Ch 1: Cells & Microscopy Flashcards
What is a cell
The basic structural and functional unit of an organism
What is the role of the cell membrane
To control the substances that enter or leave the cell
What are the two key types of microscopes
- light microscope
- electron microscope (more advanced)
What are the parts of a microscope (8)
- Eyepieces (ocular lens)
- Trinocular (camera) port
- Objective lens
- Stage
- Condenser
- Light bulb
- Coarse focusing
- Fine focusing
Function of eyepieces
Key definition: Focuses image from the objective to the eye.
Look through as an observer to see what you want to observe in the microscope (always 10x magnification), both eyes should be open for an accurate observation
Function of objective lens
Key definition: collects light passing through the specimen and produces a magnified image.
Magnifies an image, either by 10x, 40x and 100x magnification
Function of the stage
Where you put the slide (containing specimen)
Function of condenser lens
Key definition: focuses the light onto the specimen held between the cover slop and slide.
Concentrates light onto the slide so it flows through and illuminates the specimen
Fine/Coarse focusing
Changes and adjusts the resolution of the image
what is magnification
magnification is the number of times by which an image is bigger than the actual object
what is resolution
the ability to distinguish between two objects which are very close together. A higher resolution means more detail can be seen
Formula for magnification
Magnification = Image size/actual size
How big is a micrometer
10^-6 of a meter (mm is 10^-3of a meter)
How big is a nanometer
10^-9 of a meter (mm is 10^-3 of a meter)
how to observe cellular material in more detail
- specimens can be prepared for viewing under a light microscope
- Samples need to be thin enough to allow light to pass through
Biological drawings rules
- The drawing must have a title
- The magnification under which the observations shown by the drawing are made must be recorded
- A sharp HB pencil should be used (and a good eraser!)
- Drawings should be on plain white paper
- Lines should be clear, single lines (no thick shading)
- No shading
- The drawing should take up as much of the space on the page as possible
- Well-defined structures should be drawn
- The drawing should be made with proper proportions
- Label lines should not cross or have arrowheads and should connect directly to the part of the drawing being labelled
- Label lines should be kept to one side of the drawing (in parallel to the top of the page) and drawn with a ruler
What is an eyepiece graticule
- it is used to measure the size of the object when viewed under a microscope
- it is a disc placed in the eyepiece with 100 divisions, this has no scale
What is a stage micrometer
- used to measure the size of the object when viewed under a microscope
- a slide with a very accurate scale in micrometres (µm), it is usually in 10 µm divisions, so 1 mm divided into 100 divisions
How to calibrate a microscope
To know what the divisions equal at each magnification the eyepiece graticule is calibrated to the stage micrometer at each magnification
How to find the length of a graticule division
1 graticule division = number of micrometres ÷ number of graticule division
How to calculate total magnification
eyepiece lens magnification x objective lens magnification
= total magnification
How is resolution and magnification affected by wavelength of light
- The resolution of a light microscope is limited by the wavelength of light
- As light passes through the specimen, it will be diffracted
- The longer the wavelength of light, the more it is diffracted and the more that this diffraction will overlap as the points get closer together
Why do electron microscopes have a much higher resolution and magnification than a light microscope
- Electron microscopes have a much higher resolution and magnification than a light microscope as electrons have a much smaller wavelength than visible light
- This means that they can be much closer before the diffracted beams overlap
What is a photomicrograph
images obtained from a light microscope, these are used for specimens above 200 nm (a bacteria cell is about 1000 nm)
What is the cell membrane (purpose and characteristics)
- All cells are surrounded by a cell surface membrane which controls the exchange of materials between the internal cell environment and the external environment
- The membrane is described as being ‘partially permeable’
- The cell membrane is formed from a phospholipid bilayer of phospholipids spanning a diameter of around 10 nm
What is the cell wall (purpose and characteristics)
