CELL PROCESSES AND MAINTANANCE

-Biology refers to the study of living things.

-All living things have the following characteristics.

1.They reproduce- production of young ones in order to increase numbers and prevent extinction.
2.They respire- the breakdown of food substances in order to release energy.
3.They excrete- the removal of waste products of metabolism; from the tissues.
4.They feed- intake of nutrients.
5.Sensitivity- they are able to detect stimuli in environment and respond accordingly.
6.Movement- either from place to place or in response to certain stimuli in the environment.
7.Breathing- exchange of the gases between the air and the bodies.
8.Growth- living things increase in size through continuous cell division.

CELL PROCESSES AND MAINTANANCE

CELL STRUCTURE
-All living things (plants and animals) are made up of cells. Cells vary a great deal in their size
and shape depending on their function. Nevertheless, it is possible to make a generalized drawing
to show features which are present in most cells.
-All cells have cell membrane, cytoplasm and organelles.
-Cell membrane, nucleus and cytoplasm are together called protoplasm.
-Cells containing protoplasm are said to be living.

Parts of a cell and their functions:

The following parts are found in both animal and plant cells.
a) Cell (surface) membrane- is a thin boundary enclosing the cytoplasm.
-It is selectively permeable (i.e, it has pores that allow some particles to pass through depending
on their size).
Function:
-To control movement of substances in and out of the cell; O2, food, H2O move in and waste
products move out.
-It also stops cell contents from escaping.

b) Cytoplasm- is a thick liquid with particles in it. The particles may be food reserves such as oil
droplets or granules of starch. Other particles are structures which have particular functions in
the cytoplasm. These structures are called organelles.
Function:
-It is the site for different chemical reactions.

Examples of organelles found in cytoplasm include:

i) Ribosomes:
-This is where proteins are made/synthesized from amino acids.
ii) Mitochondria:
-Where respiration occurs to release energy.
iii) Endoplasmic reticulum:
-Allow substances to move rapidly about within a cell.
iv) Nucleus:
-It is found almost in every cell.
Functions:
-Where genetic information is stored and therefore control the life of a cell (characteristics and
activities).
-It also control cell division.
v) Nucleolus:
-The region in the nucleus where a substance called RNA (Ribose Nucleic acid)
genetic/hereditary material is made.

Animal cell

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

Plant cell
Differences between plant and animal cell
-The following are structures/parts which are only found in plant cells and not animal cells.

1. Cell wall
-It is on the outside of the cell membrane.
-It is mainly made up of cellulose.
-It is freely permeable/not selective since it allows any substance to pass through e.g. water and
dissolved substances.
Functions:
-makes plant cells to have a rigid regular shape.
-provides structural support and protection against damage caused by osmotic intake of water.

2. Vacuole
-It is a large, permanent fluid-filled space.
-It contains cell sap, which is a watery solution of sugars, salts and pigments. The sap is
surrounded by vacuole membrane called tonoplast which is selectively permeable.
Function:
-stores food for the plant cell.
-applies turgor pressure onto cytoplasm and cell wall making plant cells firm.

3. Chloroplasts
-These are found scattered around cytoplasm of plant cells.
Functions:
-make and store chlorophyll.
-site for photosynthesis i.e. where plant food is made.

Cell specialization and organization

-Further specialization is shown when cells are organized into complex structures which are still
able to perform particular functions.
-The cell is the smallest unit of life.

examples: Plant cells Animal cells

Root hair cell Red blood cell
 Palisade cell White blood cell
Guard cell Skin cell
Epidermal cell Muscle cell

-Organisms made of one cell are called unicellular organisms e.g. paramecium, amoeba,
chlamydomonas, euglena. Those with many cells are called multicellular organisms e.g. plants
and animals.
-A group of similar cells is called a tissue.
examples in plants in animals
phloem bone tissue
xylem muscle tissue
palisade mesophyll

-An organ is a group of several different tissues forming a structure with a special function.
examples in plants in animals
root eye
stem ear
leaves stomach

-A system refers to a group of different organs working together to perform a common function.

examples
In plants- Reproductive; made up of stigma, style, ovary
- Transport; made up of vascular bundles, roots.

