Unit 3.3 - organisms exchange surfaces with their environ Flashcards
what is digestion?
- large molecules are broken down into smaller molecules which can move across all membranes, this means they can be easily absorbed from the gut into the blood to be transported around the body for use.
- large polymers are broken down into monomers using hydrolysis reactions
what is amylase?
- its a digestive enzyme that catalyses the conversion of starch (a polysaccharide) into the smaller sugar maltose (a disaccharide). this involves the hydrolysis of the glycosidic bonds in starch
- its produced by the salivary glands and by the pancreas
what are membrane-bound disaccharide?
- they are enzymes that are attached to the cell membrane of epithelial cells lining the ileum. they help break down disaccharides into monosaccharides
- monosaccharides can be transported across the cell membrane of ileum epithelial cells via specific transporter proteins
what is lipase?
- an enzyme that catalyses the breakdown of lipids into monoglycerides and fatty acids. this involves the hydrolysis of the ester bonds in lipids
- they are made in the pancreas and work in the small intestine
what are bile salts?
- they are important in the process of lipid digestion. several small lipid droplets have a bigger SA than a single larger droplet, so the formation of small droplets greatly increases the SA of lipid that is available for lipases to work on
- once the lipid has been broken down, the monoglycerides and fatty acids stick out with bile salts to form tiny structures called micelles
how are proteins broken down?
- by a combination of different proteases (peptidases) they are enzymes that catalyse the conversion of proteins into amino acids by hydrolysing the peptide bonds between amino acids
what are endopeptidases?
- they act to hydrolyse peptide bonds between amino acids in the central region of a protein molecule forming a series of peptide molecules.
what are exopeptidases?
- they act to hydrolyse the peptide bonds on the terminal amino acids of the peptide molecules formed by endopeptidases. they progressively release dipeptides and single amino acids.
how are mononsaccharides absorbed across cell membranes?
- glucose and galactose are absorbed by active transport with sodium ions via co-transporter protein,
- fructose is absorbed via facilitated diffusion through another transporter protein
how are monoglycerides and fatty acids absorbed across cell membranes?
- micelles help to move monoglycerides and fatty acids towards the epithelium. because micelles constantly break up and reform they can ‘release’ monoglycerides and fatty acids allowing them to be absorbed
- whole micelles aren’t taken up across the epithelium. monoglycerides and fatty acids are lipid-soluble so can diffuse directly across the epithelial cell membrane
how are amino acids absorbed across cell membranes?
- they.re absorbed via co-transport. sodium ions are actively transported out of the ileum-epithelial cells into the blood. Na+ ions can then diffuse from the lumen of the ileum into the epithelial cells through sodium-dependent transporter proteins, carrying the amino acids with them
in single-celled organisms how do substances diffuse?
- how quickly substances diffuse depends on the organisms SA to volume ratio
- they can diffuse directly into or out of the cell-surface membrane. the diffusion rate is quick due to the small distances
in multi-celled organisms how do substances diffuse?
- diffusion across the outer membrane is too slow as a) some cells are to deep within the body so there is a big distance between them and the outside environment or
b) larger animals have a lower SA to volume ratio so its harder to exchange enough substances to supply a large volume of animal through a small outer surface
what do multicellular organisms need?
- specialised exchange organs
- an efficient system to carry substances to and from their cells this is mass transport. in mammals, it refers to the circulatory system which uses blood to carry glucose, O2, hormones and waste around the body
- in plants mass transport involves the transport of water and solutes in the xylem and phloem
how does size affect the rate of heat loss?
- if an organism has a large volume, its SA is smaller. this makes it harder for it to lose heat from its body.
- if and organism is small, its SA is larger so heat is lost more easily. this means smaller organisms need a relatively high metabolic rate in order to generate enough heat to stay warm
how does shape affect the rate of heat loss?
- animals with a compact shape have a small SA to their volume which minimises heat loss from their surface
- animals with a less compact shape have a larger SA to their volume which increases heat loss from their surface. whether an animal is compact or not depends on the temp of its environment
what other adaptions aside from shape and size do animals have?
- animals with a high SA to volume ratio tend to lose more water as it evaporates from their surface eg small desert mammals have kidney structure adaptions so they produce less urine
- small mammals in cold places need to eat a big amount of high energy foods eg seeds to support their metabolic rates or have thick layers of fur/they hibernate
- larger organisms living in hot regions find it hard to keep cool as their heat loss is slow. eg hippos spend much of their day in the water a behavioural adaption
describe the structure of the respiratory system?
- as you breathe in, air enters the trachea which splits into two bronchi, one bronchus leading to each lung.
- each bronchus then branches off into smaller tubes called bronchioles which end in small ‘air sacs’ called alveoli
- the ribcage, diaphragm and intercostal muscles work to move air in and out
describe inspiration (breathing in)?
- the external intercostal and diaphragm muscles contract
- this causes the ribcage to move upwards and outwards and the diaphragm to flatten increasing the volume of the thoracic cavity and decreasing the lung pressure
- air will flow from and area of high pressure to low ie down the trachea to the lungs
- its an active process and requires energy
describe expiration? (breathing out)
- the external intercostal and diaphragm muscles relax
- the ribcage moves downwards and inwards and the diaphragm becomes curved again, the volume of the thoracic cavity decreases causing the air pressure to increase
- air is forced down the pressure gradient and out of the lungs
- its a passive process and doesn’t require energy
what is forced expiration?
- when you blow candles out
- the external muscles relax and the internal intercostal muscles contract, pulling the ribcage further down and in. the movement of the intercostal muscles is said to antagonistic
how does O2 and CO2 diffuse in the alveoli?
- O2 diffuses out of the alveoli, across the alveolar epithelium and the capillary epithelium and into the haemoglobin in the blood
- CO2 diffuses into the alveoli from the blood and is breathed out
what features do alveoli have to increase their rate of diffusion?
- a thin exchange surface - the alveolar epithelium in only one cell thick, its made from squamous epithelium which decreases the diffusion path
- a large SA - lots of alveoli
- cells produce surfactant which reduces surface tension of fluid in the alveoli which prevents the alveoli from deflating when we exhale
describe a fish’s gills? and adaptations?
- made up of lots of thin plates called filaments which gives a big surface area for exchange of gases
- the filaments are covered with lots of tiny structures called lamellae, which increase the SA more
- also have lots of capillaries and a thin surface layer of cells to speed up diffusion