Lesson 1: The origin and Structure of the Earth Lesson 3: Minerals

- Earth is unique because of - Minerals

o It has liquid water o Building blocks of rocks.
o It has tectonic plates
Characteristics of rocks
o It has an ozone layer
- Planet earth is habitable because of - Naturally occurring
o Had the right distance from the sun. o Earth's natural processes.
o Has the right chemical ingredient - Inorganic
including water and carbon. o Earth's physical processes.
o Kept warm by an insulating - Homogenous solid
atmosphere. o Have definite volume and rigid shape.
o It is protected from harmful solar - Definite chemical composition
radiation ray by it magnetic field. o Represented by a chemical formula.
- Earth, Venus, and Mars have similarities - Orderly crystalline structure
o They are all terrestrial planet o Arrange in an orderly and repeating
containing solid rocks and silicates. pattern.
o The all have an atmosphere.
o They almost rotate at the same time at Properties of minerals
the same axis.
- Color
o They all have landforms.
o Changes depending on the surface.
o They all have carbon dioxide.
- Steak
o Earth and Mars both have water
o Color of minerals in pressed form.
- Hardness
o Minerals resistance to scratching.
Lesson 2: The subsystems
Mohs scales of hardness
- Atmosphere
o Gaseous later above the Earth's - 10 Diamond
surface mostly composed of nitrogen - 9 corundum
and oxygen. - 8 Topaz
- Biosphere - 7 Quarts
o All life forms exist in this subsystem. - 6 Orthoclase
o Servers as an ecosystem. - 5 Apatite
o Known as a large ecosystem. - 4 Florida
- Geosphere - 3 Calcite
o Solid part of the Earth. - 2 Gypsum
- Hydrosphere - 1 talc
o Water part of the Earth.
o Ocean and glacier. - Cleavage
- Earth o Minerals Resistance to being broken
o A complex system made up off many and fractured.
smaller systems. - Crystalline structure or habit
o Which matter and energy are cycled. - Diaphaneity/amount of transparent
- Connection o Ability to allies light to pass through.
o Energy mostly flows in the - Luster
atmosphere. o Hour light reflected of a surface.
- Tenacity
o Minerals reaction to stress.
- Brittleness
o Minerals turns into powdered form.
- Malleability
o Flattened by pounding.
- Ductility

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 o Stretch into wire. o Phaneritic
- Flexible but inelastic  Coarse grained.
o Can easily stretch but retain to it's o Porphyritic
original form.  Large with small crystals.
- Flexible but elastic o Pyroclastic
o Can easily stretch and do not retain to  Composite of ejected
it's original form but now it's in it's fragments.
new form. o Glassy
- Sectability  Non ordered solid from rapid
o Sliced by a knife quenching.

Lesson 4: Rocks - Sedimentary rock

o Provide information about the surface
- Rocks condition.
o Naturally occurring solids aggregate o Existed in the earth’s past
of one or more minerals. - Sediments
- Petrology o Particles of sand, shells, pebbles and
o Study of rocks. other fragments pf material
- The types of rocks o Accumulate in layers and over long
o Igneous rock period of time harden into rocks.
o Sedimentary rocks - Compaction
o Metamorphic rocks o Increased of pressure of layered
sediments it binds together to form
sedimentary rocks.
- Igneous rock
3 types of sedimentary rocks
o Hardening and crystallization of
magma or molten material deep - Clastic sedimentary rocks
beneath the earth surface. o Formed from accumulation of clast
- Extrusive/volcanic rock - Chemical sedimentary rocks
o Form from magma makes its ways to o Dissolved minerals precipitate from a
the earth surface as lava then cools. solution.
o Are five grained. - Organic sedimentary rocks
- Intrusive/plutonic rock o Accumulation of animal debris
o Cools slowly beneath the earths
surface. - Metamorphic rock
o Created by magma. o From pre existing rocks
o Are coarse grained. - Metamorphism
o Transformation of one rock type.
Igneous rocks are classified based on
2 Types of metamorphism
- Composition
o Felsic - Regional
 Light in color o Pressure and temperature over large
o Mafic region of the crust.
 Dark in color - Contact
o Intermediate o Contact with magma mainly by heat.
 Between light and dark
in color. Classification of Metamorphic rock
o Ultramafic
- Texture
 Very dark in color
o Size arrangements and gains within
- Texture
the rock.
o Aphanitic
- Foliation
 Fined grained.

