Chapter 3 | Cell Structure and Function
- In your everyday life, you have probably noticed that certain instruments are ideal for certain situations. For example, you would use a spoon rather than a fork to eat soup because a spoon is shaped for scooping, while soup would slip between the tines of a fork. The use of ideal instruments also applies in science. In what situation(s) would the use of a light microscope be ideal, and why?
- In what situation(s) would the use of a scanning electron microscope be ideal, and why?
- In what situation(s) would a transmission electron microscope be ideal, and why?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each of these types of microscopes?
- You already know that ribosomes are abundant in red blood cells. In what other cells of the body would you find them in great abundance? Why?
- What are the structural and functional similarities and differences between mitochondria and chloroplasts?
- In the context of cell biology, what do we mean by form follows function? What are at least two examples of this concept?
- In your opinion, is the nuclear membrane part of the endomembrane system? Why or why not? Defend your answer.
- What are the similarities and differences between the structures of centrioles and flagella?
- How do cilia and flagella differ?
- How does the structure of a plasmodesma differ from that of a gap junction?
- Explain how the extracellular matrix functions.
- Why is it advantageous for the cell membrane to be fluid in nature?
- Why do phospholipids tend to spontaneously orient themselves into something resembling a membrane?
- Discuss why the following affect the rate of diffusion: molecular size, temperature, solution density, and the distance that must be traveled.
- Why does water move through a membrane?
- Both of the regular intravenous solutions administered in medicine, normal saline and lactated Ringer’s solution, are isotonic. Why is this important?
- Where does the cell get energy for active transport processes?
- How does the sodium-potassium pump contribute to the net negative charge of the interior of the cell?
- Why is it important that there are different types of proteins in plasma membranes for the transport of materials into and out of a cell?
- Why do ions have a difficult time getting through plasma membranes despite their small size?
