Fuels and Biofuels: Cellular Biosystems; an introduction Flashcards
What are cells?
The fundamental functioning units of all living things
How do cells affect us?
Every single thing we do is due to a process occurring at a cellular level
Cells are very small at 1-100 microns, why are they within this range?
The limitations of:
- SA:V ratio, needs to be MAXIMISED for efficient transport of materials
- Diffusion: SMALLER = higher rate of movement of fluids
- Concentrations of reactants: needs to be LARGE enough in order for there to be enough reactants for the cellular processes
What are prokaryotic cells? Give an example
- Cells that lack a nucleus and have no membrane bound organelles + are much smaller than eukaryotic cells
- Bacteria
What are eukaryotic cells? Give an example
- Cells that have a nucleus and have membrane bound organelle + are much larger than prokaryotic cells
- eg Plant, animal, fungi and protist cells
What is the thin outer layer called?
Plasma membrane
What do plant cells also have as an outer layer than animal cells don’t?
Cell wall
What is held in the nucleus?
DNA
What is the region between the nucleus and plasma membrane called?
Cytoplasm
What is the cytoplasm made of?
Cytosol
What are the parts of a cell suspended in cytosol called?
Organelles
What are the functions of the plasma membrane?
- Seperate the living cells from its non-living environment
- To control the passage of chemicals into and out of the cell
What are plasma membranes (and other forms of membranes) mostly made of?
Lipids and proteins
What doe the lipids of a membrane have attached? What are these called?
- They have a phosphate group attached
- Called a phospholipid
What do phospholipids form?
A phospholipid bilayer
How are the phospholipid bilayers bonded together in the membrane?
The hydrophobic tails (lipid) join together to from the inner part of the membrane (leaving the hydrophilic phosphate head on the outside and inside of the cell membrane FYI)
Plasma membranes are _____ permeable
selectively
What does the permeability the membrane allow it to do? Give some examples
- It means some substances can pass through easily while some are blocked
- eg O2 and CO2 can flow freely while glucose can only be transported using a transport protein
What does the DNA do?
Provides the code to make the proteins
What are mitochondria?
Organelles which convert food into chemical energy
What is the process that mitochondria do called? What doe they produce?
Respiration and produce ATP
How does the number of mitochondria in a cell relate to its energy consumption?
The more energy a cell uses the more mitochondria it will have
What is a cytoskeleton?
It is a tensegrity structure (FYI they have discontinuous compression elements that balance force generate by tension elements)
