Fuels and Biofuels: Cellular Biosystems; an introduction

Question 1

What are cells?

Answer 1

The fundamental functioning units of all living things

Question 2

How do cells affect us?

Answer 2

Every single thing we do is due to a process occurring at a cellular level

Question 3

Cells are very small at 1-100 microns, why are they within this range?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What are prokaryotic cells? Give an example

Answer 4

• Cells that lack a nucleus and have no membrane bound organelles + are much smaller than eukaryotic cells
• Bacteria

Question 5

What are eukaryotic cells? Give an example

Answer 5

• Cells that have a nucleus and have membrane bound organelle + are much larger than prokaryotic cells
• eg Plant, animal, fungi and protist cells

Question 6

What is the thin outer layer called?

Answer 6

Plasma membrane

Question 7

What do plant cells also have as an outer layer than animal cells don’t?

Answer 7

Cell wall

Question 8

What is held in the nucleus?

Answer 8

DNA

Question 9

What is the region between the nucleus and plasma membrane called?

Answer 9

Cytoplasm

Question 10

What is the cytoplasm made of?

Answer 10

Cytosol

Question 11

What are the parts of a cell suspended in cytosol called?

Answer 11

Organelles

Question 12

What are the functions of the plasma membrane?

Answer 12

• Seperate the living cells from its non-living environment

- To control the passage of chemicals into and out of the cell

Question 13

What are plasma membranes (and other forms of membranes) mostly made of?

Answer 13

Lipids and proteins

Question 14

What doe the lipids of a membrane have attached? What are these called?

Answer 14

• They have a phosphate group attached

- Called a phospholipid

Question 15

What do phospholipids form?

Answer 15

A phospholipid bilayer

Question 16

How are the phospholipid bilayers bonded together in the membrane?

Answer 16

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)

Question 17

Plasma membranes are _____ permeable

Answer 17

selectively

Question 18

What does the permeability the membrane allow it to do? Give some examples

Answer 18

• 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

Question 19

What does the DNA do?

Answer 19

Provides the code to make the proteins

Question 20

What are mitochondria?

Answer 20

Organelles which convert food into chemical energy

Question 21

What is the process that mitochondria do called? What doe they produce?

Answer 21

Respiration and produce ATP

Question 22

How does the number of mitochondria in a cell relate to its energy consumption?

Answer 22

The more energy a cell uses the more mitochondria it will have

Question 23

What is a cytoskeleton?

Answer 23

It is a tensegrity structure (FYI they have discontinuous compression elements that balance force generate by tension elements)