Topic 8 Flashcards
what must all organisms do?
take in substances that they need from the environment and get remove any waste products
why do cells need oxygen?
for aerobic respiration which produces carbon dioxide as a waste product
how do oxygen and carbon dioxide move between cells and the environment?
by diffusion
how is water taken up by cells?
by osmosis
what substances diffuse with water in animals?
food molecules (the products of digestion) and mineral ions
what are some examples of food molecules which diffuse with water in animal cells?
glucose and amino acids
what are three substances which organisms exchange with the environment?
oxygen, water and urea
where does urea diffuse from cells to? and why?
urea diffuses from cells to the blood plasma for removal from the body by the kidneys
what does an organism’s ease to exchange substances with its environment depend on?
the organism’s surface area to volume ratio (SA:V)
what does a ratio show?
how large one value is compared to another
how does an organism’s SA:V vary with the size of the organism?
the larger an organism is, the smaller its surface area is compared to its volume
what is the equation for the area of a surface?
length x width
what is the equation for a volume of a block?
length x width x height
in single-celled/ unicellular organisms, how do substances diffuse into/ out of the cell?
the gases and dissolved substances can diffuse directly into/ out of the cell across the cell membrane because the cells have a large surface area compared to their volume, so enough substances can be exchanged across the membrane to supply the volume of the cell
how do multicellular organisms diffuse/ exchange substances to supply to the volume of the organism?
multicellular organisms need exchange surfaces for efficient diffusion and a mass transport system to move substances between the exchange surface and the rest of the body. this is because multicellular organisms have a smaller surface area compared do to their volume which makes it difficult to exchange substances to supply to their entire volume across their outside surface alone.
what are alveoli?
an exchange surface found in the lungs of mammals which are well-adapted for the efficient exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. they are in the form of small “air sacs”
how are gases exchanged in the lungs?
by diffusion
what three factors affect the rate of diffusion of any substance?
- distance
- concentration difference / concentration gradient
- surface area
how can distance affect the rate of diffusion?
substances diffuse faster when the substances don’t have to move as far
how can concentration gradient affect the rate of diffusion?
substances diffuse faster if there’s a large difference in concentration between the area the substances are diffusing from and the area the substances are diffusing to. this is because there is a greater concentration of particles to move from one side of the membrane to the other.
how can surface area affect the rate of diffusion?
the greater the surface area, the more surface there is available for the molecules to move across so the faster the molecules can travel from one side to the other.
what is the function of the lungs?
to transfer oxygen to the blood and to remove waste carbon dioxide from the blood
where does gas exchange happen in mammals?
in the lungs, in the alveoli
what is the singular form of “alveoli”?
alveolus
describe the process of gas exchange in the alveoli
- blood returning from the rest of the body and arriving at the lungs contains lots of carbon dioxide and a small amount of oxygen. this maximises the concentration gradient for the diffusion of the gases
- oxygen diffuses out of the air in the alveoli where the concentration of oxygen is is high and into the blood where the concentration of oxygen is low. carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite direction to be breathed ou
how are the alveoli specialised to maximise the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide?
- have a moist lining for dissolving gases
- have a good blood supply to maintain the concentration gradient of oxygen and carbon dioxide
- have very thin walls which minimises he distance that the gases have to move
- the alveoli have a huge surface area
what is the surface area of alveoli in humans?
75 m²
which cell membranes do oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across in the lungs?
the membranes of the cells which make up the walls of the capillary and alveolus.
what is Fick’s Law?
the rate of diffusion ∝ (is proportional to)
surface area x concentration difference
—————————————————
thickness of membrane
what does Fick’s Law describe?
the relationship between the rate of diffusion and the factors that affect the rate of diffusion
what would happen to the rate of diffusion if the surface area doubled?
the rate of diffusion would double
what would happen to the rate of diffusion if the difference in concentration doubled?
the rate of diffusion would double
what would happen to the rate of diffusion if the thickness of the membrane halved?
the rate of diffusion would double
what is blood?
a tissue
what one of the functions of the blood?
to act as a huge transport system in the body
what are the four main substances / cells in the blood?
- red blood cells
- white blood cells
- plasma
- platelets
what are red blood cells also known as?
erythrocytes
what is the function of red blood cells?
to carry oxygen from the lungs to all of the cells in the body
how are red blood cells adapted for their function?
- they have a biconcave shape to give a larger surface area for absorbing oxygen
- they don’t have a nucleus which allows more room to carry oxygen
- they contain haemoglobin
what is haemoglobin?
a red pigment in red blood cells which contains iron
how does haemoglobin release oxygen to the cells?
in the lungs haemoglobin binds to oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin.
in body tissues, the oxyhaemoglobin breaks into haemoglobin and oxygen to release oxygen to the cells
what are the two types of white blood cells?
phagocytes and lymphocytes
what are phagocytes?
white blood cells which can change shape to engulf microorganisms
what is the process called when phagocytes change shape to engulf microorganisms?
phagocytosis
what are lymphocytes?
white blood cells which produce antibodies against microorganisms. some produce antitoxins as well.
why do some lymphocytes produce antitoxins?
to neutralise any toxins produced by microorganisms
state what your white blood cells do when you have an infection
the white blood cells multiply to fight the infection
when would a blood test show a high white blood cell count and why?
when you have an infection, this is because the white blood cells multiply to fight the infection off
do white blood cells contain a nucleus?
yes, unlike red blood cells
what are platelets?
small fragments of cells
do platelets have a nucleus?
no
what is the function of platelets?
to help the blood clot at a wound
why do wounds need to clot?
to stop the blood pouring out of the wound and to stop microorganisms from entering the body