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Cell Specialization 1.15 – pg. 48-49
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1. What are the advantages of cell specialization for an organism?
Specialized cells are able to band together to create a specialized structure that is then responsible for
one specific job. The specialized cells then can work together with other specialized cells that are
responsible for another specific job but the function of the two groups of specialized cells become
interdependent on each other to help the multicellular organism function better and carry out
increasingly more complex activities. A unicellular organism must be responsible for all the functions
of life whereas in a multicellular organism where many specialized cells join together to carry out
those functions for life, the responsibility is spread out so that if one cell is damaged or destroyed the
other cells can still carry out the function.
2. Predict what might happen to multicellular plants if a microorganism that digests pectin
was accidentally released from a laboratory.
Pectin is a sticky sugary substance that is found in the middle lamellae, which is the name given to the
spaces between plant cells. The function of Pectin is to bond or cement together all the plan cells so
that they stick together. If a microorganism that digests pectin were accidentally released from a
laboratory, plant cells would not be able to stick together. The result would probably be that plants
would not have rigid cell walls that help plants keep their shape. Instead the plants would just be one
gooey flexible mass of plant cells.
3. What is the advantage of a highly folded cell membrane?
A highly folded cell membrane would result in an increased surface area. This benefit of more surface
area for an organism is increased area for the function of absorbtion.
4. What advantage does a thick, flexible plant cell wall provide over a thick, rigid cell wall?
A plant cell well that is thick and flexible is actually stronger than a plant cell wall that is thick and
rigid. For example, if I were to step on a plant that had a thick and flexible cell wall, the internal
structure of the plant would be protected by the thick cell wall and the plant would bend under my
foot but it wouldn’t break because it’s flexible. Conversely, if I stepped on a plant with a thick but rigid
cell wall, it would snap under the weight of my foot.
5. Examine the cell shapes in Figure 3 on page 49.
a) Which cell would be best suited as an egg cell? Give your reasons.
The large circular cell would be best suited as an egg cell. The reason is that the egg cell is meant to
produce a chicklet. It therefore needs to have a large amount of cytoplasm to store nutrients needed
for many cell divisions. The nutrients would be stored in the Golgi apparatus.
b) Which cell would be best suited for movement? Give your reasons.
The cell with the flagellum (whip-like tail) attached to it would be best suited for movement. It is also
well suited to movement because the cell is streamlined to push through any substance within which
it is suspended. Note also that the mitochondria would likely be located at the rear of the cell where
the flagellum is located since the flagellum uses a lot of energy to move the cell and the mitochondria
produces energy.
c) Which cell would be best suited as a covering for an organ? Give your reasons.
The thin flat cell would be best suited a covering for an organ since it would cover a large area of the
organ because of its thin and flat shape.
6. Identify body cells that have a structure similar to that of a unicellular organism.
On Page 49, the cells in a human lung (2a) are described as having cilia which sweep away particles
that are trapped in mucous while attempting to enter the lungs. These cells sound very much like the
unicellular organisms called paramecia (page 44-45). White blood cells sound like amoebas in the
way that they engulf and destroy foreign cells in our bodies. Finally sperm cells have a flagellum that
helps the sperm cell to move just like a euglena cell.
7. Why are specialized cells dependent on other specialized cells?
In a multicellular organism, specialized cells are responsible for a specific function for that organism.
For example, in the human body, the respiratory system is made up of specialized nerve, epithelial,
muscle, and connective cells. Each cell is very good at performing one specific job (many specialized
muscle cells make up the diaphragm muscle responsible for expanding lungs and breathing air in) but
they are not good at performing another cell’s job (epithelial cells do not keep the diaphragm
functioning, instead they line the lungs and are responsible for gas exchange and protection of lungs).
Thus the different specialized cells rely on each other to do the jobs they are responsible for so that
the whole multicellular organism can meet all its basic needs to survive. (epithelial cells depend on
muscle cells to breathe in air so that oxygen and CO² can be exchanged by absorbtion across the
epithelial membrane lining the lungs and then CO² can be taken out of the body when the muscle cells
cause the body to exhale).