In animals- Reproductive; made up of ovaries, uterus, vagina

- Digestive; made up of mouth, intestine, stomach etc.

An organism is formed by the organs and systems working together to produce an independent
plant or animal.

Specialised cells
-There is a relationship between cell structure and function.
-When a cell grows and changes its shape and structure, that is, when it is modified, it becomes
adapted to do one particular job, that is, it becomes specialized.
-The cell may be modified to have certain features that make it perform its function better.

Specialised cells in animals

a) Nerve cell
Function:
Transport electrical impulses over a long distance in the body.
Modification:
-It has a very long fibre e.g. from foot to spinal cord, so impulses are carried over a long
distance.
-The fibres are covered with myelin sheath which provides insulation between fibres and
therefore prevents external interferences.
-Have dendrites to connect nearby nerve cells.

Structure:
b) Phagocytes (white blood cells)
Function:
-Defend the body against infection.
Modification:
-Has an irregular nucleus and shape, and therefore can change its shape and move about to
engulf harmful bacteria.
-Irregular nucleus also allows to squeeze through gaps in walls of capillaries.
Structure:

c) Red blood cell

Function:
-To carry oxygen in the blood from the lungs to the body cells.
Structure:
Modification:
-has spongy cytoplasm to absorb as much oxygen as possible.
-has an elastic cell membrane to squeeze even through tiny blood vessels (capillaries) to deliver
oxygen.
-have biconcave or disc like shape to increase the surface area for oxygen uptake.
-no nucleus to create more space for haemoglobin and in turn increase surface area for oxygen
uptake.
-has haemoglobin (red pigment) which has an affinity for oxygen and as such can form weak
bonds with oxygen called oxy-haemoglobin at places of high oxygen concentration e.g. lungs,
which readily break where oxygen levels are low e.g. cells.

d) Sperm cell
Function:
-Fuse with the ovum and form a zygote during fertilization.
Structure:
Modification:
-has a tail to swim in seminal fluid towards the ovum.
-it has X and Y chromosomes in the nucleus to determine the gender of the baby.

e) Ovum
Function:
-Fuse with sperm to form zygote.
Structure:

Modification:
-It has a large food store to provide the zygote with nourishment before implantation.

f) Muscle cell
Function:
-Contracts/relaxes to bring about movement of body structures.
Structure
Modification:
-has long and elastic fibres which can shorten to allow movement.

g) Ciliated cell
Function:
-To make flicking movements that move the mucus which has trapped dust and bacteria away
from the lungs.
Structure:

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC

BY
Modification:
-has cilia which continually make flicking movement to beat/sweep out mucus, to clear
respiratory passages.

h) Lymphocyte
Function:
-Produce chemicals called antibodies that kill bacteria.
Structure:

Modification:
-Large circular/bean-like nucleus contains many copies of genes for the control of antibody
protein production.

Specialised cells in plants

1. Root hair cell:

function:
-Increase surface area for water uptake from the soil.
Structure:

Modification:
-has projection/elongated structure to create more space for more water uptake.
-has concentrated vacuole to create osmotic gradient to increase rate of water absorption, by
osmosis.
-has large number of mitochondria to generate energy needed for active transport of ions.

2. Palisade cell
function:
-To make food through photosynthesis.
Structure:

Modification:
-has lots of chloroplasts to produce more chlorophyll to trap more light for photosynthesis.
-located close to the upper epidermis to receive more sunlight.
-they are surrounded by a film of moisture to dissolve CO2 before entering the cell.

3. Xylem cell
function:
-Transport water and dissolved minerals from the roots to top part of a plant.
-Supports the plant against physical damage.
Structure:

Modification:
-has dead hollow tube without cytoplasm to allow free flow of water.
-walls are lignified (coated with lignin) to withstand water pressure, reduce water loss and keep
the plant up straight.
-no end walls to form continuous vessels that do not hinder water flow.
-elongated to form long continuous vessels that carry water over a long distance.

4. Guard cells
function:
-To regulate the opening and closing of stomata.
Structure:

Modification:
-have curved shape and always paired to create stomatal pore.
-are able to change shape to close/open depending on whether its day or night/due to unevenly
thickened cell walls.

