General Biology 1

19th Century – the Age of Engineering

Unit 1: The Cell as the Basic Unit of Life
20th Century – the Age of Chemistry and Physics
Chapter 1: Biology: It’s All About You
21st Century – the Age of Biology
Concept in a box
Century of Biology

• Completion of Human Genome Project

• Scientific milestones and discoveries
• Revolutionary ways in solving problems that threaten
humankind

Genome Sequencing
1990 – the Human Genome Project
– aimed to sequence three billion DNA bases in the
human cell.
– was finished in 2003
– provided new insights in understanding the Biology
of Homo sapiens, its evolution, and the proper and
accurate diagnosis of human diseases.
– was hailed as one of the most significant scientific
endeavors ever accomplished
Lesson 1.1: The Study of Life
Life Sciences – play a key role in tackling global challenges
Biology – study of life
Bios – life; Logos – study The first living cells came as a result of ancient events wherein
– it deals with structures, functions, and relationships of lifeless matter became organized, capable of supporting life.
organisms with their environment
– tells that ours is an environment that began 3.8 billion
years ago, aquatic and devoid of life
– studied at various level
Various levels:
• Molecular
• Cellular
• Organismal
• Population The diversity of life started with simple organisms that were able to
• Community evolved from one generation to the next.
• Ecosystem
Levels of Structural Organization Traditional Branches of Biological Sciences

• Carbon Atom • Taxonomy – naming and classifying organisms

• DNA Molecule – groups of atoms Dumb
– smallest unit of most chemical compound King
• Organelle Philip
• Cell – smallest functional unit of life Came
Group of Cells – tissues, organs, and organ systems Over
• Tissue From
• Organ Great
• Organ System Spain
• Organism – individual living thing
• Population – group of organisms of one type that live in the • Cytology – structures and functions of cells
same area • Embryology – function and development of organisms
• Community – populations that live together in a defined are • Anatomy – structures and parts of organisms
• Ecosystem – has a community of organisms and its • Physiology – functions of living organisms and their parts
nonliving surroundings • Biochemistry – biochemical compositions and processes of
• Biosphere – the part of the Earth that contains all living things
ecosystems • Genetics – heredity and variation
• Evolution – origin and differentiation of various organisms
• Ecology – relationships of organisms with each other and
their environment

New Subdisciplines in Biology – because of rapidly changing

technology
Three Major Divisions of Biological Sciences: • Bioinformatics – Biological data using computer programs
• Genomics – entire genetic material (genome) of an
• Microbiology – study of microscopic organisms
organism
– those being unicellular, multicellular, or
• Molecular biology – molecules that make up the cells of
acellular
living organisms
• Botany – scientific study of plants
• Pharmacogenomics– how genes affect a person’s response
– including their physiology, structure, genetics, and
to drugs
ecology
• Proteomics – Proteins in a living organism
• Zoology – the scientific study of the behavior, structure,
• Synthetic biology – artificial biological systems
physiology, classification, and distribution of
• Systems biology – computational and mathematical
animals
modeling of biological systems
Lesson 2.1: Importance of Studying Biology • This will enable us to determine the biases of investigators,
mass media, and others that we encounter, thus, we are
• Biology can help solve societal problems
guided to make sound judgments on biological scenarios in
• Studying biology helps you understand the functions and daily life.
reactions of your body.
Lesson 1.3: Biology as a Science
• It explains your similarities and differences with other
Biology is an objective, logical, and repeatable attempt to
organisms.
understand the principles and forces operating in the natural
• It helps in understanding how animals survive, respond, and world.
interact with the environment.
Science is an objective, logical, and repeatable attempt to
• Organisms keep the balance in the environment, esp. in the understand the principles and forces operating in the natural world.
food chain.
Science is a body of systematized information about living things
• Other animals (mice, frogs, and monkeys) are used as derived from observations and experiments.
specimens to further understand the body systems.
Knowledge in biology and its immense data is dependent on the
• Biology encompasses the study of different causative study of structures and processes that need to be validated either
agents of diseases such as bacteria and viruses. directly or indirectly with the help of tools, such as microscopes,
that extend the physical capacity of your senses.
• People find ways to fight and prevent the spread of
diseases caused by various infections. Biologists blend two main approaches in scientific
investigations:
• Biology helps you respond to the demands of human
population, esp. in food production, which is made possible Hypothesis-Based Science Discovery-Based Science
by careful study and research. Involves the use of Scientific Relies mainly on verifiable
Method results and measurements
• Biology also studies reproduction and population growth of Requires proposing and Knowledge of cells to the
living organisms to assure that problems regarding testing of hypothesis levels of biosphere
overpopulation will be solved. Experimental Design Sequencing of human
genome
• Biology takes into realm the study of plants, which provide
us food, oxygen, medicines, clothing, and various materials.
Scientific Method
• Understanding biological processes that lead to natural
calamities can help preserve these endangered species and • Observation
their ecosystems. • Hypothesis
• Experiment
• Biology helps you think critically, make informed choices,
• Conclusion
and solve problems.
Observation : identifying and clearly defining problem – one tends to jump into general
: it starts with being curious and asking questions observations from only few
: may be done anytime and anywhere specific findings
: uses the 5 senses
Note: “General Rule” might even (eventually) turn out
: think of related questions you need to find answers
to be wrong most of the time
to in order to identify a scientific problem
Deductive Reasoning – general principles to more
specific observations
Hypothesis : formulating a possible logical answer to the identified – “from the Top Down”
problem – used by biologist to test existing
: after gathering observation and existing knowledge theories or hypothesis
on a particular phenomenon, it’s time for REASONING.
Deduction – starts with a general idea and determines
Two Kinds of Scientific Reasoning whether it applies to specific observations