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 o Arrangement od minerals grains or
structural features within the rock.
- Foliated
o Appeared branded or layered,
contains crystals.
Lesson 5: Exogenic processes
- Weathered materials are transported by
different agents from one place to another.
o Weathering
o Erosion
o Deposition
- Weathering
o Process of disintegration and
Decomposition of rocks.
o Breaking down rocks into small
particles.
o Mechanical weathering
o Chemical weathering
- Physical weathering or mechanical weathering
o Breakdown of rocks into pieces
without anyone changes to is
composition.
Factors of physical weathering
- Pressure
o Due to tectonic forces
o Mountain ranges form, the overlaying
rocks and sediments may erode.
- Temperature
o Rock expands, fractured when
exposed to high temperature.
o If it drops it also has the same result.
- Frost wedging
o Water accumulates to cracks of rocks
and at point freezes.
o Ice expands and break the ice apart.
- Abrasion
o Caused by impact and friction
o Due to collisions
- Organic activity
o Roots grow causing penetration into
the cracks and expand and break the
rock.
- Human activity
o Digging, quarrying, denuding forest,
and cultivating land.
- Burrowing animal
o Animal excavated into the ground to
create space and habitation.
- Chemical weathering
o Changes in the composition of rocks
due to chemical reaction.
- Chemical reaction
o Dissolution
 Occurs in specific minerals
which are dissolved in water
o Hydrolysis
 Rock forming minerals that
react edging eat and form
different kinds of clay
mineral.
o Oxidation
 Response pf often with
minerals.
- Weathering
o The process of formation of soil.
- Soil
o Mixture of grains, organic matter,
H2O and gas.
- Erosion
o Separation and removal of weathered
rocks due to different agents like
water, wind, and glaciers.
- Transportation
o Material to where they are deposited.
- Mass wasting
o Movements of sediments downslopes
under the influence of gravity.
- Deposition
o Process which weathered materials
carried at by erosion settle down in a
particular situation.
Lesson 6: The Earth’s internal heat
- Heat energy
o Plays a vital role in or planet.
o Extreme factors in what makes our
world livable.
- Source of heat
o Primordial heat
o Radiogenic heat
- Primordial heat
o Internal heat energy that gradually
gathered by means of dispersion in
the planet during its few million years
of early formation.
- Accretional heat
o Energy deposited the early formation
of a planet.
- Core
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 o Storage of primordial heat that
originated from the times of
accretion.
- Radiogenic heat
o Process where a spontaneous nuclear
disintegration that release thermal
energy.
- The radiogenic heat produced by the
radiogenic decay of isotopes in the mantle and
crust, and the primordial heat left over from
the formation of earth.
- Process of heat
o Conduction
o Convection
o Radiation
- Conduction
o Governs the thermal conditions to
almost part of earth.
o Plays an important role in the
lithosphere.
o Transmitted through collisions
between neighboring
atoms/molecules.
o Heat from the earth’s core and
radiation from the sun transfer to the
surface of earth by conduction
- Convection
o Transfer of heat by the movement of
mass. More efficient of heat transport.
o Dominates the thermal condition in
zones where large quantities of fluid
(molten rocks)
o Mantle (geological time scale)
 Behaves as a viscous fluid
due to the existence of high
temperature.
o Mantle (Convection current)
 The earth’s move slowly
because of heat transfer of
heat from the interior of the
earth up to the surface.
- Radiation
o Least important mode of heat transfer.
o Heat exchange between the sun and
the earth.
o There’s radiation on earth mostly
found in core or lower mantle.
o Long-wavelength infrared radiation
 When the land and water
become warm in summer.
- Convection process
- Conduction process
o How air molecules come in contact
with the warmer surface of the land of
ocean.
o Thermal energy of the core if transfer
to.
Lesson 7: Magmatism
- Steam driven/phreatic eruption
o Spewed ashes plums up high in the
sky.
- PHIVOLCS
o Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and seismology.
- Magma
o Composed of semi liquid hot molten
rocks.
o This molten rock states when
solidified create igneous rocks.
- Magmatism
o Process under the earth’s crust where
formation and movement of magma
occur.
- Asthenosphere
o Lower part of the earth's crust and
upper part of the mantle, is where
magmatism takes place.
- Partial melting
o Process of different minerals of rocks
melt at a different temperature and
pressure “Volatile material"
3 ways of melting in mantle
- An increase in temperature.
o happens when heat is transferred from
hotter molten rocks to the earth's cold
Crust to Heat transfer.
o Convergent boundaries
 Where magma rides, often
not enough to melt the rock
it touches, found where
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 tectonics plates are crashing
together.
- A Decrease op pressure
o Decompression melting
 During convection, these
rocks tend to go upward off
pressure reduced. This
trigger melting op magma.
o Mid-Ocean ridge
 An underwater mountain
system, where
decompression melting
occurs.
- Addition of Volatiles
o Flux melting
 when water/carbon dioxide
is added to hot rocks.
o subduction zones
 Melting points op mineral
within the rock decrease.
When rock close to its
melting points.
 Adding volatiles can be
enough to trigger partial
melting.
Lesson 8: Metamorphism
- Metamorphism
o Change that takes place within Aa
body of rock.
