Basic Building Blocks

Question 1

What makes cell biology reductionist?

Answer 1

Studying parts helps understand the whole

Question 2

Discovery of cells stems from the inventions of..?

Answer 2

The microscope by Robert Hooke

Question 3

Cell theory was articulated in ________ by _______.

Answer 3

mid-1800s (Schleiden, Schwann, and Virchow)

Question 4

Cell theory

Answer 4

Living things are made of one or more cells, cells are the smallest unit of life, cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Question 5

What are cultured cells?

Answer 5

Cells that are grown and reproduce for extended periods (cultured cells are important for cell biology)

Question 6

Example of cultured cells

Answer 6

HeLa cells (isolated from a tumor from a cancer patient in 1951 and still cultured today)

Question 7

Prokaryotes include…

Answer 7

Bacteria and archea that arose ~3.7 billion years ago

Question 8

Eukaryotes include…

Answer 8

Protists, animals, plants, and fungi

Question 9

Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes can be differentiated by…

Answer 9

Their size and different type of organelles

Question 10

What is a chemoautotroph?

Answer 10

Organisms that use carbon dioxide as a carbon source and oxidize inorganic materials to extract energy

Question 11

The first prokaryote appeared _____ years ago. The first unicellular Eukaryote appeared _____ years ago.

Answer 11

~3900 - 2500 million and 1850 million years ago (Prokaryotes gave rise to eukaryotes)

Question 12

What are the major divisions of life?

Answer 12

Bacteria, archea, eukaryotes

Question 13

What is endosymbiont theory?

Answer 13

Organelles in eukaryotic cells evolved from smaller prokaryotic cells upon unsuccessful consumption (mitochondria and chloroplasts)

Question 14

Types of prokaryotic cells include…

Answer 14

Archea (methanogens, halophiles, acidophiles, and thermophiles) and Bacteria

Question 15

What are the smallest known cells?

Answer 15

Mycoplasma

Question 16

What are cyanobacteria?

Answer 16

Photosynthetic bacteria that give rise to green plants and an oxygen-rich atmosphere

Question 17

What is nitrogen fixation?

Answer 17

Chemical process that turns molecular nitrogen into ammonia or other nitrogen compounds (some bacteria are capable of doing this)

Question 18

What is Vorticella?

Answer 18

Complex ciliated protist with contractile ribbon in the stalk and a large macronucleus (example of how unicellular eukaryotes are complex)

Question 19

What is “differentiation” in terms of cell specialization?

Answer 19

A step in embryonic development where cells develop different arrangements and organelles in order to serve a specific function in the organism (despite differentiation, the cells will still have many common features)