Biology notes:

Introduction to cells:
Cell- The smallest, basic unit if life that is responsible for all of life’s
processes. Often referred as the living organisms’ building block. The cell is also
referenced as a room, compartment.
How does a cell look like a room?
1. For example, furniture in a room can be the organelles of cells.
2. The walls and the roof of the room can be cell wall.
3. The space in the room can be the cytoplasm.
If something is made of cells, then it is a living thing.
Bacteria is a living thing but, viruses are not living things.
The main difference between plant and animal cells is that the animal cells
don’t have cell walls.
There are 2 types of cells (so far):
1. Eukaryotic cells
2. Prokaryotic cells

Prokaryotic cells- Unicellular cells that don’t have organelles or other

membrane-bound structure. These types of cells do not have a nucleus, but
instead have a nucleoid. Prokaryotic cells can’t be multicellular.

Unicellular- Consisting of only one cell. (bacteria, yeast, paramecium,

amoeba)

Eukaryotic cells- Multicellular organisms whose cells have a nucleus

enclosed within a nuclear envelope.

Multicellular- Consisting more than one cell. (animals, plants)

Organelles- Membrane enclosed structure inside a cell with a particular
function.
Compartments= organelles.

Cytoplasm- It is a jellylike substance that makes up inside of a cell. The

organelles of eukaryotic cells are contained in the cytoplasm.
Cell wall- A structural layer surrounding plant cells that is made of cellulose. It
provides cells with structural support and protection. It doesn’t count as an
organelle because it’s just outside of the cell membrane and it’s not a
subcellular structure.

Vacuole- A space in a cell, surrounded by a membrane that is containing a

solution and a cell sap.
Animal cells have a smaller membrane-bound space called vesicles. These
vesicles contain food or water.

Chloroplast- a plastid in green plant cells which contains chlorophyll and in

which photosynthesis takes place. There aren’t any chloroplasts in animal cells.
Chloroplasts contain starch grains, which animal cells don’t. Instead they have
a similar substance called glycogen.

Chlorophyll- A green pigment inside a chloroplast that absorbs energy from

sunlight and makes it food for the plant. This process is called photosynthesis.

Nucleus- A part of the eukaryotic cell where genetic information is stored.

They contain chromosomes in which the information is kept, and they are
made from DNA.

Mitochondria- Mitochondria is the powerhouse of a cell. They are found in

all cells except prokaryotic cells. Inside them the process of aerobic respiration
happens. This is when oxygen is used to release energy from glucose.

Ribosome- A sphere shaped structure in the cytoplasm that is composed of

RNA and protein.

Differences of plant and animal cells:

1. Plant cells have cell wall when the animal cells don’t.
2. Plant cells often have chloroplasts containing chlorophyll, but animal cell
don’t.
3. Plant cells often have large vacuoles containing cell sap, but animal cells
only have small vacuoles and don’t have cell sap.
4. Plant cells have starch grains when animal cells only have glycogen.
5. Plant cells are often in a regular shape when animal cells are in an
irregular shape.
Micro- Means small. (milli, micro, nano, pico, femto)
Macro- Means big. (kilo, mega, giga, tera)
Milli= 10-3 (1000 times less)
Micro= 10-6 (1,000,000 times less)
We also use this mark for micro (µ)
Nano= 10-9 (a billion times less)
Kilo= 103 (1000 times more)
Mega= 106 (1,000,000 times more)
Giga= 109 (a billion times more)
 Red blood cell= 7.5µm
White blood cell= 12µm
Human egg cell= 140µm
Smooth muscle cell= 200µm
Virus cell= approx. 150µm

Levels of organization:
Cell< Tissue< Organ< System< Organism

Tissue- A group of cells that specialize in the same activity.

Organ- A part of a system that has a specific job which is made of a group
of tissues.

Organ system- A group of organs that work together to perform a specific

function.

Stem cells- Stem cells- the kind of cells that have the potential to become
anything like brain cells, nerve cells, muscle cells and sometimes they can
recover damaged tissues. Stem cells do not specialize.

Specialization- The structural adaptation of some body part for a particular

function.

There are 3 domains of life:

1. Eukarya (Plants, animals, fungi, Protista)
2. Prokaryotes (Bacteria)
3. Archaea