Introduction
The Big Idea – Organisms are organised on a cellular basis and require a supply of energy or materials.
The level of organisation is the cell. The cell is a collection of organelles (structures within a cell that each have a specific job or function) that allow the cell to do its job. Similar cells can group together to make a tissue and different tissues (muscle) can group together to make an organ (heart). Different organs can link together to make an organ system (The circulatory system) and eventually different organ systems make up a fully functioning organism (you).
This topic looks at the start of that organisation – The Cell.
The Essentials
The cell is a collection of organelles (structures within a cell that each have a specific job or function) that allow the cell to do its job. You must know the names of the different organelles and their function. Cells are specialised which means they only ever have one job to do. To help them do this job really well they have unique shapes and different amounts of organelles within them. You need to be able to relate structure (shape and organelles) to function (their job). For example a sperm cells job is the carry DNA to the egg cell. To do this it has a large head to carry the DNA, a streamlined shape and tail to help it swim to the egg and lots of mitochondria as these supply the energy for tail movement to help it swim. If you can write out sentences like this for every cell on the 100% sheet you will know your cells really well!
Deeper Understanding
This video is a computer animation of cells and shows a more realistic picture of how cell look. Remember cells are 3 dimensional even though we draw them as 2 dimensional. This video is aimed at GCSE level so there are some structures (organelles) that you don’t need to know about but its pretty cool to see them anyway.
Other Links
Review and Rate your Understanding
Have you learnt all the facts on the 100% sheet?
Have you completed the BBC Bitesize tutorial?
Have you been able to complete all the questions on the 100% sheet?
Let us know how you feel about cells in the comments section below. Any questions you have, just ask.
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