UNIT 2: Cellular Level of Organization Flashcards
_______ are the most basic structural and functional units of all living things.
Cells
Cells are made up primarily of the same WHAT four (4) elements?
**Tip: CHON
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
**CHON
What are the nine (9) cellular functions?
Tip: SED2M2C2R
- Differentiation
- Movement
- Conductivity
- Metabolic Absorption
- Secretion
- Excretion
- Respiration
- Reproduction
- Communication
**SED2M2C2R
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Unspecialized cells, like stem cells, become specialized through “maturation”; they also acquire specialized functions.
Differentiation
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
A necessary function in living organisms that enables them to grow, divide, and migrate to areas where they are needed.
Movement
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Chief function of nerve cells and cardiac cells. They respond to stimuli by generating nerve impulses that are connected to other cells.
Conductivity
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
All cells take in and use nutrients and other substances from their surroundings.
Metabolic Absorption
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Involves the regulated release of intracellular products from cells.
Secretion
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Process by which cells get rid of waste products or metabolic wastes.
Excretion
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Cellular process by which cells produce Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) through the absorption of oxygen.
Respiration
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Tissue growth occurs as cells enlarge and reproduce themselves. This also includes the production of new cells in order to replace cells lost through “apoptosis” (programmed cell death).
Apoptosis happens when cells detect molecular or metabolic errors within themselves; it helps prevent the propagation of cells that may cause cancer,
Reproduction
- CELLULAR FUNCTIONS -
Cells communicate with each other; critical for all other cellular functions to work, Maintains dynamic steady state.
Communication
What cellular function is when:
Nerve cells mature from stem cells and acquire the function of being conductive so that they can respond to stimuli through action potentials
Differentiation
What cellular function is when:
Muscle cells generate forces that produce motion; skeletal muscles produce limb movement and smooth muscles in blood vessels regulate blood flow through vasodilation and vasoconstriction.
Movement
What cellular function is when:
Neurons are able to transmit signals from one neuron to other neurons or muscles and glands in order to elicit a response to detected stimuli.
Conductivity
What cellular function is when:
Cells in the intestines and kidneys are specialized in carrying out absorption and reabsorption.
Metabolic Absorption
What cellular function is when:
Mucus gland cells can synthesize new substances, which they secrete as needed.
Secretion
What cellular function is when:
Degradation of wastes by lysosomes prior to their excretion.
Excretion
What cellular function is when:
Cellular respiration, which occurs in the mitochondria (hence, mitochondria is known as the powerhouse of the cell).
Respiration
What cellular function is when:
When organisms grow, it isn’t because cells are getting larger. Organisms grow because cells are dividing to produce more and more cells
Reproduction
What cellular function is when:
Synaptic signaling, which allows signaling or communication between two neurons.
Communication
- PARTS OF THE CELL -
A cell is divided into three (3) main parts:
- Plasma/Cell Membrane
- Cytoplasm (cytosol and organelles embedded)
- Nucleus
- PARTS OF THE CELL -
Regulates transport of materials entering and exiting the cell.
Plasma membrane
- PARTS OF THE CELL -
The _______ ________ is a flexible barrier that surrounds the cytoplasm of the cell.
Plasma membrane
- PARTS OF THE CELL -
This is the “basic framework of the plasma membrane”.
Made up of three (3) types of lipid molecules. What are these?
Lipid bilayer
- Phospholipids
- Cholesterol
- Glycolipids
- PARTS OF THE CELL: Lipid Bilayer -
Comprise 75% of lipids in the plasma membrane
Each molecule is “amphipathic”, meaning it has both polar and nonpolar regions.
—> Polar region (heads): Hydrophilic; faces both surfaces
—> Nonpolar region (tails): Hydrophobic; line up toeach other in the interior.
Phospholipids
- PARTS OF THE CELL: Lipid Bilayer -
Comprise 20% of the lipids
Weakly amphipathic and interspersed among other lipids in both layers.
Has steroid rings and hydrocarbon tails that are nonpolar and hide in the middle of the cell membrane.
Cholesterol
- PARTS OF THE CELL: Lipid Bilayer -
Comprise 5% of the lipids.
They have a “carbohydrate” that forms a polar head only on the side of the membrane facing the extracellular fluid.
Glycolipids