Download Comparing a Cell to a Factory

Name _________________________
Date__________________________
Let’s do some brain storming together.
With what systems are you familiar?
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What makes these things systems? That is, how would you define a system?
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With what types of factories are you familiar?
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Do you consider these systems? Why or why not?
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Now, we are going to compare a factory and a cell. We will think about how each can be thought of as a
system.
Copyright 1996 Shawn Glynn
A cell can be thought of as a "factory," with different departments each
performing specialized tasks.
Imagine a bustling factory manufacturing the latest must-have gadget. Whether they make
bicycles, cell phones, or hot air balloons, most factories are set up in essentially the same way.
All factories have exterior walls that protect and support them and interior walls that create
separate work areas. They usually have some kind of production line where a product is
assembled and an executive department that decides what product is made. A finishing
department processes and prepares the product for shipping, and a packaging department wraps
the product.
In addition, a factory has a receiving department that brings in the components it needs to make
its product, a communications department that allows it to contact suppliers, and a power plant
that provides the energy it needs to run. Finally, a custodial staff keeps everything clean and in
good working order.
Cells are very similar to factories. To stay alive and function properly, cells have a division of labor
similar to that found in factories. Here, we will examine cells as protein-producing factories.
As stated on this site, a cell is a factory that produces what?__________________________
Use the information on the website listed below to help you complete the table. In the first column of the
chart, factory jobs are listed for you. In the second column of the chart, write the name of the organelle that
functions most like the factory worker described in the first column. In the third column, write a brief
description of the function of the organelle in the cell.
http://www.beyondbooks.com/lif71/4a.asp
Job in the Factory
Cell Organelle
Shipping/Receiving
Department
Chief Executive Officer
(CEO)
Factory floor
Assembly line (where
workers do their work)
Workers in the assembly
line
Finishing/packaging
department
Maintenance crew
Support beams (walls,
ceilings, floors)
Power plant
Function of the organelle
Let us consider what we have learned so far and answer the questions below together:
What is the ultimate energy source for the cell? Remember that a cell needs energy to produce
proteins.
Why is the cell membrane explained in terms of a "fluid mosaic model?
What organelle contains the "blueprints" for the production of proteins?
Three types of what do most of the work in the cell? For example, identify the cell to other cells;
move materials in and out of the cell; allow the cell to interact with other cells?
Where does most of the cell's work take place?
What is the basic difference between rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and smooth ER?
What are some things that can happen to proteins, once they leave the golgi apparatus and enter
the cytoplasm?
Now, on your own, answer the following about the cell system:
When this system is working, what does it do? _____________________________________________
For this system to work, must it receive any input?________________________________________
What, if any, output does this system produce?_____________________________________________
Identify at least four parts of this system. Describe what each part does, and tell how each part
contributes to the system as a whole.
1. _______________________________________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________________________________
Can any one part of the system do what the whole system does? Justify your response.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Identify at least two parts of this system that must interact if the system is to function. Describe
how these parts interact.
1.______________________________________________ 2. __________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Describe how the functioning of this system would change if one of the parts wears out.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________