NOTES 7.2 &7.

3
Chloroplast:
 Solar power plants capture energy from sunlight and convert it into food that
contains chemical energy.
 A double-membraned organelle which is the is the site of photosynthesis.
Plants use the sun's energy to produce sugar.
 Chloroplasts and mitochondria are both involved in energy conversion
processes within the cell.
 Chemical equation of photosynthesis: 6H2O(water) + 6CO2 (chlorophyll)
sunlight = C6H2O6 + 6O2
Taking place during the day in the chloroplast (in green plants):
In plant cells
chloroplast contains chlorophyll (green pigment).
Plants are producers or autotrophs (they make their own food).

Mitochondria:
 Mitochondria: are the power plants of cells (site of energy production).
 Have a double membrane. The outer membrane is smooth, the inner
The membrane is folded into a cristae.
 Inside the inner membrane is a semi-fluid substance called matrix, which
contains DNA, ribosomes, calcium phosphate granules, and enzymes.
 They convert the chemical energy stored in food into compounds that are
more convenient for the cell to use.
 mitochondria is present in plant and animal cells.
C6H12O6 + 6O2 = energy + 6O2 + 6H2O

cellular respiration: Takes place there a night by the cells.

CELLULAR BOUNDARIES:
 The cell wall is a strong supporting layer present mainly in plant cells
(eukaryotic),prokaryotes and fungi.
 cells are surrounded by a barrier known as the cell membrane.
 The structure of the cell wall is made up of cellulose (hard material) in
plants and it is made up of chitin in fungi.
 Cell walls are porous to allow the exchange of water and gases.
 Some plant cells produce a secondary cell wall which is located underneath
the primary cell wall which is located outside the cell membrane. During plant cell
division, a gluey layer which is the middle lamella forms between the two daughter
cells.

 The main function of the cell is to support, shape, and protect the cell.
 The cell membrane is present in all types of cells (prokaryotic, eukaryotic,
plant, animal)
 The function of the cell membrane has a selectively Permeable.
 Cell membrane: Found in plant and animal cells (prokaryotes and
eukaryotes).
 It separates the inside of the cell from its environment.
 Controls what enters or leaves the cell.
 Protects and supports the cell.
 Outer Boundary of the cell.
 Its structure is: phospholipid bilayer and proteins.
 A phospholipid is composed of a glycerol molecule, 2 fatty acids, and the
third fatty acid is replaced by a phosphate group. Major component of cell
membrane.
 Divided into a head region: -hydrophilic (attracted to water).
-glycerol and phosphate group.
Tail region: -fatty acid chains.
-hydrophobic (repelled by water).

These properties allow for the unique molecule alignment (which makes the
plasma membrane).

Water can be found in and outside the cell and in the bloodstream.
The membrane is very flexible and has a fluid motion (made of phospholipids +
cholesterol).
Called fluid Mosaic model (many different types of molecules that are scattered in
the cell membrane in a random manner).

 Proteins can be found on the cell membrane:

→glycoproteins enable cell-cell recognition
→join neighboring cells
→act as enzymes
→involved in signal transduction in which they act as receptors that bind to
chemical messengers

Cell Transport
• Every living cell exists in a liquid environment, called the interstitial fluid.
The interstitial fluid is the fluid that fills the spaces between cells. It is
composed of water, amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, coenzymes, hormones,
neurotransmitters, salts, and cellular products.

Selectively permeable: A characteristic of a living membrane that allows

only certain substances to pass across it and not others.

Solution: a homogeneous mixture consisting of a solute dissolved into a

solvent.
Solvent: The substance that dissolves a solute.
Solute: The substance that is dissolved.
 Hypertonic: Having a greater solute concentration compared to another
solution.
Hypotonic: Having a lower solute concentration compared to another
solution.
Isotonic: Two solutions containing equal solute concentrations.