• Inductive Reasoning Hypothesis – possible logical answer; not an ordinary

• Deductive Reasoning guess; based on existing knowledge

Experiment : conducting controlled attempts to test one or more

hypothesis and includes recording and analyzing
results
: a set of procedures to test a hypothesis
: based on an experimental design
: involves the use of various references and extensive
related literature

Types of Variables

• Independent Variable
Inductive Reasoning – specific to general • Dependent Variable
– involves using many individual • Controlled Variable
observations to make a
Independent Variable – changeable
generalization
– limit to only one in an experiment
– based on tentative hypothesis that
– cause change in an experimental
can later be tested before
set up
producing a general conclusion.
– cause
Inductive Leap – a common pitfall condition to this
approach
 Dependent Variable – change that happens because of the – explains the natural world
independent variable – well-accepted by the scientific community.
– effect

Controlled Variable – everything you want to remain

Common Biological Theories
constant and unchanging
Cell Theory Cell is the basic unit of life. All
– unexposed group
organisms are composed of cells. All
Ex. Plants cells come from preexisting cells
Gene Theory Inherited information dictates the
Independent – liquid used to water the plant structure, function, and behavior of
Dependent – height/health of plant organism
Controlled – type of plant used, pot size, Theory of Evolution Organisms possess inherited traits that
amount of liquid, soil type, etc. by Natural Selection may make them adaptable to
changing conditions in their
environment.
Conclusion : formulating generalization about the results
that may accept, reject or modify the
hypothesis
: Experimental data are analyzed
: Repeatability of the experiment led to more accurate
and reliable findings

Repeated Findings = reliability

Scientific Laws Scientific Theories

Based on alterable facts Based on observation
Proven Proven, but still testable
Has evidence and results Has evidence
States that something will happen Attempts to explain why
under certain conditions something happens
Can be represented by a No mathematical
mathematical statement statement
Newton’s Law, Law of Inertia Theory of Relativity, Big
Bang Theory
Edward Jenner – Father of Vaccine
– he used pus from cow pox to treat small pox
Theories – tested scientific results that contribute to the
existing body of knowledge
 Studies on Spontaneous Generation

John Needham (1745) – an English experimenter and priest

– common knowledge at that time that
boiling cab kill microorganisms
– challenged Redi’s experiment
– broth turned cloudy due to
microorganisms

Conclusion: life in the broth was caused by spontaneous

generation. In actuality, he did not heat it long
enough to kill all the microbes in the broth.