MOVEMENT OF SUBSTANCES IN AND OUT OF CELLS

Cells continually take in substances that they need and get rid of the waste products. Substances
may pass through the cell membrane either passively by diffusion and osmosis or actively by
active transport.

Diffusion
-Diffusion is a process whereby molecules of a substance move from a region of high
concentration to regions of low concentration/following a concentration gradient, until equally
distributed.
-The substance moving could be a gas, liquid or dissolved solutes.
-Concentration gradient refers to the difference in concentration of molecules in two regions.
-The effect of this difference in concentration is to make the molecules diffuse into/out of the
cell, until the concentration on both sides is the same.
e.g.
a)

b)
Factors affecting diffusion rate

1. Diffusion gradient: particles move faster across the cell membrane if the concentration
gradient or diffusion gradient is greater (N.B gradient here refers to difference in concentration).

2. Particle size: in general, the larger the molecules, the slower they diffuse and vice versa.

3. Temperature: the higher the temperature, the faster the reaction. As particles gain heat energy,
their overall motion increases too, which in turn increases their chances of passing through the
membrane.

Diffusion in gases and liquids

In gases:

In liquids:
After sometime the water is coloured purple because the particle colouring has diffused in it.

Examples of diffusion in plants

-Entrance of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the leaves for photosynthesis.
-Oxygen coming out of the leaves into the atmosphere.
-Absorption of mineral salts from the soil.

Examples of diffusion in animals

-Movement of oxygen from lungs into blood stream.
-Movement of carbon dioxide from blood into lungs.
-Movement of waste products like urea from cells into blood.
-Absorption of digested food from ileum into blood.

OSMOSIS

-It is the movement of water molecules from a region of high water potential to a region of low
water potential through a selectively permeable membrane.
-It is a special form of diffusion which only considers the movement of water molecules. In both
osmosis and diffusion, particles are moving along/following concentration gradient, i.e, from
where they are more to where they are less, the only difference is that in osmosis, the particles
that are moving are of water while in diffusion it can be of gases, solutes or solids.
-In osmosis water molecules move from dilute to concentrated solution.
-Solution refers to solute dissolved in a solvent e.g. sugar dissolved in water makes sugar
solution.
-In osmosis only the free water molecules move, that is, water molecules which are not attached
to solute molecules.
-Dilute solutions have more free water molecules and are said to have high water potential.
-Concentrated solutions have fewer free water molecules and are said to have low water
potential.
-If these 2 solutions are separated by a selectively permeable membrane, water molecules (not
solution) will be found to move from dilute to concentrated solution.
-This will cause the level of concentrated solution to rise while level of dilute solution goes
down. Refer to fig 4.10 page 29.
Effect of concentration gradient in the uptake of water by plants.

-Water moves into plants from the soil mainly through osmosis.
-One of the aspects that enhances the ability of root hair cells to absorb water efficiently is that
the cell sap in their vacuoles is highly concentrated with dissolved substances (mineral salts and
sugars).
-This creates an osmotic gradient between the vacuoles and soil water, meaning, there are more
free water molecules in the soil than in the vacuoles.
-As such, water from the soil will readily move into the root hair cells by osmosis. After diluting
the cell sap of one cell it will move to nearby cells until it reaches the xylem vessels which will
take it up the plant.

Draw fig 7.6 page 63

Uptake of water by diffusion

-Nutrients are taken up by plants in solution form. This means that they need to dissolve in water
first before they are absorbed by the plant.
-The movement of these dissolved nutrients into the plant is by simple diffusion, i.e, there is a
higher concentration of the nutrient solution in the soil than in the plant, so they diffuse in, down
concentration gradient into the plant.
-When nutrients move in, water is also taken up since the molecules of water are attached to the
nutrient particles, therefore water also moves in by diffusion in this case.