o As a result of it being subjected to its
conditions.
- Meta
o Means changes
- Morphe
o Means form
- Metamorphic rock
o Formed at the surface of the earth.
o Through the process of
metamorphism with recrystallization
of minerals.
- Main factors of metamorphism
o Heat and reactive fluids.
o Pressure.
- Scheme of metamorphic rocks
o The type, texture, and grain size of
metamorphic rock.
3 Main Factors or agents
- Heat
o Most important factors.
o Provide energy to drive the chemical
change’s, result to recrystallization.
o Heat increase = depth increases
- Pressure
o Pressure increase = depth increases
o Buried rocks are subjected to the
force or stress.
o Heat and pressure cause physical
changes to buried rocks.
- Chemically active fluids
o Enhanced the metamorphic process
containing fluids, fluids common
fluids that helps the chemical activity.
o Rocks buried deeply, water is forced
out and becomes available to aid in
chemical reactions.
- Metamorphism
o Does not actually melt rocks but
transform into denser and compact
rocks.
o Minerals may rearrange due to
chemical reactions fluids that enters
the rock.
- Metamorphic rocks
o Are used in a variety of purposes.
- Slate
o Commercially used for blackboards
and for pool tables tops.
- Marble
o Used for construction of buildings
floors and bathroom walls and
computer parts.
- Heat and pressure
o Changes the original state of an
existing rock.
o Also changed the chemical
composition of physical structure.
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Lesson 9: Igneous rocks: how they are formed
- Igneous rock
o Derived from the Latin word ignus or
ignis
 Which means fire
o Commonly found in the surface and
beneath the earth.
o Specifically, in divergent, convergent
boundaries, subduction zones, and
hotspot.
o Differ in the origin, process if
formation, color, in general the
texture.
- Formed through the process of
o Solidification a crystallization of
molten rocks (magma and lava)
o When hot molten rocks reach the
surface of the earth, they undergo
changes in temperature and pressures.
 Causing them to cool
stupidity and crystallize.
- Igneous rock composed of
o Mostly of SiO2 or silica.
- Oversaturation
o Silica in magma, its minerals will
precipitate.
- Under saturation
o Silica in magma, its mineral will not
precipitate.
o Not be present in the igneous rock.
- Viscosity of magma is affected by the silica
content.
4 Classifications of igneous rock
- Ultramafic Igneous rock
o Have very low silica content; less
than 45% of SiO2.
o Before formation he magma has very
low viscosity.
o Black (peridotite) to olive green
(dunnite).
o Density is very high.
o Rich in pyroxene and olivine
minerals.
o Examples, Peridotite and dunnite
- Mafic igneous rock
o Have low silica content; 45 – 52% of
SiO2.
o Before formation magma has low
viscosity
o Have black color
o Density if high
o Composed of pyroxene, calcium rich
plagioclase feldspar
o Examples are gabbro and basalt
- Intermediate igneous rock.
o Have high silica content; 53-65% of
SiO2
o Before formation magma has
intermediate viscosity
o Have gray color
o Density is intermediate
o Composed of biotite, alkali feldspar,
and quartz
o Examples are diorite and andesite
- Felsic Igneous rock
o Have very high silica content; more
than 65%
o Before transformation magma has
high viscosity
o Have light color
o Density is very low
o Composed of quartz and alkali
feldspar
o Examples are granite and rhyolite
- Higher silica content = Lighter its color
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- Lower silica content = Darker its color
Types of igneous rock based on texture
- Phaneritic texture
o Rocks have large minerals
o Ex. Granite
- Aphanitic texture
o The mineral grains are too small to
see with the unaided eye
o Ex. Basalt
- Vesicular texture
o Rocks have many pits from gas
escapes
o Ex. Basalt
- Porphyritic texture
o Rocks have 2 distinct grain sizes,
large and small
o Ex. Andesite porphyry
- Glassy texture
o Rocks do have obvious minerals
o Ex. Obsidian
Lesson 10: Movements of plates and formation
of folds and faults
- Transform plate boundary
o Also called strike slip fault boundary.
o Ex. The San Andreas fault zone.
- Convergent plate boundary
o The heavier oceanic crust sinks below
the lighter continental crust.
o Subduction
 plates are moving toward
each other and sometimes
one plate sinks under
another.
o Ex. Marianas trench and Philippine
plate.
- Divergent boundary
o where the earth’s tectonic plates are
moving apart.
o these boundaries are located on the
ocean floors that form mid-ocean
ridges.
o mid-ocean ridges
 form a continuous chain of
volcanic mountains and rift.
o Ex. Mid - Atlantic Ridge
- Kasten 2012, 241
o Plates move relative to each other and
to fixed locations in the mantle of the
Earth.
- absolute motion
o can lead the plates to the formation of
strings of volcanoes
o On the other hand, their relative
motion can lead to the different types
of plate boundaries.
- Triple junction
o three plates meet in one place
- (Kasten 2012, 241)
o Currently, the size of oceans and
shape of continents are changed due
to the movement of plates.
o Because of the movement of plates in
North and South America, Pacific
Ocean is becoming smaller. However,
the Atlantic Ocean is becoming larger
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as North and South America move
away from Europe and Africa. The
Himalayas Mountains are becoming
taller. The plate that includes
Australia is now beginning to collide
with the plate that includes Southeast
Asia. India’s plate is also colliding
with Asia while Australia is moving
farther away from Antarctica