Lesson 1.4: Life and Its Beginnings Studies to prove Biogenesis

Early Beliefs About the Origin of Life Lazzaro Spallanzani (1767) – challenged Needham’s experiment
– he boiled broth in two bottles, left one bottle open and
Abiogenesis / The Theory of Spontaneous Generation one closed, and found that new microorganisms
– proposed by Aristotle in 4th century that lasted until appeared only in the open bottle.
17th century
– small organisms are spontaneously generated from Conclusion: life occurred from something that entered the
nonliving matter unsealed flask and that it was the one responsible for
life to grow.
Ex. Flies can grow from cattle manure, the microorganisms entered the bottle through the air;
mice from wheat stored in the dark they were not generated spontaneously in the broth
Biogenesis – belief that life originates from preexisting life 19th Century Advancement
Experiments to prove Biogenesis
LOUIS PASTEUR (1861) – designed flasks with long, specially
Francesco Redi (1688) – Italian physician who experimented on curved, swanlike necks and boiled the
fresh meat in jars sugar solution with yeasts in it.
– disprove the theory of spontaneous • The flasks were open to allow air to enter but there’s no
generation organism developed in the mixture.
Conclusion: that life arose from living matter, such as • Microorganism settled on the bottom of the curved neck of
maggots from eggs of flies, and not from the the flask and could not reach the mixture
spontaneous generation in the meat
 Conclusion: This suggests that new bacteria appear only when Lesson 1.5: Unifying Themes about Life
they are produced by existing bacteria.
Living Things demonstrate common characteristics clustered
CURRENT Beliefs About the Origin of Life into themes:

• Divine Creation • Adapting and evolving

• Spontaneous Origin • Living and interacting with the environment
• Panspermia • Gathering and using energy
• Maintaining internal balance
Divine Creation – oldest hypothesis that life came from a
• Reproducing and continuing life
divine being
• Responding to changes in the surroundings
– supernatural power than naturalistic means

Creationism – the belief that life arose from nothing but

PROPERTIES OF LIFE
the power of divine being in six-day period
• Gathering and Using Energy
Spontaneous Origin – simple molecules combined to form
• Maintaining Internal Balance
complex ones
• Responding, Adapting and Evolving
Energy – lighting, geothermal, electric sparks • Reproducing and Continuing Life
• Living and Interacting
PRIMORDIAL SOUP – organic broth on Earth’s early
surface GATHERING AND USING ENERGY
(Nutrient Uptake and Processing)
Miller-Urey experiment – suggested that lightning
may have helped trigger the creation of the • Using energy and matter for survival
key building blocks of life on Earth during the
• All living things require ENERGY, which is produced when
earliest time periods.
complex organic matter is broken down into simpler units
Panspermia – Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius
ENERGY – the ability of organisms to do work that
• Life arose outside Earth and life forms were transported allows them to move
from another planet to seed life on Earth
CELLULAR RESPIRATION – the process by which
• A meteor or cosmic dust may have carried to Earth energy is released by the breakdown of
significant amounts of organic molecules, which started the food substances
evolution of life
METABOLISM – sum of all chemical processes,
• Despite the influx of information, the question about how life reactions and energy changes happening
began on Earth remain unanswered because there is no inside the body of an organism
account on what happened 4.5 billion years ago.
 NUTRITION – the process by which organisms • Organ systems work together to keep the organism alive
acquire food

RESPONDING, ADAPTING AND EVOLVING

(Motility, Irritability, Adaptation)

• Organisms react to changes in their surroundings in a

predictable and meaningful way.

MOTILITY OR LOCOMOTION – movement from one

place to another by walking, flying,
swimming, gliding, or jumping
• Plants absorb water and minerals from the soil and take
CO2 from the air Animals move for a variety of reasons – for food, for
• Animals feed / consume organic food obtained from plants reproduction and for response to changes in the
and animals environment.
• Living organisms process these raw materials inside their
TROPISM OR RESPONSE – reaction of organism to
bodies through various chemical reactions for essential
stimuli
activities of the human body.
Stimuli: light, sound, temperature, pressure,
food sources, or presence of
MAINTAINING INTERNAL BALANCE
chemical of chemical substances
(Waste Elimination)
: a factor in the environment that
(Excretion and Homeostasis)
causes the organism to respond in a
EXCRETION – process of eliminating wastes from the predictable way
body
SENSITIVITY OR IRRITABILITY – ability to respond
• Enzymes ensure efficient coordination during chemical appropriately against a stimulus
reactions inside the organism’s body. (Metabolic Level)
ADAPTATION – is the ability to adjust to changes in
Enzymes – help regulate the rate at which these the environment
reactions occur, including the amount of
CAMOUFLAGE – the ability of some animals to
nutrients to be processed into other forms
change color and body structure to
• Hormones are chemical regulators of the body as they blend with their environment
control the functions of activities, growth and development.
Limited food supply, temperature fluctuations
(Organismal Level)
and natural calamities may be experienced
HOMEOSTASIS – maintenance of the body’s internal by the organism
environment and balance
 EVOLUTION – changes in the characteristics of a Sexual Reproduction – the union of sex cells from
group pf organisms (species) two parents to produce a
over time unique individual of their kind

