Cell Structure & Function
Cells - basic unit of structure and function in living things - form parts of organism
and carry out all of organism’s processes or functions
● Structure of living things are determined by way cells are put together
● Functions are processes that enable it to stay alive and reproduce
○ Obtain oxygen
○ Getting rid of wastes
○ Obtaining food
○ Growing
● Very small
Microscope - enabled people to look at very small objects - cells
● Robert Hook - looking at cork - saw small spaces “cells”
● Anton van Leeuwenhoek - one-celled organisms
● Schleiden, Schwann, Virchow - all living things are made of cells - cell theory
Cell theory - no matter how big or small
● All living things are composed of cells
● Cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living things
● All cells are produced from other cells
Microscope development
● Light microscopes - lenses magnify object by bending light that passes
through them - convex lens is thicker in center than edges
● Compound microscope - uses more than one lens - first lens magnifies object
- second lens magnifies enlarged image
● Resolution - sharpness of an image
● Electron microscope - beam of electrons instead of light to produce magnified
image
Cell structure - organelles - parts inside a cell that carry out specific functions
● Cell wall - rigid layer of nonliving material that surrounds plant cells
○ help protect and support cell
○ Made of cellulose
○ Water and oxygen can pass through
● Cell membrane - barrier surrounding cell - separates cells
○ Controls what substances enter and leave the cell
○ Keeps harmful substances out
● Nucleus - cell’s control center - directing activities
○ Nuclear envelope - membrane that protects nucleus - controls what
enters and leaves
○ Chromatin - thin strands floating in nucleus - contain genetic material -
instructions for cell’s functions
○ Nucleolus - where ribosomes are made - proteins are produced
● Cytoplasm - clear, thick, gel-like fluid filling cell
○ Constantly moving
○ Contains organelles
● Mitochondria - rod-shaped structures
○ “powerhouse” of cell
○ Convert energy in food molecules into energy cell can use
● Endoplasmic reticulum - maze of pathways
○ Carry proteins from part of cell to another
● Ribosomes - small, grain like bodies
○ Float in cytoplasm
○ Produce proteins
● Golgi bodies - flattened sacs and tubes - cell’s mail room
○ Receive proteins and other materials from endoplasmic reticulum
○ Distribute to other parts of cell
○ Release materials outside cell
● Chloroplasts - (plant cells only) - capture energy from sunlight to produce food
○ Makes leaves green
● Vacuoles - storage areas of cells
○ Plant cells have one large
○ Some animals cells have one - others do not
○ Store food and materials needed
○ Also store waste products
● Lysosomes - small round structures containing chemicals that break down
certain materials - cell’s clean up crew
Multi-celled organisms - containing many cells
● Cells → tissue → organ → organ system → organism
● Tissue - group of similar cells - perform specific function
● Organ - group of tissues that work together with other tissues that support and
protect it
● Organ system - group of organs that work together to perform a major
function
Bacteria - single cell organism
● Much smaller than plant or animal cell
● Has cell wall and cell membrane
● Does not contain nucleus
● Ribosomes in cytoplasm completes functions
Cells are made of atoms
● Pure elements - substance that cannot be broken down into simpler
substances - made of one kind of atom
● Compound - two or more elements combined chemically
Inorganic compounds - do not contain carbon
● Water
● Sodium chloride (table salt)
Organic compounds - found in living things - contain carbon
● Carbohydrate - energy-rich compound made of carbon, hydrogen, and
oxygen
○ Sugars and starches
○ Sugars combine to form large molecules called starches or complex
carbohydrates
○ Important for cellulose for cell wall and cell membranes
● Lipids - energy-rich compounds made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
○ Fats, oils and waxes
○ Contain more energy than carbohydrates
○ Important for cell membranes
● Proteins - made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sometimes sulfur
○ Large molecules made of smaller molecules called amino acids
○ Meat, eggs, fish, nuts, and beans
○ Important for cell membrane and many organelles
○ Enzyme - protein that speeds up chemical reactions in living cells
● Nucleic acids - long molecules made of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen
and phosphorus
○ Contains instructions cells need to carry out functions of life
○ DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid - genetic material - directs cell functions -
found in chromatin in nucleus
○ RNA - ribonucleic acid - important for producing proteins - found in
cytoplasm as well as nucleus
Water in the body
● ⅔ of your body is made up of water
● Chemical reactions within cells need water
● Helps cells keep size and shape
● Changes temperature slowly so keeps temperature of cells from changing
rapidly
Cell membrane - selectively permeable - allows some substances to pass through
while others cannot
● Diffusion - movement from area of higher concentration to area of lower
concentration - eventually spread out (passive transport - did not require
energy)
● Osmosis - diffusion of water through a selectively permeable membrane
(passive transport - did not require energy)
● Active transport - movement of material through cell membrane using cellular
energy
○ Transport proteins - carry molecules into or out of cell
○ Engulfing - cell membrane surrounds and encloses particle forming
vacuole