Effects of osmosis in plant tissues

-The cytoplasm and the cell sap of a plant cell contain salts, sugars and proteins. These make the
cytoplasm and cell sap to be concentrated solutions.
-Since the cell membrane is selectively permeable, if a plant cell is surrounded by water or by a
dilute solution, water will enter the cell vacuole by osmosis because of the difference in water
potential between the vacuole and the surrounding liquid.
-As the water enters, the vacuole expands and pushes the cytoplasm and the cell membrane onto
the cell wall.
-The cell wall of a mature cell can not be stretched, so when the cell is full of water, the wall will
not let any more water in. It will burst because of the protective cellulose cell wall. It just
becomes swollen and rigid.
-Such a plant cell, with its vacuole pushing the cytoplasm onto the cell wall is said to be turgid
because of the turgor pressure applied by the water entering the cell. The cell becomes firm/hard
and increases in size.
-If all the leaves on a stem are turgid the stem will be firm and upright while the leaves are held
upstraight, this is useful for maximum absorption of light energy for photosynthesis.

-If on the other hand, the solution outside the cell is more concentrated than the cell sap, water
will move out of the vacuole and the vacuole will shrink. This may pull the cell membrane away
from the cell wall, leaving the cell wall, leaving the cell plasmolysed. The condition is called
plasmolysis.
-If the vacuole loses water, then cell lose turgor pressure and become flaccid.
-A leaf with flaccid cells will be limp and the stem will droop, and a plant in this condition is
said to be wilted.
Effects of osmosis in animal tissues

-Since the cell membrane is selectively permeable, if an animal cell is surrounded by water or
dilute solution, the water molecules will move into the cell by osmosis.
-Water entering the cell makes it swell up.
-Unless the water uptake is controlled in some way, the cell will continue to swell and will then
burst because animal cells do not have cell walls for protection against turgor pressure.
-In red blood cells this is called haemolysis.
-This is because there are more water molecules on the outside than the inside- this difference in
water potential results in osmosis.
-If on the other hand a cell is surrounded by a solution which is concentrated, the water
molecules will move out of the cell by osmosis causing it to shrink.

Summary

Effects of osmosis

Plant cell Animal cell

in dil. soln in conc. soln in dil. soln in conc. soln

gains water loses water gains water loses water

becomes turgid flaccid/plasmolysed swells and burst shrinks

Experiments to demonstrate osmosis

Expt 1
1. Take 2 potato strips of the same length- 3cm. Place one in a test tube with sugar solution and
the other in distilled water. Leave for a day.

Observation
1. After a day, the potato strip in sugar solution is soft to touch and shorter in length.
2. The potato strip in distilled water is firm and increased in length.

Interpretation
-Because of more free water molecules in distilled water than in the potato strip, water moved
into potato cells by osmosis causing them to swell up and increase in size.
-But in sugar solution, there were fewer free water molecules than in the potato strips, water
moved from the cytoplasm/vacuole of the cells and become plasmolysed and flaccid.

Expt 2
Sugar solution can be put into a visking tubing which is selectively permeable, and then placed
into a beaker of distilled water. A capillary tube should be put inside the visking tubing and is
then tied firmly. The set up can be allowed to stand for some hours.

Observation
After some time it should be noted that the level of sugar solution in the capillary tube has
increased.
Interpretation
This indicates that water moved into the visking tubing by osmosis causing the level to rise/go
up.

Examples of osmosis

in plants
-uptake of water from the soil by root hairs.
-movement of water molecules from root hair cells across adjacent cells in the root up to the
xylem vessels.

in animals
-in kidneys: uptake of water from kidney tubules when the body is losing too much in sweat
(selective reabsorption).
-Water reabsorption from undigested material in the colon before they are passed out as faeces.
-Water coming out of cells into blood after respiration.

Active Transport
-This is an energy consuming process in which substances are transported against their
concentration i.e substances move from places of low concentrations to places of high
concentration using carrier molecules which are found along the cell membrane. e.g uptake of
nutrients in both plants and animals.

Draw fig 4.8 page 28

Differences between osmosis/diffusion and active transport

Diffusion Osmosis
-Involves movement of molecules of any only deals with movement of water molecules.
substance e.g liquids, gases, solutes except
water.
-No selectively permeable membrane required. requires membrane that is selectively
permeable for water molecules.

Active transport Passive transport (diffusion+osmosis)

-energy is used to move molecules. –no energy is used to move molecules.
-substances move against concentration - substances move along/following/down
gradient (from less to more). concentration gradient (from more to less).