Evolutionary adaptation is a gradual or Asexual Reproduction – occurs when an organism

rapid change in body structure or behavior to makes copies of itself
be better suited and to survive a new
HEREDITY – Unity in Diversity
environment
The presence of DNA in every living organism
explains the unity of life.
REPRODUCING AND CONTINUING LIFE
LIVING AND INTERACTING
(Growth, Development, Reproduction, Heredity)
(Levels of biological organization in vertical and horizontal
DEVELOPMENT – undergoing defined stages of living dimensions)
things’ life cycle
Biological organization in vertical dimension
GROWTH – increase in size and volume by converting food
to become part of body cells

INTUSSUSCEPTION – a process by which living

things exhibit growth from
within the cells

ORGANOGENESIS – complex processes of cell

differentiation and formation of
new organs

ACCRETION – growth by external addition of

substances

REPRODUCTION – the process of passing genetic

information to produce offspring

DNA – used as a physical carrier of transferred

genetic information through sexual
reproduction
– differentiates a living from nonliving organism
Biological organization in horizontal dimension • Lawyers / Legal experts Molecular Biologists
(Medicolegal and Criminal Laboratories)
• Public servants and consultants
(Government agencies)
• Geneticists
(insurance companies)
• Human Resource Managers
• Science reporters, editors and writers
(Mass Media)
• Experts and researchers
(Agriculture and Fisheries)
• Biologists
Six Kingdom System (field of research)
Archaebacteria oldest known single-celled • Genetic engineers
living organism • Molecular biologists
Eubacteria E. Coli, Cyanobacteria • Biochemists
Algae, Paramecium, Diatom, • Pharmacologists
Protista Slime Mold • Immunologists
Single-celled organisms
BIOTECHNOLOGY is the application of biological concepts and
All flowering plants, mosses
and ferns systems to make products beneficial to humans. It uses the basic
Plantae Multi-celled, complex molecules of life to make new products.
organisms Genetically modified organism (GMO), organism whose genome
Autotrophs
has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favor the
Fungi Mushrooms, molds, mildews,
expression of desired physiological traits or the generation of
and yeasts
desired biological products.
multi-celled organisms
Animalia ranging from sea sponge Gene therapy involves the transfer of genetic material into the
colonies to elephants appropriate cells. In genetic diseases, the stem cells of the
Heterotrophs afflicted tissue are often targeted. The adult stem cells of the
tissue can replenish the specialized cells.
Lesson 1.6: Biology Careers in the Twenty-First Century Organisms that have altered genomes are known as transgenic.
• Academician or Medical Doctors Most transgenic organisms are generated in the laboratory for
• Computer Analysts / Software Designers research purposes.
(Bioinformatics) • Dolly – world’s first sheep cloned from adult somatic cell
 • Bonnie – Dolly’s firstborn lamb Anton Van Leeuwenhoek – a Dutch naturalist and shopkeeper
• Milly – first cloned pig – credited to be the first to study magnified cells
• Polly – first transgenic lamb cloned by nuclear transfer – inspired by Hooke’s Micrographia
– was able to devise more than 500 lenses and one of which
can even magnify up to 270 times
Chapter 2: Life in a cell – Father of Microscopy and Microbiology

Lesson 2.1: The cell and Its Beginnings • First invention was a simple microscope with only one lens

