Why are cells so small?

Goal: Explain why cells are microscopically small using the surface area to volume ratio.

Background: Each lab table has a tray with 3 different size agar cubes that will represent cells of different
sizes. Agar is simply a Jell-O like substance that dissolves in water when heated up and solidifies when it cools
back down (we will use a nutrient agar to culture bacteria in lab 6).

These particular agar cubes also had some phenolphthalein mixed in while they still liquid. Phenolphthalein is
an indicator chemical that detects the presence of acids and bases (chemical is a clear color in acidic / neutral
pH and pink in basic pH).

The different agar cubes have already been pre-soaked in a dilute base solution (0.1 M sodium hydroxide or
NaOH). Thus, the cubes should be fully pink inside (the base has already diffused into all parts of the cube).
Your group will eventually place these pink cubes into an acidic solution (0.1 M hydrochloric acid or HCl). As
the acid diffuses in, it will neutralize the base and turn that part of the cube clear again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=163&v=7zds4RfBx9M&feature=emb_title
Look at the video and answer the question:

Discussion:
1) Which of the cubes showed the most diffusion throughout its “cell”? Explain your results.

The smallest cube. The smallest cube was completely white, showing that the entire cube had diffused by the
base. The biggest cube only had about a ½ of an inch from the perimeter or 1/8 of its base measurement
diffused. The medium sized cube had a thicker white frame than the biggest cube with regards to the
proportions of each cube.

2) What cell structure does the surface area of the agar cube represent in this modeling activity (hint: it is letting
the HCl “nutrients” in, every cell has this structure)? What does the volume inside the cube broadly represent?
Explain two advantages to having membrane bound organelle structure.

SA – cell membrane
Volume – cytoplasm
1. Cells can confine potentially harmful proteins and molecules in membrane-bound organelles, protecting
the rest of the cells from their harmful effects.
2. It allows the organelles to be closer to each other without interfering without each other’s functions.

3) Explain why cells are microscopically small in general.

Cells are microscopically small in general so that they can maximize their surface area to volume ratio. This
way, they will be able to get the nutrients in and the waste out quickly.

4) There are two ways to maximize the SA / V ratio – either __increase___ surface area, and / or __decrease__
volume. What would be the ideal shape for a large cell and as efficient as possible?
The best shape for would depend on the function of the cell but the large cell would typically have microvilli to
absorb nutrients.