Lesson: 1 - INTRODUCTION TO LIFE

SCIENCE

- Life on Earth began

o more than 3 billion years ago,
evolving from the most basic of
microbes into an array of
complexity over time.

Every aspect of life from the smallest

submicroscopic living particle to the largest and
most imposing of plant and animal species is
included.

- All living things are made

o of cells.
o Some organisms are unicellular
and some are multicellular.
- Unicellular organisms
o consist of only a single cell that
carries out all life proceses. Ex.
(in clockwise) Bacteria, Amoeba,
Paramecium, Euglena

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 - Multicellular organisms
o are composed of many cells
which perform specialized and
specific function
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
A living entity, regardless of its structure, size, or
behavior, is an organism that possesses
characteristics that most biologists have agreed
upon. These are
- locomotion
- irritability
- metabolism
- growth
- reproduction
- cellular organization
- adjustment
- integration
- coordination
- Locomotion
o it refers to the ability of
organisms to move.
o Organisms have structure such as
cilia, flagella, pseudopodia, and
muscles which help them move.
o There is in these organisms, a
living substance called
protoplasm which shows an
intracellular movement called
pcyclosis.
- Irritability
o is the ability of living things to
react to the factors of the
environment such as life,
temperature, pressure, tension,
chemicals, and gravity.
o This is the reason why living
things react, or respond to their
environment.
- Metabolism
o refers to the sum total of the
chemical reactions taking place.
o The building up reaction called
anabolism is shown up by
respiration.
- Growth
o is the increase in size and number
of cells.
o The growth in living this is called
intussusception.
o Growth in all animals begins
when the zygote starts to develop
and all the successive cell
divisions take place then the cells
become differentiated.
- Reproduction
o is the ability of living things to
produce new individuals closely
resembling them.
- Cellular organization
o refers to the parts and functions
of the cells in an organism.
o An organism may have one or
more cell that is the basic unit of
life.
o Some organisms are composed of
only one cell yet function as
other complex organisms do.
o The living matter in a cell is the
protoplasm which consists of a
cell membrane, cytoplasm, and
nucleus.
- Adjustment, integration, and Coordination
o refer to the ability of a living
organism to live in harmony with
other organisms in the
environment.
o It can make adjustments which
call for adapting itself in a given
situation.
o By the process of integration, an
organism can act harmoniously
with and relate itself to the
environment.
ORIGIN OF LIFE
Where did the first life come from?
There are many theories to consider about the
origin of life. The evolutionists, particularly
Charles Darwin, talked more about the process of
evolution to explain how life developed. According
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to him, there was growth from simple to complex
form.
THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF LIFE
SPECIAL CREATION THEORY
o Many people believed that
everything in this world was
created by a Supreme Being.
o The Special Creation Theory
emphasizes the source of all
creation is God and with him,
nothing is impossible.
SPONTANEOUS GENERATION THEORY
o During the ancient times, people
used only their naked eyes to see
things.
o They believed that life originated
as a spontaneous event.
o It is a hypothetical process by
which living organisms
developed from non-living
matter, also, the archaic theory
that utilized this process to
explain the origin of life.
o The idea of Spontaneous
Generation Theory states that
living organisms can originate
from inanimate object such as
dust creates fleas, maggots from
rotting meat, and bread or wheat
left in a dark corner produces
mice.
BIOGENETIC THEORY
o States that life produced life, that
each animal and plant produced
its own kind.
o “Ontogeny recapitulates
phylogeny”. This is a phrase
made by Ernst Haeckel, a
German biologist and
philosopher which means that the
development of an organism
(ontogeny) expresses all the
intermediate forms of its
ancestors throughout evolution
(phylogeny).
o The advances in science made it
clear that living things created
other living things.
ABIOGENETIC SYNTHESIS THEORY
o Most biologist’s theory that life
began in the primordial seas.
o Water formed as vapor liquefied
and the seas appeared.
o Sunlight, acting on water where
carbon dioxide and ammonia
were present, formed more