Earliest Microscopic Observations Leeuwenhoek realized that he can observe even microscopic things
that were moving in pond water, which he call “ANIMALCULES”
1595 – Hans and Zacharias Janssen credited with the first
meaning little animals.
compound microscope
Animalcules – known today as single-celled organism called
1661 – King Charles II of England commissioned a microscopic
“protozoa”
examination of the natural world, as the focus of the royal
interest that time was on insect anatomy. • He studied many specimens such as blood, semen, feces,
pepper, and tartar.
Robert Hooke – an English scientist
• He was the first to observe living cells. He was also the first
– curator of Instruments for the Royal Society of England
to record microscopic observations of muscle fibers,
– He was very fascinated with the microscopic world.
bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries (small
– devised one of the earliest microscopes that can magnify
blood vessels).
every sort of material such as glass, crystal, point of a pin,
body of a flea, and even frozen urine.
– most commemorative work came from a thin slice of cork After more than 200 years,
from a bark of an oak tree
Formulation of the Cell Theory
– observed lining matter (cork cells) through a compound
microscope, which reveals empty cells. 1838 – German Botanist, Matthias Jakob Schleiden, concluded that
– He is the first to call the spaces in the cork “cellulae” which all plant parts are made of cells
means little rooms.
1839 – German physiologist, Theodor Schwann, who was a close
– However, these hollow chambers drawn by Hooke were
friend of Schleiden, stated that all animal tissues are
actually dead.
composed of cells.
Robert Hooke refined the design of the compound microscope
1855 – Robert Remak a prominent neurologist and embryologist,
around 1665 and published a book “Micrographia” which illustrated
published convincing evidence that cells are derived from
his findings using the instrument. Hooke was first credited in seeing
other cells as a result of cell division. However, this idea was
a cell in 1666, but he cannot fully define what he saw.
questioned by many in the scientific community.

1858 - Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow, the “Father of Pathology”

Three years later, a well-respected pathologist published an Organic Chemical Evolution – life originated as primitive cells
editorial essay entitled “Cellular Pathology” (protocells) from inorganic and organic molecules in
Earth’s prebiotic oceans some 3.5 – 4 billion years ago
“Omnis cellula e cellula” All cells come from pre-existing cells.
1938 – Russian Biochemist, Aleksandr Ivanovich Oparin proposed
The Cell Theory – the explanation of the relationship between cells
that organic molecules might have been assembled in
and all living organisms
Earth’s primitive atmosphere in the presence of strong
Three Tenets of the Cell Theory energy

Schleiden and Schwann Miller-Urey Experiment

– all organisms are composed of one or more cells
1953 – American chemist Stanley Miller and Harold Urey designed
– cells are the smallest and basic units of structure
an experiment to test Oparin’s hypothesis by placing a
and function in organism
mixture of inorganic compounds in a closed system, that
Virchow – cells arise only from previously existing cells resembles the primitive Earth.

The Cell Theory Timeline • Miller heated, circulated the mixture and applied an electric
spark.
• After a week, amino acids and other organic compounds
were recovered from the setup.
• The experiment used water (H2O), methane (CH4), ammonia
(NH3), and hydrogen (H2). The chemicals were all sealed
inside a sterile 5-liter glass flask connected to a 500 ml flask
half-full of water.
• Modern day analysis indicate that an even more complete
list of amino acids was successfully synthesized in the
Miller-Urey Experiment.
• Miller and Urey concluded that the basis of spontaneous
organic compound synthesis or early earth was due to the
• Every living thing on the planet is related, connected by primarily reducing atmosphere that existed then.
series of cell divisions from earliest ancestors • The ORGANIC CHEMICAL EVOLUTION hypothesis states
• The first cells inhabit inconceivable places in the planet. that the first life forms have evolved from PROTOCELLS.
• Existing forms of living organisms today are the products of • Protocells are hypothesized to have been formed by the
long and still continuing evolution from much simpler polymerization of organic molecules in heated rocks or in
organisms. clay.
• These might have been enclosed by a lipid-protein
membrane and might have possessed an enzymatic
activity.
 • It evolved over billions of years into a self-replicating Two important parameters in microscopy:
system that gave rise to the first true living cell.
• Magnification
• Resolution

