Cell biology 4 Flashcards
How might substances move into and out of cells?
Across cell membranes via diffusion.
What is diffusion?
The random movement of particles in a substance from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower concentration.
Where does diffusion happen?
-Any substance in solution
-Particles of a gas
Give an example of some of the substances transported into and out of cells via diffusion:
-Oxygen and Carbon dioxide in gas exchange
-Urea (waste product) from cells into the blood plasma for excretion in the kidney.
What are the three factors that affect the rate of diffusion?
- the difference in concentrations (concentration gradient)
- temperature
- the surface area of the membrane
What in a single-celled organism allows sufficient transport of molecules into and out of cells to meet the organisms needs?
A relatively large surface area to volume ratio.
How does temperature affect the rate of diffusion?
A higher temperature means a faster diffusion rate because the particles have more energy, so move around faster.
How does the concentration gradient affect the rate of diffusion?
The bigger the concentration gradient, the faster the rate of diffusion.
How does the surface area of the cell membrane affect the rate of diffusion?
The larger the surface are of the cell membrane, the faster the diffusion rate, as more particles can pass through at once.
Why does diffusion happen in both solutions and gases?
The particles in these substances are free to move about randomly.
What is the simplest type of diffusion?
The diffusion of gases through each other.
Name some small molecules which can diffuse through cell membranes.
-Oxygen
-Glucose
-Amino acids
-(water)
Name some large molecules which cannot diffuse through cell membranes.
-Starch
-Proteins
Explain what is meant by net movement.
Particles in a substance in a solution or a gas are moving about randomly, so go both ways.
However, if there are a lot more particles on one side of the membrane, then there’s a net (overall) movement from that side.
What determines how easy it is for an organism to exchange substances with its environment?
The organism’s surface are to volume ratio.
Do smaller organisms have a smaller or larger surface are to volume ration than larger organisms?
Larger because the surface area will be more times bigger than its volume than for a larger organism.
How do we calculate surface area to volume ratios?
Draw a block around the image
Find the total surface area of the object by doing length x width for each face
Find the volume of the object using length x width x height.
Write the two answers in a ratio (SA:V) and then simplify the ratio.
Is 6:1 or 3:1 a larger surface area to volume ratio?
6:1 as the SA is 6x the volume compared to 3x the volume.
Why can substances diffuse directly into and out of the cell across the cell membrane in single-celled organisms?
They have a large surface area to volume ratio and so enough substances can be exchanged across the membrane to supply the volume of the cell.
Why do multicellular organisms need some sort of exchange surface for efficient diffusion?
They have a smaller surface area to volume ratio than single celled organisms.
This means that not enough substances can diffuse from their outside surface to supply their entire volume.
Which means that they need exchange surface structures to allow enough of the necessary substances to pass through.