Name: _____________________ Biology WAFA ELIAS

Date: 2. Organization of the organism Grade 9 IGCSE

2.1 Cell structure and organization

The basic unit of life is the cell. living organisms:
 Unicellular: have only one cell (Bacteria, yeast)
 multicellular: have many cells (Most other living organisms)
structur Function
e
 all cells have a cell membrane around the outside.
membrane/cell surface

 It contains cytoplasm, organelles, nucleus

 The cell membrane is a very thin layer of protein and fat.
 it controls what goes in and out of dissolved substances. It is said to be partially permeable/
 Cytoplasm is a clear jelly. It is nearly all water, about 70% water and dissolved substances (salts, sugars
Cytoplasm

and proteins).
 contains the cell organelles (except the nucleus), e.g. mitochondria, chloroplasts in plant cell
 site of chemical reactions (metabolic reactions). such as respiration and protein manufacture
 It contains the genetic material (DNA which makes up genes on chromosomes) that carries the
nucleus
Plant & animal cells

instructions that control the cell activity and structure (RBC do not have nucleus)
 Chromosomes are very long, but so thin that they cannot easily be seen even using the electron
microscope. However, when the cell is dividing, they become short and thick, and can be seen with a
 tiny structures that are almost invisible with a light microscope.
ribosomes amitochondri

 In all cells except prokaryotes

 Power house of cell, oxygen is used to release energy from glucose in the process called aerobic
respiration.
 Smaller than mitochondria can just be seen with an electron microscope
 Where proteins are made by joining amino acids in a long chain according to instruction from DNA .
 They look like tiny dots attached to a network of membranes that runs throughout the cytoplasm. This
network is called the rough endoplasmic reticulum ER.
 Is a network of membranes covered with tiny granules called ribosomes.
 The spaces between the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum act as a transportation system,
ER

sending protein to the part of the cell where it is needed.

Plant cells only

A rigid cell wall made of cellulose (polysaccharide), which is a completely permeable.

vacuole cell wall

And it helps the cell to:

 keep its shape
 maintain a pressure within the cell (turgor pressure) to keep the plant firm and upright. = Provide
 A largestructural
permanent support (pressure
vacuole ofcells,
in plant cell contents
containsleads to turgidity)
cell sap: a water necessary to provide turgor pressure
and may store sugars, salts
 It presses outwards on the cytoplasm and cell wall which makes plant cells firm & helps to keep it in
shape.

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  contain chlorophyll (the green pigment which absorbs light) and the enzymes necessary for

chloroplast
photosynthesis (carbon dioxide and water combine to form glucose)
 It contains starch grains, which have been made by photosynthesis. Animal cells never
contain starch grains. Some animal cells, however, do have granules (tiny grains) of another substance

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2.2 Levels of organization
Specialisation of cells
In unicellular organisms, one cell must be able to carry out all the functions of a living organism. In multicellular
organisms, cells are specialized in their shapes and activities to carry out a specific function.

Relate the structure of the following to their functions:

Type Where it is Function How they are adapted to this function

of cell found
palisadevesselsxylemcellsroot hair ciliated cells

lining the movement of Has a layer of tiny hairs (cilia) which can move the mucus, made and
nose, mucus that carries released by neighboring cells, upwards like a ‘moving carpet’.
trachea dust and bacteria Remember that cilia do not form a network to ‘trap’ dust and bacteria.
(windpipe) upward in the
and bronchi trachea and and
absorb water The hair-like projection on each cell penetrates between the soil
near the
mineral salts from particles and is able to form a very close contact with the water film
ends of plant
the soil. surrounding many soil particles
roots And also offers a large absorbing surface.
in stems, transport water They help in supporting the plant in the soil
Conduction
roots and and mineral salts Xylem vessels are elongated dead cells forming long, narrow tubes.
leaves of from They are joined end to end like drain pipes. No endwall ( so that many
plants the roots to the cells can form a continus tube)
underneath stem, leaves, is to
Their function contain the greatest number of chloroplasts
the upper make food for the they are the first to receive the Sun’s rays as they enter the leaf
epidermis of plant by their chloroplasts are able to move, within the cytoplasm of the cell,
cellsred blood nervemesophyll

photosynthesis towards the upper surface of the leaf to receive more sunlight.
plant leaves.
using carbonof
conduction The cell has long fibre called an axon along which impulses travel, a
cells

throughout the
impulses fatty sheath which gives electrical insulation and many branched
bodies of
transmit ending which can connect with many other cells.
animals
information
Transports oxygen they
1 Thecarry electrical
cytoplasm impulses
of red blood from the receptor
cells contains organs tohemoglobin,
the pigment the central
in the blood of from lungs to the which combines (in the lungs) with oxygen to become oxyhemoglobin.
mammals tissue where 2 the cells have no nucleus, leaving more space for heomglobin
aerobic respiration 3 They are small, and there are many of them. This gives them a very
occurs. largesperm-
surfacemale
areagamete,
for oxygen
it isabsorption.
egg cellssperm and