Modern Cell Theory Magnification – a measure of how much larger a microscope (or
set of lenses within a microscope) causes an object to
1. All living organisms are made of cells
appear
2. Cells are the basic unit of life
– the measure of optical instruments for an object to appear
3. Cells arise from pre-existing cells
larger than its actual size.
4. Hereditary information is passed from cell
5. All cells have the basic chemical composition Resolution – the smallest distance by which two points can be
6. Energy Flow occurs within cells separated and still be distinguished as separate
objects
Current Interpretation of Modern Cell Theory
– It indicates clarity of an image
Scientists, biologists, researchers and scholars, though still using the
Magnification = magnification of ocular lens x magnification of
fundamental tenets of cell theory, conclude the following on the
objective lens
modern interpretation of cell theory:
DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
Energy flow – metabolism and biochemistry – happens within cells.
Resolving Power of Microscopes – level of detail that we can see
Cells contain passed on from cell to genetic information in the
– the smaller this value, the higher the resolving power of the
form of DNA cell during division.
microscope and the better the clarity and detail of the image.
In the organisms of similar species, all cells are fundamentally the
Both magnification and resolution are important if you want a
same.
clear picture of something very tiny. For example, if a microscope
All living organisms consist of one or more cells. has high magnification but low resolution, all you’ll get is a bigger
version of a blurry image
Lesson 2.2: The invisible World through the Lens of a Microscope
High magnification and resolution are important in revealing the
Microscopes are important biological tools in revealing the intricacies of extremely small specimens with enough clarity.
intricate parts of the cells
Microscopes in a biology laboratory differ in terms of their
Micrographs – are images produced by a microscope magnification and resolution capabilities.
– specifies the type of microscope used to produce
Light Microscope/Compound Microscope
the image as well as the magnification value of the
image • commonly used in schools
• can enlarge objects up to hundred times, most powerful
type has a 2000x magnification
 • used to examine cells and sections of tissues with the use of • It is the best to use as it clearly illuminates bacteria and
sunlight or artificial light microscopic organisms
• a benefit of light microscopy is that it can often be
Light Microscope Electron Microscope
performed on living cells, so it’s possible to watch cells
Uses visible light Uses beam of electrons
carrying out their normal behaviors (e.g., migrating or
Lower resolution and Higher resolution and
dividing) under the microscope.
magnification magnification
More complex compound microscopes may not produce an inverted Cells can be alive or dead Cells must be dead
image because they include an additional lens that “re-inverts” the Inexpensive, relatively small Expensive, very large
image back to its normal state.

DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Two Major Types of Electron Microscopy

Stereo microscope • Transmission electron microscope (TEM)

• Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
• Stereo Microscopes enable 3D viewing of specimens visible
to the naked eye. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
• They are commonly known as Low Power or Dissecting • the sample is cut into extremely thin slices (for instance,
Microscopes. using a diamond cutting edge) before imaging, and the
• An estimated 99% of stereo applications employ less than electron beam passes through the slice rather than skimming
50x magnification. Use them for viewing insects, crystals, over its surface.
plant life, circuit boards. • TEM is often used to obtain detailed images of the internal
• It is used to examine the externa structures of a specimen structures of cells through sectioned specimens.
such as insects
Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Phase Contact Microscope – It is used to examine
highly transparent objects such as • in contrast, is used to study the 3D surface structures or
unstained cells shapes of objects such as viruses.
• These micrographs are always black and white, scientists
Electron Microscope often add artificial colors for better visibility.
• Uses streams of electrons instead of beams of light to Fluorescent microscope
enlarge objects up to 10 000 000x
• Electrons have much a shorter wavelength than visible light, • It illuminates objects stained with fluorescent dyes that glow
and this allows electron microscopes to produce higher- in the dark.
resolution images than standard light microscopes. • Fluorescent microscopy had been used extensively in
• Electron microscopes can be used to examine not just whole studying the location of certain organelles or substances
cells, but also the subcellular structures and compartments inside the cell.
within them.
 Confocal Scanning Microscope – it is used to examine the Cells need to produce chemical energy (via metabolism) to survive
3D structure of a cell or organelle without cutting the and this requires the exchange of materials with the environment
specimen into sections
• The rate of metabolism of a cell is a function of its mass /
– uses laser beams to scan across the specimen
volume (larger cells need more energy to sustain essential
Video Microscopy functions)
• The rate of material exchange is a function of its surface
• A process where objects examined using different
area (large membrane surface equates to more material
microscopes can be photographed or viewed on TV or
movement)
computer screens.
• Brought by technological advancements in image processing As a cell grows, volume (units3) increases faster than surface area
(units2), leading to a decreased SA:Vol ratio

• If metabolic rate exceeds the rate of exchange of vital

WHY ARE CELLS SO SMALL?
materials and wastes (low SA:Vol ratio), the cell will
In order to survive, cells must constantly interact with their eventually die
surrounding environment • Hence, growing cells tend to divide and remain small in
order to maintain a high SA:Vol ratio suitable for survival
• Nutrients, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide and waste products
enter or leave a cell through plasma membrane.
• Each cell must have abundant surface area to accommodate
these changes.
• As an object grows, its volume increases much more quickly
than its surface area.
• Small size maximizes the ratio of surface area to volume