complex compounds suitable for
the nourishment of living things.
There was progressive
development from non-living
things.
o Colloidal substances led to the
formulation of viruses.
UNIFYING THEMES IN THE STUDY OF
LIFE
BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
- System is the combination of parts that
can form a more complex organization. It
has properties that are based on the
arrangement and interactions of its parts.
- Our body, like that of nay organism, is a
living system that is certainly more than
the sum of our parts, and so are all
biological systems.
- An ecosystem such as forest is also a
biological system. Like your body, an
ecosystem has properties that depend on
how its parts interacted.
- An organism in the ecosystem requires a
steady supply of certain chemicals to live.
- The Biological systems theme applies to
all levels of life, from the biosphere all the
way down to the interactions of molecules
in cells.
THE CELLULAR BASIS OF LIFE
- All organisms are made of cells.
- Most multicellular organisms have cells
that are specialized for different functions.
- In most multicellular organisms, cells are
organized into higher levels of
organization. Beginning with the cellular
level, the next is tissue, which is a group
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 of similar cells that perform a specific
function.
- Several types of tissue together may make
up a structure called an organ.
- Several organs that together carry out a
major body function make up an organ
system.
- A multicellular organism’s development
and survival are based on the functions
and interaction of its many cells.
FORM AND FUNCTION
- “FORM FITS FUNCTION”. An example
is the aerodynamic shape of a bird’s wing.
The structure of the bird’s bones
contributes to the bird’s ability to fly.
- The form-fits-function theme also extends
down to the cellular level. Example, birds
have long extensions of nerve cells that
control their flight muscles.
- There’s harmony in form and function and
how something works is related to its
structure. In other words, form its
function.
REPRODUCTION AND INHERITANCE
- “Like begets like”, an old saying describes
the ability of organisms to reproduce their
own kind.
- Genes are responsible for family
resemblance. Also, genes are made of
information-rich molecules called DNA.
Each cell in our body contains a copy of
the entire DNA that we inherited from our
parents.
- When a cell divides, it copies its DNA and
passes this genetic information on to each
of the cells it produces.
- The inherited DNA directs the
transformation of the fertilized egg into a
person with his/her characteristics.
INTERACTION WITH THE
ENVIRONMENT
- No organism is completely isolated from
its surroundings. As part of an ecosystem,
each organism interacts continuously with
its environment.
- Example: A plant obtains water, nutrients,
carbon dioxide, and energy from its
surroundings to make food
- Likewise, the plant also has an impact on
its surroundings. As a plant grows, its
roots break up rocks and release acids that
change the soil. Those who live in the soil
are affected. Plants also release oxygen
which other organisms use for their own
survival.
- Living requires a daily balance of such
“inputs” and “outputs”.
ENERGY AND LIFE
- Energy is obtained in chemical form in
sugar, fats, and other “fuel-like”
molecules in your food. Your cells use this
energy for all their work.
- You can trace energy through an
ecosystem. Energy flows into an
ecosystem as sunlight and exits in the
form of heat. A simplified of this energy
flow through a forest ecosystem.
- Chemical energy stored in our food is
converted to other forms of energy as the
organism carries out works and its life
activities.
REGULATION
- The ability of organisms to regulate their
internal conditions is an example of
homeostasis, or “steady state”.
- It is a mechanism that makes organisms
regulates their internal condition, despite
changes in their external environment.
Example: a “thermostat” in your brain that
reacts whenever your body temperature
varies slightly from 37c. If this happens,
your brain signals your skin to produce
sweat. Sweating helps cool your body.
ADAPTATION
- An adaptation is an inherited trait that
helps the organism’s ability to survive and
reproduce in its particular environment.
- It is a change in the species over
generations in order to better survive in
the environment.
EVOLUTION
- Natural selection is the mechanism by
which evolution occurs.
- The term evolution means “a process of
change”. Biologists use the word
evolution specifically to mean a
generation-to-generation change in the
proportion of different inherited genes in a