The made of:

fuse together to
in testes and  There is a tip, called an acrosome, which secretes enzymes to digest
produce a zygote
ovaries the egg membrane.
reproduction
 a head containing the haploid nucleus

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Tissues, organs and organ system

different levels of organization Example in animals Example in plants

tissue as a group of cells with similar bone, blood, epidermis, spongy tissue, xylem and
structures, working together muscular tissue in the intestine phloem in the vascular bundles
to perform a shared function wall of an animal. of a plant, pith
lining of stomach or muscle - the palisade tissue, in which the cells are
These cells make enzymes to help specialized to carry out photosynthesis.
to digest your food

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 organ as a structure made up of a the stomach, The heart, kidney, root, stem, leaves, onion bulb
group of tissues, working trachea, lungs, intestines, brain the leaf of a plant – an organ for the
together to perform specific and the eye of an animal – the manufacture of carbohydrates during
functions organ of sight. photosynthesis

organ as a group of organs with Circulatory system, nervous In a flowering plant, the stem, leaves
system related functions, working system, digestive system, and buds make up a system called the
together to perform body respiratory system, excretory shoot
functions system, endocrine system
the sepals + petals + stamens + carpels
the heart + arteries + veins + (i.e. the flowers) of a plant for
capillaries in an animal, i.e. the reproduction;
circulatory system.

An organism is formed by the organs and systems working together to produce an independent plant or animal.

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 For example, the ciliated cells in figure 2.14 make up a tissue that is part of an organ (the bronchus), which is part of the
respiratory system which is part of the organism or person.

2.3 Size of specimens

Calculate magnification and size of biological specimens using

millimetres and micrometres as units
There are two types of microscope: the light microscope and the
electron microscope.

 To see cells clearly, you need to use a microscope, The kind of

microscope used in a school laboratory is called a light microscope
because it shines light through the piece of animal or plant you are

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 looking at. It uses glass lenses to magnify and focus the image. A very good light microscope can magnify about 1500
times.
 Light microscope: For example, if the specimen is viewed using a ×10 eyepiece lens and ×40 objective lens, the total
magnification will be 10 × 40 = 400.

 To see even smaller things inside a cell, an electron microscope is used. This uses a beam of electrons
instead of light, and can magnify up to 500 000 times. This means that a lot more detail can be seen inside a
cell.

When drawing, measure in mm – avoid cm

Activity 2.2 and 2.3

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Looking at plant and animal cells

Safety precautions:
 wear your lab coat
 Protective gloves
 Goggles
 be careful using the scalpel.
Procedure
• Take a very thin slice off your onion sample
• Mount it on a slide
• Use the microscope in low power
• Locate and draw one cell.
• Label a nucleus and one starch grain.

How to mount a sample:

1-clean the slide.
2-add your sample
3-add a drop of Iodine.
4-cover it with a cover slip.
Make sure you don’t have any air bubbles!!!!

Make a labelled drawing of a few cells

Questions
A1 Name two structures which you can see in these cells, but which
you could not see in the tracheal cells (Activity 2.2).
………………………………………………………………………………………….

A2 Most plant cells have chloroplasts, but these onion cells do not.
Suggest a reason for this.
………………………………………………………………………………………….

A3 Iodine solution turns blue-black in the presence of starch. Did any of the onion cells contain starch?
………………………………………………………………………………………….

For the cheek cell:

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1. Clean off your slide.
2. Add a drop of methylene blue to the empty slide.
3. Using the blunt (not sharp) end of a toothpick, gently scrape the inside of your cheek.
4. Swirl the toothpick end, now with cheek cells, in the methylene blue on the slide.
5. Place a coverslip on the stained cheek cells.
6. Observe under the microscope like you did for the onion cell above

Make a labelled drawing of a few cells

Questions
A1 Which part of the cell stained the darkest blue?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
A2 Is the cell membrane permeable or impermeable to methylene blue?
Explain how you worked out your answer.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Activity 2.1

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Using a microscope
Skills
Using techniques, apparatus and materials

Label the microscope.

coarse adjustment, fine adjustment, stage, light source, eyepiece, arm, objective lens

1 Place the microscope where plenty of light falls onto the mirror.
2 Find the objective lenses. Swivel them around until the smallest (lowest power) one is over the hole in the
stage.
3 Look down the eyepiece with one eye, closing your other eye. Turn the mirror around until it looks really
bright.
4 Put a hair, or something else very small, onto a glass microscope slide. Place the slide on the stage, so that
the hair is over the hole that the light comes up through.
5 Looking from the side, slowly turn the large (coarse) focusing knob until the objective lens is almost touching
the hair. Be very careful not to let the lens touch the hair or the slide.
6 Now look down the eyepiece again. Slowly turn the focusing knob in the other direction, so that the
objective lens moves up and away from the hair. Keep doing this until you can see the hair.
7 Now you can use the small (fine) focusing knob to bring the hair into clear focus.
8 If you want to see the hair at even higher magnification, carefully swing the objective lenses around until the
next biggest one is over the hair. You can use the fine focusing knob to bring it into focus.

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