Surface Area to Volume Ratio

DDDDDDDDD

• Surface area is the area of the outside of the cell, called the
plasma membrane.
• The volume is how much space is inside the cell.
• The ratio is the surface area divided by the volume.
• This indicates how much surface area is available compared
to how big the cell is.
 GENETIC MATERIAL (DNA) - located at a central region that
provides instructions to make proteins, regulates
activities, and enables cells to reproduce

Cytoskeleton – it is inside the cytoplasm are organelles that are

suspended in microscopic fibers

Ribosomes – molecular machines that synthesize proteins

Two Main Type of Cells: the presence of the specific type of cell
allows biologist to classify organisms based on their
complexities

• Prokaryotes
• Eukaryotes

Prokaryotes – simple
– pro meaning “before” and karyon meaning “nut,”
which all means “before the nut”

Prokaryotic – complex cell wall

Eukaryotes – more complex

– Greek eu meaning “true” karyon meaning “nut”

Eukaryotic – with compartmentalization/membrane-bound

organelles
Lesson 2.3: Basic Cell Types
Fossil records show that the first kind of cell to develop about 3.5
All living things have cells that share fundamental structural parts, Billion years ago are Prokaryotes
which include:
• Bacteria
Cell Membrane or Plasma Membrane – an outer boundary that • Blue-Green Algae
regulates the passage of materials into and out of the cell • Archeans
Cytoplasm – a gel-like substance making up the cell’s internal that can thrive / can be found in air, water, soil, bodies of
environment host Bodies of water extreme environments
Nucleus – central genetic region
 Some prokaryotes have a CAPSULE - acts as a protective layer
made up of polysaccharides lying outside the cell wall

Lacks a distinct nucleus, but has a Nucleoid Region - it stores its

genetic material in the form of DNA

It has a CYTOPLASM - not organized into distinct compartments

Scattered RIBOSOMES - Located on cytoplasm, these small

structures make proteins

Some possess PLASMID - an independent circular DNA structure,

apart from its chromosomal DNA
- its presence provides the bacteria with genetic advantages,
such as antibacterial resistance
- Used by scientist for genetic cloning and manipulation

APPENDAGES of Bacterial Cell:

FLAGELLA (Flagellum) - taillike, whiplike tail, allow locomotion /

propel the bacteria
- located at the end part of the cell

FRIMBRIAE (Fimbria) - additional smaller and bristle-like fibers

- they help the bacteria to attach themselves to different
surfaces

CONJUGATION PILLI (Conjugation pilus) - tubular structures that

function for cell-to-cell communication, as well as to pass
Structures of a Bacterial Cell
DNA from one bacterium to the next
Plasma Membrane – a semipermeable membrane responsible for - These structures are particularly important because some
the prokaryote to allow waste products to pass through bacteria are very successful in developing drug resistance
while preventing the diffusion of essential products to the across bacterial generations.
external environment
All these appendages enable the bacteria to communicate
Cell wall – responsible for maintaining its shape especially when information form cell to cell
cells are exposed to high water influx
 Flagella Consist of two Complex; consist of
protein building multiple
blocks microtubules
Cell Wall Usually present; Only in plant cells
chemically complex and fungi
(chemically simpler)

Characteristic Prokaryotic Cell Eukaryotic Cell

Plasma membrane Usually No Yes
with steroid
Cytoplasm No Cytoskeleton or Cytoskeleton;
cytoplasmic cytoplasmic
About 1.8 billion years ago, a new kind of cell evolved to a larger streaming streaming
size and more complex structural components. Ribosomes Smaller Larger
Cell Division Binary Fission Mitosis
Complex cells known as EUKARYOTIC CELLS Number of One, but not true More than one
Chromosomes chromosomes
• possessed by HIGHER FORMS of organisms - Fungi, Sexual No meiosis; transfer Involves Meiosis
Animals, Plants, and Protists Reproduction of DNA fragments
• Distinct NUCLEUS - Houses its genetic material, DNA only (conjugation)
• They are HIGHLY-ORGANIZED - Membrane-bound
compartments and organelles are neatly

Characteristics Prokaryotic Cell Eukaryotic Cell

Size of Cell Typically 0.2-2.0𝜇𝑚 Typically 10-100 𝜇𝑚
in diameter in diameter
Example Bacteria and Animals and Plants
Archaea
Nucleus Absent Present
Membrane- Absent Present example:
enclosed Lysosomes, Golgi
organelles Complex,
Endoplasmic
reticulum,
mitochondria &
chloroplasts