population.
- Example: the Beetle example, genes for
dark color are becoming more common
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 and genes for light color are becoming
less common over the generations of
beetles. The beetle population is said to be
undergoing evolution, or evolving.
BIOLOGY AND SOCIETY
- More than ever before, modern biology is
changing humans’ everyday life.
- New findings about DNA affect such
fields as medicine and agriculture.
Example: Research on the nervous system
is improving the treatment of certain
mental illness.
- The study of evolution is helping health
professionals understand how disease-
causing bacteria become resistant to
antibiotic drugs.
- Environmental issues such as water & air
pollution are changing how people think
about their relationship to the biosphere.
Lesson: 2 – BIOENERGETICS
- “A cell is defined as the smallest, basic
unit of life that is responsible for all of
life’s processes.”
- A cell
o is the structural and fundamental
unit of life. Cell Biology.
- Cell Biology.
o The study of cells from its basic
structure to the functions of every
cell organelle is called
- Robert Hooke
o was the first Biologist who
discovered cells.
- All organisms are made up of cells. They
may be made up of a single cell
(unicellular), or many cells
(multicellular).  (motility).
- Mycoplasmas
o are the smallest known cells.
- Cells
o are the building blocks of all
living beings.
o They provide structure to the
body and convert the nutrients
taken from the food into energy.
- Cells
o are complex and their
components perform various
functions in an organism. They
are of different shapes and sizes,
pretty much like bricks of the
buildings. Our body is made up
of cells of different shapes and
sizes.
Discovery of Cells
- Discovery of cells is one of the
remarkable advancements in the field of
science. It helps us know that all the
organisms are made up of cells, and these
cells help in carrying out various life
processes. The structure and functions of
cells helped us to understand life in a
better way.
Who discovered cells?
Robert Hooke
- discovered the cell in 1665. Robert Hooke
observed a piece of bottle cork under a
compound microscope and noticed
minuscule structures that reminded him of
small rooms.
- Consequently, he named these “rooms” as
cells. However, his compound microscope
had limited magnification, and hence, he
could not see any details in the structure.
- Owing to this limitation, Hooke concluded
that these were non-living entities. Later
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
- observed cells under another compound
microscope with higher magnification.
This time, he had noted that the cells
exhibited some form of movement
- As a result, Leeuwenhoek concluded that
these microscopic entities were “alive.”
Eventually, after a host of other
observations, these entities were named as
animalcules.
In 1883, Robert Brown, a Scottish botanist,
- provided the very first insights into the
cell structure.
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 - He was able to describe the nucleus
present in the cells of orchids.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CELLS
1. Following are the various essential
characteristics of cells:
- Cells provide structure and support to the
body of an organism.
- The cell interior is organized into different
individual organelles surrounded by a
separate membrane.
- The nucleus (major organelle) holds
genetic information necessary for
reproduction and cell growth.
- Every cell has one nucleus and membrane-
bound organelles in the cytoplasm.
- Mitochondria, a double membrane-bound
organelle is mainly responsible for the
energy transactions vital for the survival
of the cell.
- Lysosomes digest unwanted materials in
the cell.
- Endoplasmic reticulum plays a significant
role in the internal organization of the cell
by synthesizing selective molecules and
processing, directing and sorting them to
their appropriate locations.
TYPES OF CELL
Cells are similar to factories with different
laborer’s and departments that work towards a
common objective. Various types of cells perform
different functions. Based on cellular structure,
there are two types of cells:
- Prokaryotes
- Eukaryotes
Prokaryotic Cells
- Prokaryotic cells have no nucleus. Instead,
some prokaryotes such as bacteria have a
region within the cell where the genetic
material is freely suspended. This region
is called the nucleoid.
- They all are single-celled microorganisms.
Examples include archaea, bacteria, and
cyanobacteria.
- The cell size ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 µm in
diameter.