- Cell walls are formed outside of the cell membrane and offer structural support to cell
- Structural support is provided by the polysaccharide cellulose in plants, and peptidoglycan in most bacterial cells
- Narrow threads of cytoplasm (surrounded by a cell membrane) called plasmodesmata connect the cytoplasm of neighboring plant cells
what are the characteristics of the nucleus
- relatively large
- separated from the cytoplasm by a double membrane called the nuclear envelope which has many pores (for travel of mRNA, ribosomes, enzymes and signaling molecules
- contains chromatin
- at least one more darkly stained regions can be observed (nucleolus, site of ribosome production)
What are the characteristics of chloroplasts
- Larger than mitochondria, also surrounded by a double-membrane
- Membrane-bound compartments called thylakoids containing chlorophyll stack to form structures called grana
- Grana are joined together by lamellae (thin and flat thylakoid membranes)
- Also contain small circular pieces of DNA and ribosomes used to synthesise proteins needed in chloroplast replication and photosynthesis
Purpose of chloroplasts
Chloroplasts are the site of photosynthesis:
- The light-dependent stage takes place in the thylakoids
- The light-independent stage (Calvin Cycle) takes place in the stroma
properties of large permanent vacuole
- sac in plant cells surrounded by the tonoplast, a selectively permeable membrane
- vacuoles in animal cells are not permanent and small
purpose and characteristics of vesicles
membrane bound sac for transport and storage
purpose and characteristics of microvilli
cell membrane projections that increase the surface area for absorption
purpose and characteristics of flagella
- similar in structure to cilia, made of longer microtubules
- contract to provide cell movement for example in sperm cells
where do all new cells come from
all new cells arise from already existing cells
what is a cell
a cell is the basic structural and functional unit of an organism
what does the cytoplasm contain
- cytosol (semi fluid)
- organelles (suspended in cytosol)
what is an organelle
an organised structure within a cell in which specialised functions are carried out
what is the protoplasm
the living part of the cell, the nucleus+cytoplasm
what is a protoplast
a plant/fungal cell with its cell wall removed
what is the structure of a nucleus
- largest organelle
- may have mutiple nucleoli
- 10 micrometer
- spherical in a drawing (3D)
- round in a micrograph
- enclosed by 2 membranes
- outer membrane connected/continuous to rough endoplasmic reticulum
what is the nuclear envelope
- made up of double membrane (outer and inner)
- encloses nucleus
- they join to form the nuclear pore
what is the nuclear pore
- enclosed by nuclear proteins
- where the double membrane meets
- controls entry and exit of material through the nucleus
what are nucleoli (singular nucleolus
- irregular shape
- may have multiples in nucleus
- synthesizes ribosomes and rRNA
What are the characteristics and properties of lysosomes?
- specialist forms of vesicles which containhydrolytic enzymes (enzymes that break biological molecules down)
- break down waste materials such as worn out organelles, used extensively by cells of the immune system and in apoptosis (programmed cell death)
What are the key features ofan animal cell electron micrograph
- Golgi apparatus
- rough endoplasmic reticulum
- nucleus
- mitochondria
Picture: https://cdn.savemyexams.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Animal-Cell-micrograph-2.png
What are the key features of a plant cell electron micrograph?
- -Mitochondria
- Chloroplast
- Vacuole
- cell wall
- Nucleus
- nucleolus
- image:https://cdn.savemyexams.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Plant-Cell-Micrograph-2.png
What structures do animal cells have?
- centrosome with two centrioles close to the nucleus and at right angles to each other
-Lysosome - mitochondrion
- rough endoplasmic reticulum
-Nucleus(with nucleolus,chromatin,nuclear
pore, nuclear envelope 2x membrane
-smooth endoplasmic reticulum
-Cytoplasm - cell surface membrane
-Ribosomes
-microtubules radiating from centrosome
-Golgi body
-Golgi vesicle
-microvilli
What structures do plant cells have?
- Plasmodesma
- vacuole (with cell sap and tonoplast)
- cell surface membrane(pressed against cell wall)
- smooth endoplasmic reticulum
- nucleus (with nuclear pore,nucleolus, chromatin, nuclear envelope)
- rough endoplasmic reticulum
- microtubule
- Ribosomes
- chloroplast (with envelope and grana
- Mitochondrion
- Cytoplasm
- Golgi body
- golgi vesicle
- Chloroplast
- middle lamella
Why do organisms require a constant supply of energy?
