Chapter 2A: Cell Structure Flashcards
What is the formula for magnification?
=image size/actual size
What is magnification?
it is how much bigger a sample appears to be under the microscope than it is in real life
What is resolution?
it is the ability to distinguish between two parts of an image (the amount of detail)
What are artefacts?
they are things that you can see down a microscope that are NOT part of the cell/specimen. They are bad because they can be misinterpreted by someone for a part of the cell (inaccurate description of cell)
What are some examples of artefacts?
dust
air bubbles
fingerprints
problems with staining
Where are artefacts most common?
in electron micrographs
because specimens need a lot of preparation before being used in an E.M. so more chance of a mistake
also have higher resolution, so more likely to pick up artefacts
When are artefacts most likely to be made?
during the preparation of the slide
How could artefacts be distinguished from organelles for early scientists?
they do this by repeatedly preparing specimens in different ways and using different microscopes. If an object was seen regularly was more likely to be an organelle than an artefact
What are the three steps to separate a cell? (to study specific organelles)
- homogenisation
- filtration
- ultracentrifugation
What is homogenisation?
breaking the cell plasma membrane and releases the organelles into a solution
this can be done by putting it in a homogeniser (blender) or vibrating the cells
What conditions must the homogenate have and what effect does it have?
- must be kept ice-cold (to slow down enzyme activity)
- sol. must be isotonic (with cell) to avoid OSMOTIC damage to the organelles (NOT CELLS)
- a buffer sol. is added to maintain pH and prevent denaturation of proteins
Why must the conditions of a homogenised solution be so specific?
this is so that the specimen does not change (or broken down by enzymes and osmotic damage)
What is filtration?
the homogenised cell solution is filtered through a gauze to remove large cell or tissue debris, the organelles are small enough to pass through the gauze
get rid of the large, unnecessary parts of the cell
What is a homogenate?
the homogenised cell solution
What is ultracentrifugation?
the filtered sol. is poured in a tube and spun in a centrifuge at a LOW speed
the heaviest organelles are flung to the bottom and form a pellet, other organelles remain suspended in fluid, called the supernatant
process is repeated at higher speeds each time
What is the order of mass of organelles?
nuclei heaviest
chloroplast
mitochondria
lysosomes
endoplasmic reticulum
ribosomes lightest
What is the difference between a light and electron microscope?
Light / Electron microscope
- Uses light / -uses an electron beam
- Takes few mins to prepare /-longer to prepare (day)
- live or dead specimen / -only dead specimen
- inexpensive / -expensive
mag. - x1500 / -mag.- x1,500,000
Why does an electron microscope have a higher resolving power?
this is because the wavelength of an electron beam is a lot shorter than the wavelength of light so its better for resolution
What are the two types of electron microscopes?
TEM=transmission electron microscope
SEM= scanning electron microscope
How does a SEM work?
it scans a beam of electrons across the specimen, it knocks electrons off the specimen which are gathered in a cathode ray tube to form an image.
it only shows only the surface of the specimen
makes a 3D image of SURFACE
(lower resolution that TEM)
Hows does a TEM work?
they focus a beam of electrons on the cell which travels THROUGH the cell
on the image, denser parts of cell absorb more electrons so show up darker
whiter parts are less dense (less resistance of the electrons)
can see inside the cells
What are eukaryotic cells and 4 examples?
- make up uni-cellular organisms
- more complex, larger
- most organelles are membrane bound
- genetic material is enclosed in the nucleus
- e.g-animal, plant, fungal and algal
How do algal and fungal cells compare to plant cells?
algal cells are very similar to plant cells
so are fungal cells but they have no chloroplasts and their cell walls are made of chitin, not cellulose
What is the cell surface membrane made up of?
a phospholipid bilayer,
also includes lipids and proteins
What is the structure of the nucleus?
a large organelle, surrounded by a nuclear envelope which contains many pores
also contains a nucleolus at centre of nucleus
chromatin= DNA when its not heavily coiled into a chromosome
What is the function of the nucleus and the nucleolus?
nucleus= control’s cells activities and DNA contains instructions to make proteins
nucleolus makes ribosomes
What is the structure of mitochondria?
have an inner membrane and an outer membrane
the inner is folded to form cristae
inside it is the MATRIX, which contains enzymes for respiration
contains 70s ribosomes
What is the function of mitochondria?
site of AEROBIC respiration, aerobic respiration produces ATP
What is the structure of chloroplasts?
has a double membrane
contains many thylakoid membranes which form stacks called grana
grana are linked by lamellae
stroma is the liquid inside the inner membrane
What is the function of the golgi apparatus?
it modifies and repackages proteins and lipids for specific destinations inside/outside the cell
vesicles fuse with the golgi apparatus membrane
also produces lysosomes
What is the structure of the golgi apparatus?
a group of fluid filled membrane bound flattened sacs
vesicles can fuse and leave golgi apparatus