- The hereditary material can either be DNA
or RNA.
- Prokaryotes generally reproduce by binary
fission, a form of asexual reproduction.
They are also known to use conjugation –
which is often seen as the prokaryotic
equivalent to sexual reproduction
(however, it is NOT sexual reproduction).
Eukaryotic Cells
- Eukaryotic cells are characterised by a
true nucleus.
- The size of the cells ranges between 10–
100 µm in diameter.
- This broad category involves plants, fungi,
protozoans, and animals.
- The plasma membrane is responsible for
monitoring the transport of nutrients and
electrolytes in and out of the cells. It is
also responsible for cell to cell
communication.
- They reproduce sexually as well as
asexually.
- There are some contrasting features
between plant and animal cells. For eg.,
the plant cell contains chloroplast, central
vacuoles, and other plastids, whereas the
animal cells do not.
Cell Structure
- The cell structure comprises individual
components with specific functions
essential to carry out life’s processes.
These components include- cell wall, cell
membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, and cell
organelles. Read on to explore more
insights on cell structure and function.
Cell Membrane
- The cell membrane supports and protects
the cell.
- It controls the movement of substances in
and out of the cells. It separates the cell
from the external environment.
- The cell membrane is present in all the
cells.
- The cell membrane is the outer covering
of a cell within which all other organelles,
such as the cytoplasm and nucleus, are
enclosed.
- It is also referred to as the plasma
membrane.
- By structure, it is porous membranes (with
pores) which permit the movement of
selective substances in and out of the cell.
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- Besides this, the cell membrane also different cell organelles, along with its
protects the cellular component from principal functions, are as follows:
damage and leakage.
- It forms the wall-like structure between
Cell organelle and its function
two cells as well as between the cell and
Nucleolus Site of ribosome
its surroundings.
synthesis. Also, it is
- Plants are immobile, so their cell involved in controlling
structures are well-adapted to protect them cellular activities and
from external factors. The cell wall helps cellular reproduction.
to reinforce this function. Nuclear membrane Protects the nucleus by
forming a boundary
Cell Wall between the nucleus
- The cell wall is the most prominent part of and other cell
organelles.
the plant’s cell structure. It is made up of
Chromosomes Play a crucial role in
cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin.
role in determining the
- The cell wall is present exclusively in sex of an individual.
plant cells. Each human cell
- It protects the plasma membrane and other contains 23 pairs of
cellular components. The cell wall is also chromosomes.
the outermost layer of plant cells. Endoplasmic Involved in the
- It is a rigid and stiff structure surrounding reticulum transportation of
the cell membrane. substances throughout
- It provides shape and support to the cells the cell. It plays a
and protects them from mechanical shocks primary role in the
metabolism of
and injuries.
carbohydrates,
Cytoplasm synthesis of lipids,
steroids and proteins.
- The cytoplasm is a thick, clear, jelly-like Golgi Bodies Are called the cell’s
substance present inside the cell post office as it is
membrane. involved in the
- Most of the chemical reactions within a transportation of
cell take place in this cytoplasm. materials within the
cell.
- The cell organelles such as endoplasmic
Ribosomes Are protein
reticulum, vacuoles, mitochondria, synthesizers of the cell
ribosomes, are suspended in this Mitochondria Is called “the
cytoplasm. powerhouse of the
cell”. It is called so
Nucleus
because it produces
- The nucleus contains the hereditary ATP - the cell’s
material of the cell, the DNA. energy currency.
Lysosomes Protects the cell by
- It sends signals to the cells to grow,
engulfing the foreign
mature, divide and die.
bodies entering the
- The nucleus is surrounded by the nuclear cell and helps in cell
envelope that separates the DNA from the renewal. Therefore, it
rest of the cell. is known as the cell’s
- The nucleus protects the DNA and is an suicide bags.
integral component of a plant’s cell Chloroplast Are primary organelles
structure. for photosynthesis. It
contains the pigment
Cell Organelles chlorophyll
Vacuoles Store food, water, and
- Cells are composed of various cell other waste materials
organelles that perform certain specific in the cell
functions to carry out life’s processes. The

