magnification, image size and object size?
Object (actual) size =image size/magnification
What is the resolution of a microscope?
The minimum distance apart that two objects can be in order for them to appear as separate items.
What does resolving power depend on?
The wavelength or form of radiation used.
What is the resolution of a light microscope?
0.2 micrometers (ym)
What happens after the limit of resolution?
Increasing the magnification no longer leads to increased resolution - the object will just be more blurred.
What is cell fractionation?
The process where cells are broken up and the different organelles they contain are separated out.
What kind of solution is the tissue placed in before cell fractionation?
Cold - to reduce enzyme activity that might break down organelles
Isotonic - to prevent organelles bursting or shrinking as a result of osmotic gain or loss of water.
Buffered - to maintain the pH
What are the two stages in cell fractionation?
Homogenation and ultracentrifution
What happens in homogenation?
The cells are broken up by a homogeniser. This releases the organelles from he cells. The resultant fluid (homogenate) is filtered to remove any complete or large pieces of debris.
What happens in ultracentrifugation?
The tube of filtrate is placed in the ultra centrifuge and spun at a low speed.
Heaviest organelles, the nuclei, are forced to the bottom where they form a thin sediment.
Fluid at the top of the tube (supernatant) is removed leaving the sediment.
The supernatant is put in another tube and spun in the ultracentrifuge faster.
The whole process is repeated.
Which force do the organelles in an ultracentrifuge experience?
Centrifugal force
Order of organelles separated out (heaviest first) in an ultracentrifuge…
Nuclei - 1000 gravitational force - duration 10 mins
Mitochondria - 3500 “” - duration 10 mins
Lysosomes - 16500 “” - duration 20 mins
Ribosomes - 100000 “” - duration 60 mins
Why do light microscope have poor resolutions?
Long wavelength of light
What are the two main advantages of the electron microscope?
The electron beam has a very short wavelength and so the microscope has a high resolving power.
As electrons are negatively charged the beam can be focused using electromagnets.
Why in an electron microscope should there be a near vacuum?
Because electrons are absorbed by molecules in the air
What are the two types of electron microscope?
The transmission electron microscope (TEM)
The scanning electron microscope (SEM)
What is the resolution of a SEM?
20nm (as electron beam has shorter wavelength)
What is the resolution of a TEM?
0.1 nm (shorter wavelength)
What is the depth of focus on a SEM?
High
What is the depth of focus on a TEM?
Medium
What is the depth of focus on a light microscope?
Low
How hard is specimen preparation for a light microscope?
Easy
How hard is specimen preparation for a SEM?
Easy – the object must be thin but not as thin as in the TEM
How hard is specimen preparation for a TEM?
Skilled (object must be very thin)
Advantage of light microscope
We can view live specimens ( and in colour)
Disadvantage of light microscope?
Poor resolution - light has a long wavelength
What is the main advantage of a SEM?
Can view 3D structure
What is the main advantage of a TEM?
Very high resolution to view the smallest organelles.
What are the limitations of SEM and TEMs?
Black and white images
The whole system must be in a vacuum
Complex staining process required
Specimens must be thin (particularly for TEM)
Artefacts can be seen on photomicrograph (not part of the original specimen).
Define ultrastructure
The internal structure which suits the function of the cell.
What is the role of the nucleus? (Short)
The nucleus contains the organisms hereditary material and controls the cells activities
List and describe the different parts of the nucleus
The nuclear envelope : a double membrane surrounding the nucleus. It’s outer membrane is continuous with the endoplasmic reticulum and often has ribosomes on its surface. It controls the entry and exit of materials in and out of the nucleus and contains reactions
Nuclear pores: allow large molecules such as messenger DNA out of the nucleus.
Nucleoplasm: granular jelly-like material making up bulk of nucleus.
Chromatin: loosely coiled DNA
Nucleolus: manufactures ribosomes
What are the three functions of the nucleus?
Control protein synthesis
Retain the genetic material of the cell
Manufacture ribosomes
What is the function of mitochondria?
Site of aerobic respiration
Makes ATP
Describe the mitochondrion
They have a double membrane
Inner: forms extensions known as cristae which provide a large surface area for the attachment of enzymes involved in respiration.
Outer: controls entry and exit of materials