Why are Cells so Small? Cell Size and Surface Area to Volume Ratio
Name _______________________ Date ______________ Per _____
Learning Objectives: • LO 2.6: The student is able to use calculated surface-to-volume ratios to predict which cell(s) might eliminate wastes or procure nutrients faster by diffusion. • LO 2.13: The student is able to explain how internal membranes and organelles contribute to cell functions. Introduction: All organisms are composed of cells. The size and shape of a cell determines how well it can deliver nutrients to its interior. Since all cells and organisms depend upon the efficient delivery of gases, nutrients, and other important molecules, the relationship between a cell's surface area and its volume is an important regulating concept. Cells are limited in how large they can be. This is because the surface area and volume ratio does not stay the same as their size increases. Because of this, it is harder for a large cell to pass materials in and out of the membrane, and to move materials through the cell. In this lab, you will make cube shaped models to represent cells. The dimension along one side will be doubled with each model. You will then calculate the surface area, volume, and the ratio between the two. The surface area and volume are calculated as shown in the figure below:
Questions: 1. List some of the things that cross a cell’s membrane. a. ________________________ b. ________________________ c. ________________________ 2. Why is it important that a cell have a large surface area relative to its volume? (In other words, a high surface area to volume ratio.) _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Cut out and construct the four cell models. Fold and tape into cubes with the tabs to the inside. Measure and record the dimensions in the Table 1. Table 1. Cell Size Comparison Cube (cell)
Dimensions (cm)
1 (smallest)
____ x ____ x ____
2
3 4 (largest)
Surface Area 2 (cm )
Volume 3 (cm )
Surface Area to Volume Ratio
4. Calculate the total surface areas, volumes, and surface area-to volume ratios for each cell model and record it in table 1. Show calculations in the table. 5. Which model has the largest surface area? _______________________________________________ 6. Which model has the largest volume? ___________________________________________________ 7. Which model has the largest ratio? _____________________________________________________ 8. What is happening to the surface area to volume ratio as the cell size increases? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 9. To maintain life, and carry-out cellular functions, materials must be able to move into and out of the cell. Also, material needs to be able to move within the cell. What might be the advantage of having a large surface area? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Since transport of materials in and out of the cell can only happen at the cell’s surface, what problem does this pose for larger cells? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Do larger organisms have larger cells than smaller organisms, or more cells than smaller organisms? Explain. _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 12. What is the advantage of having folded membrane surrounding the cell (i.e. plasma membrane), or within the cytoplasm (i.e. endoplasmic reticulum) or within organelles (i.e. chloroplast)? _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________
Haut, J. (2012). Modified from “Limits to Size-Why are Cells so Small?”
Haut, J. (2012). Modified from “Limits to Size-Why are Cells so Small?”
Haut, J. (2012). Modified from “Limits to Size-Why are Cells so Small?”
Why are cells Small-Surface Area to Volume Worksheet-2012.pdf ...
Page 1 of 4. Why are Cells so Small? Name. Cell Size and Surface Area to Volume Ratio Date. Per _____. Learning Objectives: ⢠LO 2.6: The student is able to ...
There was a problem previewing this document. Retrying... Download. Connect more apps... Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item. Why are cells ...
than other cells? Page 3 of 76. (lab) Investigation Why are Cells So Small.pdf. (lab) Investigation Why are Cells So Small.pdf. Open. Extract. Open with. Sign In.
Apr 15, 2007 - cell line using clonal and population analyses, rather than isolating .... Phone: 86-571-87784606; Fax: 86-571-87783757; E-mail: pheiphei@. 163.com. ..... multipotentiality or a cell's ability to give rise to multiple cell types.
than expected rate for technology development. While prices have definitely fallen in recent years, uncertainty lingers regarding whether significant market ...
quality because, unlike the U.S. for example, Colombian students in their last year .... Student Loan Institute (ICETEX) offers a postgraduate study credit-line ... full name, gender, entry score, program applied to and cohort of application, .... Le
morphological changes induced by etoposide in single living HepG2 cells. ... ripheral chromatin condensation (so called âapoptotic ringâ). In order to describe ...
Apr 28, 2010 - has increased in the past year (24 percent). Statistically, this is similar to the ... EBRI blog: http://ebriorg.blogspot.com/. Sign up for our RSS feeds.
A key feature of an enterprise application is its ability to integrate and ... Ideally, an enterprise application should be able to present all relevant information.
America. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters, 6, 57â76. Losos, J.B. & Schluter, D. (2000) Analysis of an .... StatSoft (2003) STATISTICA (data analysis software system), ... tribution of ants on the Wessel and English Company Islands,.
and/or (iii) distance to the mainland is small. The archipelago's geological origin was also important; a higher percentage of oceanic archipelagos fit into their ...
Apr 28, 2010 - ... does not take policy positions and does not lobby. EBRI's on Twitter! @EBRI or http://twitter.com/EBRI. EBRI blog: http://ebriorg.blogspot.com/.
These absorb light and funnel the energy to chlorophyll a. Different ... Using information provided by your teacher or other available resources, fifld the colors of.
There was a problem previewing this document. Retrying... Download. Connect more apps... Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item. Lesson Notes ...
Whoops! There was a problem loading more pages. Retrying... Whoops! There was a problem previewing this document. Retrying... Download. Connect more apps... Try one of the apps below to open or edit this item. Volume and surface area inquiry - prompt
Nov 20, 2010 - 1. Introduction. Solar energy has promising potential as an alternative to fossil fuels. .... recorded automatically with a Keithley SMU 2410 source meter by ... ness. Fig. 2 shows spray-coated P3HT:PCBM thickness as a function.
Feb 22, 2006 - society The application compo- ... online. Each student and parent could see this individual form anytime, and I also printed this report in ... accept or credit late homework. A ... report card, I ought to lock my desk and go bome ...