14
Cell Theory - Small molecules such as oxygen, carbon
dioxide, and ethanol diffuse across the cell
- Cell Theory was proposed by the German membrane along the concentration
scientists, Theodor Schwann, Matthias gradient.
Schleiden, and Rudolf Virchow. The cell - This is known as passive transport. The
theory states that:
larger molecules diffuse across the cell
o All living species on Earth are
membrane through active transport where
composed of cells. the cells require a lot of energy to
o A cell is the basic unit of life. transport the substances.
o All cells arise from pre-existing
cells. Energy Production
- A modern version of the cell theory was
- Cells require energy to carry out various
eventually formulated, and it contains the
chemical processes. This energy is
following postulates:
produced by the cells through a process
o Energy flows within the cells.
called photosynthesis in plants and
o Genetic information is passed on
respiration in animals.
from one cell to the other.
o The chemical composition of all Aids in Reproduction
the cells is the same.
- A cell aids in reproduction through the
processes called mitosis and meiosis.
- Mitosis is termed as the asexual
Functions of Cell
reproduction where the parent cell divides
- A cell performs these major functions to form daughter cells.
essential for the growth and development - Meiosis causes the daughter cells to be
of an organism. genetically different from the parent cells.
- Important functions of cell are as follows: Thus, we can understand why cells are
known as the structural and functional unit
Provides Support and Structure of life.
- This is because they are responsible for
- All the organisms are made up of cells.
providing structure to the organisms and
They form the structural basis of all the
performs several functions necessary for
organisms.
carrying out life’s processes.
- The cell wall and the cell membrane are
the main components that function to
provide support and structure to the
organism. For eg., the skin is made up of a
large number of cells.
- Xylem present in the vascular plants is
made of cells that provide structural
support to the plants.

Facilitate Growth Mitosis

- In the process of mitosis, the parent cell

divides into the daughter cells. Thus, the
cells multiply and facilitate the growth in
an organism.

Allows Transport of Substances

- Various nutrients are imported by the cells

to carry out various chemical processes
going on inside the cells.
- The waste produced by the chemical
processes is eliminated from the cells by
active and passive transport.

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