Passive transport is the movement of materials across the cell

membrane without using cellular energy.
• Molecules move along or down a concentration gradient (or
electrochemical gradient): from a region of higher concentration to a
region of lower concentration.
• Passive transport includes:
• Diffusion (simple diffusion)
• Facilitated Diffusion
• Osmosis (as a specific example of FD)
Diffusion is the process by which particles move, without the use of energy,
from an area of high concentration to an area of lower concentration (down
or along their concentration gradient).
• Lipids, small nonpolar uncharged molecules, oxygen, and carbon dioxide
move by diffusion
At equilibrium, particles move equally in both directions, so there is no net change
in concentration. Equal concentration is maintained on both sides of the membrane.

Facilitated diffusion is the process in which molecules that cannot directly

diffuse across the membrane pass through special transport proteins (channel
proteins or carrier proteins).
Materials move down (or along) their concentration gradient, without the use
of energy.
• Ions (charged particles), polar molecules (like some amino acids), and
large molecules (like glucose) move by facilitated diffusion.
Channel proteins: form pores across the membrane, allowing molecules or
ions to pass through them. They have one conformation. Some ion channels
are always open, others are "gated" and can be opened or closed in response
to electrical or chemical signals
Carrier proteins:
bind to molecules or ions on one side of the membrane and release them on
the other, flipping between two conformations while transporting.

Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules through a selectively permeable

membrane, without the use of energy, from an area of high water
concentration to an area of lower water concentration (down or along the
concentration gradient).
Instead, water molecules diffuse through water channel proteins called
aquaporins because they cannot cross the hydrophobic layer.

The rate of osmosis is determined by the total number of solute particles

dissolved in the solution. The more particles dissolved, the faster the rate of
osmosis.
• Osmotic pressure is the pressure or force caused by the net movement of
water across a membrane.
• Turgor pressure or turgidity is the pressure of the cell contents and central
vacuole exerted against the cell wall. High turgor pressure makes plant cells
rigid.

Isotonic Hypertonic Hypotonic

In a hypertonic solution, the net movement of water is out of the cells.
• Animal cells shrink. RBCs undergo crenation (shrivelling).
Plant cells lose water from the central vacuole, turgor pressure decreases
(cells become flaccid), and plasmolysis occurs (cell membrane peels away
from the cell wall and the cell shrinks).
In a hypotonic solution, the net movement of water is into the cells.
• Animal cells swell and may burst (lysis occurs). In RBCs
hemolysis occurs (hemoglobin escapes from the ruptured
cells).
Plant cells fill up with water in the central vacuole, turgor pressure
increases (cells become turgid), and the cells swell. Water enters until the
cell’s turgor pressure prevents further movement.

Active transport is the movement of materials across the cell

membrane against a concentration gradient with the use of cellular energy.
 Molecular transport: Protein Pumps
 Bulk transport: - Endocytosis
-Exocytosis
Protein pumps are transport proteins that use energy from ATP to pump
small molecules and ions across the cell membrane, against their
concentration gradient.
• Small molecules and ions like calcium, potassium, and sodium, move by
protein pumps against their concentration gradient.
• Protein pumps change shape during the process, binding substances on one
side of the membrane and releasing them on the other.
Example: The sodium-potassium pump in nerve cells takes 3 Na+ out of
the cell, and brings in 2 K+ into the cell, using energy.

Endocytosis is the process of taking large molecules or large amounts of

water into the cell by means of pockets in the cell membrane. The membrane
forms a pocket around the particles. The pocket then breaks loose from the
cell membrane and forms a vesicle within the cytoplasm.
 Phagocytosis is a type of endocytosis, in which pseudopods
(extensions of cytoplasm / false feet) surround a particle and package
it within a food vacuole.
 Pinocytosis, or cell drinking, is a type of endocytosis where the
membrane forms a pocket around a liquid with dissolved molecules.
The pocket then breaks loose from the outer portion of the cell
membrane and forms a vesicle within the cytoplasm.

Exocytosis is the process of taking material out of the cell. The

membrane of a vesicle surrounding the material fuses with the cell
membrane, and the contents are forced out of the cell.