Chapter 6 - Exchange Flashcards
name three things that organisms need to exchange with their environment
oxygen, waste products and heat
what is passive exchange
no metabolic energy is required
give two examples of passive exchange
diffusion and osmosis
what is active exchange
metabolic energy is required
give an example of active exchange
active transport
why can substances diffuse directly out of the cell across the cell surface membrane in single celled organisms
they have a large SA:V which ensures efficient exchange
why is diffusion across the cell membrane too slow in multicellular animals
there is a large distance between cell deep inside the body and the outside environment
large animals have a small SA:V so the exchange is inefficient
what is mass transport
the use of an efficient system to carry substances to and from individual cells
what is the exchange system in plants
xylem and phloem
how are multicellular organisms adapted for efficient exchange
they have a flat shape for a short diffusion pathway or they have specialised exchange surfaces to increase the SA:V
why dp specialised exchanged surface normally have a large SA:V
it increases the rate of exchange
why are specialised exchange surfaces normally very thin
the diffusion pathway is short so materials can cross the surface very rapidly
what is Fick’s law
surface area x concentration gradient / length of diffusion pathway
why do smaller organisms generally need a higher metabolic rate
smaller organisms normally have a larger surface area which means that much more heat is lost. they must have a higher metabolic rate in order to generate heat and stay warm
why might an animal living in the Arctic have round shape
it has a small surface area which reduces heat loss and helps the animal stay warm
why might an animal living in the desert have a pointed nose and long ears
both of these increase its surface area so it is easier to lose heat and stay cool
why might animals with a high SA:V have kidney structure adaptations
they tend to lose more water because of their large surface area so they produce less urine to compensate
why might mammals living in cold regions need to eat lots of high energy food like nuts
because of their large surface area they need fast metabolic rates
why do elephants have large ears
this increases their surface area so it is easier to cool down
what do most gas exchange systems have in common
they have a large surface area and are often just one cell thick
what are tracheae
an internal network of tubes supported by strengthened ring
what are tracheoloes
dead end tubes found on the end of tracheae
how does the insect respiratory system achieve a large surface area
there are lots of tracheoles which span the whole body
how does the insect respiratory system achieve a small diffusion pathway
the walls of the tracheoles are 1 cell thick
there is no chitin in the walls of the tracheoles for support they connect to the majority of cells
how does the insect respiratory
system achieve the maximum diffusion gradient
when the cells at the end of tracheoles are respiring the oxygen is used up and this creates a steep concentration gradient between the outside air and tracheoles
respiration also produces carbon dioxide in the cells which creates a steep concentration in the opposite direction. because of this oxygen diffuses into cells and carbon dioxide diffuses out
what are spiracles
tiny pores which cover the insects body and can be opened and closed on demand
how does the respiratory system of insects hinder their size
because the system relies mostly on the diffusion of gases into and out of the body the diffusion pathway must be short so insects must be a small size
why do insects keep their spiracles closed for most of the time
to avoid water loss by evaporation
how do insects move air into and out of the spiracles
their abdominal muscles can expand to lower the pressure and pull oxygen into the tracheoles then contract to increase the pressure and force carbon dioxide out of the tracheoloes then contract to increase the pressure and force carbon dioxide out of the tracheoles
what happens when anaerobic respiration occurs
lactate is produced in the muscles around traheoles which lowers their water potential. water therefore moves into these cells from the tracheoles by osmosis lowering the volume of water in the tracheoles. air gets drawn into the tracheoles because of the lower pressure. this increases the rate at which air is moved into tracheoles because diffusion is faster in a gas phase rather than in a liquid
what is the specialised gas exchange system in fish
gills
how do fish gills achieve achieve a high surface area
they consist of filaments and lamellae which are at right angles to the filaments
how do fish gills achieve a small diffusion pathway
there is a network of blood capillaries next to the lamellae which have one cell thick walls
what is countercurrent flow
the flow of water over the lamellae and the flow of blood inside them air in opposite directions. therefore the blood and water never reach equilibrium and oxygen continually diffuses into the blood the two never reach equilibrium
if fish didnt have a countercurrent flow mechanism what would be the maximum percentage of oxygen removed from the water
50% an equilibrium will be reached and no more oxygen will be extracted from the water because there is no concentration gradient
what percentage of oxygen is removed from the water
80%
what are the two processes that plants conducted
photosynthesis and aerobic respiration
equation for photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H20 -> C6H12O6 + 6H20
the equation for aerobic respiration
C6H1206 + 6O2 -> 6CO2 + 6H20
when photosynthesis isn’t occuring, why is carbon dioxide still produced
it is produced by aerobic respiration
state two ways in which gas exchange in plants is similar to that in insects
no living cell is far from the external air
diffusion takes place in the gas phase
how do plants balance the conflicting needs of gas exchange vs water loss
they have guard cells which can open and close stomata
why are the stomata mainly at the bottom of the leaf
reduces transpiration and evaporation as not in direct sunlight
what is the function of guard cells
to retain water when it is needed
what is the function of the waxy cuticle
to stop evaporation from the leaf surface
why must the cell surface be wet
to allow the gases to dissolve
how are mesophyll cells adapted in the leaf
they create big air spaces which increases the surface area available for diffusion
why can a leaf be a maximum of 10 cells thick
must have a short diffusion pathway
state three ways in which insect minimise water loss
they have a small surface area to volume ration they are surrounded by a waterproof coating spiracles