All organisms require a constant supply of energy to maintain their cells and stay alive
Why is energy required for anabolic reactions in cells?
For building larger molecules from smaller molecules
Why is energy required for movement of substances?
To move substances across the cell (active transport) or to move substances within the cell
What is energy required for in animals?
- For muscle contraction, to coordinate movement at the whole organism level
- in the conduction of nerve impulses, as well as many other cellular processes
What are nucleotides?
Complex chemicals made up of an organic base, a sugar and a phosphate. They are the basic units from nucleic acids DNA and RNA are made
What is the general cellular structure of prokaryotes?
- their genetic material is not packaged within a membrane-bound nucleus and is usually circular (eukaryotic genetic material is packaged as linear chromosomes)
-Prokaryotes lack membrane-bound organelles - they are many (100s/1000s)of times smaller than eukaryotic cells
- their ribosomes are structurally smaller (70S)in comparison to those found in
Eukaryotic cells (80S)
Which structures are always found in prokaryote cells
- Cell wall (containing peptidoglycan)
- cell surface membrane
- Cytoplasm
- Circular DNA
- Ribosomes
Which structures are sometimes found in prokaryote cells
- flagellum (for motion)
- capsule (for protection)
- Infolding of cell membrane to carry out photosynthesis or nitrogen fixation
- Plasmid (small circle of DNA)
- Pili (for attachment to other cells or surfaces; involved in sexual reproduction)
What sizes are prokaryotes?
1.5-10 micrometer
What size are eukaryotes?
10-100 micrometer (red blood cells are the exception with a size of 7 micrometers)
What genome do prokaryotes have?
DNA circular with no proteins, in the cytoplasm
Which genome do eukaryotes have?
DNA is associated with histones (proteins) formed into chromosomes
How does cell division happen in prokaryotes
Occurs by binary fission, no spindle involved
How does cell division happen in eukaryotes
Occurs by mitosis or meiosis and involves a spindle to separate chromosomes
what size ribosomes do prokaryotes have?
70S ribosomes
what size ribosomes do eukaryotes have
80S ribosomes
What kind of organelles do prokaryotes have?
-Very few membrane-bound organelles
What type of organelles do eukaryotes have?
Numerous types of organelles:
- Membrane-bound single membranes
- lysosomes
- Golgi complex
- Vacuoles
- double membranes
- Nucleus
- mitochondria
- Chloroplast no membrane
- Centrioles
- Ribosomes
- Microtubules
What are prokaryotes cell walls made of?
Made of peptidoglycan (polysaccharide and amino acids) and murein
What type of cell walls do eukaryotes have?
Present in plants (made of cellulose or lignin)and fungi (made of chitins similar to cellulose but contains nitrogen)
What are viruses?
Viruses are non-cellular infectious particles that straddle the boundary between ‘living’and ‘non-living’
What is the structure of viruses?
-They are relatively simple in structure, much smaller than prokaryotic cells (with diameters between 20 and 300 nm)
- they have a nucleic acid core (their genomes are either DNA or RNA and can be single or double-stranded)
- a protein coat called a capsid
- an envelope (a membrane-like outer layer),
Made up of phospholipids may be present in some viruses
What is a virus envelope
- outer layer formed usually from the membrane
- made of phospholipids
How do viruses reproduce?
- it is parasitic
- infecting living cells and using their ribosomes with DNA and RNA inside to produce new viral particles
- the virus converts the host cell into a ‘viral production factory ‘
Why/how are light microscopes and electron microscopes different?
Electron microscopes differ from light microscopes because they produce the image of a specimen using a beam of electrons. Visible light is used in the light microscopes to magnify images of tiny areas of materials or biological specimen. Electrons have a much shorter wavelength than light and this allows electron microscopes to produce higher resolution images
How big are viruses?
most viruses are 20-300 nanometers
what is the structure of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum?
- no ribosomes
- tubular cisternae
what is the function of the rough endoplasmic reticulum
to synthesize proteins to be transported outwards towards the cell surface membrane/away from the nucleus
where do materials travel through in the endoplasmic reticulum
the cisternae transport the materials in the liquid space inside