Organisation Of An Organism

Cell structure and organisation

First of all, all organisms are made of cells. They are like the lego blocks of life. The syllabus
wants you to know how to draw a basic animal and plant cell, label its structures, and also
explain the functions of each of the structures too. 

At a very basic level, please refer to the diagram was below. The plant cell has everything that
an animal cell has, plus some added structures.

So all cells have a cell membrane which is what allows or disallows certain things entering and
exiting the cell. The nucleus contains genetic information (DNA) and the cytoplasm is a jelly-
like substance in which everything else in the cell is suspended in. The mitochondrion is the
“power house’ of the cell and the reason for this name is due to the fact that respiration occurs
here. Plants have some extra structures such as cell walls (to support the cell) and chloroplasts
for photosynthesis. You will learn more about these in future topics. Plants also have a
permanent vacuole, whereas animal cells have small temporary ones. 

 Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER)

 Ribosomes

The RER is basically a set of tubular membranes near the nucleus which have ribosomes
studded onto it, and the ribosomes are then used for protein synthesis.

These ribosomes can ether be found on the RER (as mentioned before) but it can be found free
in the cytoplasm as well. If you are comfortable with the first diagram, take a look at this one! 
 Structure & function summary

 Cell walls – Selective control of what goes in and out of the cell
 Nucleus – Carries genetic material (DNA) 
 Cytoplasm – Jelly like substance in which chemical reactions take place 
 Plant wall – Structural support for the cell 
 Chloroplast – Site of photosynthesis 
 Vacuole – Storage of nutrients 
 Rough endoplasmic reticulum – Studded with ribosomes 
 Ribosomes – Site of protein synthesis 
 Mitochondria – Site of aerobic respiration (cells with high metabolism rates will need lots of
these to offer sufficient energy)

Levels of organisation
There are levels of organisation that you need to be aware of. As we discussed before, the
smallest unit of a living thing is a cell. So that’s a good place to start. A group of cells are called
tissues, a group of tissues are called organs, and a group of organs are then called organ systems.
Take a look here: 

 Cell – The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism

 Tissue – Group of cells with similar structures working together to perform a shared function 
 Organ – Structure made up of a group of tissues, working together to perform specific
functions
 Organ system – Group of organs with related functions, working together to perform body
functions 

Now some cells have structures that help them with their particular function. There are a couple
of these examples that CIE wants you to know: 

 Ciliated cells 
 Root hair cells
 Xylem vessels
 Palisade cells 
 Nerve cells 
 Red blood cells 
 Sperm and egg cells

Each of the things above will naturally be covered in more detail in other topics in the syllabus
and therefore will not be covered here. 

Size of specimens
In the lab, a lot of biology is done under a microscope. For example, we can’t exam the cells of
a human tissue with our naked eyes right? Therefore the purpose of the microscope is to
magnify our specimen so that it appears bigger for us to be able to actually see. 

Naturally, the CIE syllabus wants you to be able to perform basic equations regarding
magnification, the image size (of the specimen) and the actual size (of specimen). Please
memorize the following equation: 

In an exam, they will always give you 2 out of the 3 factors in the equation and tell you to find
the missing one. This skill most frequently comes up in paper 5 and 6 (although it also comes up in the
multiple choice and occasionally the theory paper) and you will definitely have to calculate either
magnification, drawing size or actual size in a least one paper.

To ensure you do not lose marks:

 1. Always look at the units that have been given in the question – if you are asked to measure
something, most often you will be expected to measure it in millimetres NOT in centimetres –
double check the question to see!
2. Learn the equation triangle for magnification and write it on the page straight away
3. Don’t forget that magnification has NO UNITS – students often lose a mark because they put one
in

Adaptations of Specialised Cells in Animals

 Specialised cells are those which have developed certain characteristics in order to perform particular
functions. These differences are controlled by genes in the nucleus
 Cells specialise by undergoing differentiation: this is a process by which cells develop the structure and
characteristics needed to be able to carry out their funct
Ciliated cell
Nerve cell

Red blood cell

Sperm cell
remember that tissues are always made up of only one type of cell.
to ensure the best chance of success, make sure you are very clear on the difference between a cell, a tissue
and an organ