Chapter 1:
Cell Structure and Functions
Exercise Questions
Presented by: Ms. Maiza Bukhari
SHORT QUESTION ANSWERS
• Q1: Name three organelles revealed by an electron
microscope.
• Ans: Organelles which can be seen under electron microscope
(highest magnification to more than 200,000x) are ribosomes,
endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, centrioles, and Golgi
bodies.
• Q2: Why cell wall is not present in animal cells ?
• Ans: Animal cells don't have cell walls because they do not
need them. The cytoplasm is a thick solution mainly composed
of water, salts, and proteins. It is enclosed by the cell
membrane. It acts as a buffer and protects the genetic material
and also the cell organelles from damage.
• Q3: What holds the ribosomes together in a polysome?
• Ans: Ribosomes can be found floating within the cytoplasm or
attached to the endoplasmic reticulum. mRNA or messenger
RNA holds the ribosomes together in a polysome.
• Q4: What would happen if there are no lysosomes in human
cells?
• Ans: Lysosomes, also called suicide bags, are responsible for
cell death or phagocytosis under certain conditions. But the
basic function of the lysosome is to digest all the waste
products of the cell. So if there is no lysosome, waste will
accumulate in the cell, making it toxic. This can spread and can
affect various cells. This can also cause huge damage to the
body by causing diseases such as cancer.
• Q5: Why lysosomes are called suicidal bags?
• Ans: If the cell gets damaged, then one of the lysosomes bursts
and release some digestive enzymes. The released enzymes
then digest their own cell and ultimately the cell dies. Hence,
lysosomes are called suicide bags of the cell.
• Q6: Name the structures and organelles which are common in plant
cell, animal cell and a prokaryotic cell.
• Ans: Plant and animal cells have many common organelles, including
the nucleus, cell membrane (called the plasma membrane in
animals), endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria and cytoplasm, as
well as several others.
• Animal and plant cells contain many organelles not found in
prokaryotic cells. Prokaryotes have no true nucleus as the DNA is not
contained within a membrane, but is coiled up in a region of the
cytoplasm called the nucleoid (nuclear region).
• Q7: How is a chloroplast similar to a bacterium?
• Ans: A chloroplast is similar to a bacteria in the following ways:
• It has circular DNA.
• It is photosynthetic with both Photosystems I and II, and
generates oxygen in the light.
• It has bacterial ribosomes.
• Q8: Name the organelles of eukaryotic cell and write their specific
functions .
• Ans: Following organelles are present in eukaryotic cell and their functions
are mentioned beside:
• Nucleus: The “brains” of the cell, the nucleus directs cell activities and
contains genetic material called chromosomes made of DNA.
• Mitochondria: Make energy out of food. ATP generator and play an
important role in cellular respiration.
• Ribosomes: Make proteins.
• Golgi Apparatus: Make, process and package proteins.
• Lysosome: Contains digestive enzymes to help break food down.
• Endoplasmic Reticulum: Called the "intracellular highway" because it is for
transporting all sorts of items around the cell.
• Vacuole: Used for storage. Vacuoles usually contain water or food hence
named as contractile vacuole and food vacuole respectively.
• Q9: What are prokaryotic cells? List the structures missing in
prokaryotic cells.
• Ans: Prokaryotic cells are single-celled microorganisms known to be
the earliest on earth. Prokaryotes include Bacteria and Archaea. The
photosynthetic prokaryotes include cyanobacteria that perform
photosynthesis. A prokaryotic cell consists of a single membrane and
therefore, all the reactions occur within the cytoplasm.
• They lack a nuclear membrane. Mitochondria, Golgi bodies,
chloroplast, and lysosomes are also absent.
• Q10: Compare microfilaments and microtubules.
• Ans: Microfilaments are double-stranded molecules of polymerized
fibrous (F) actin; the monomeric form of the protein is globular (G)
actin; and these two forms exist in equilibrium in the cell. The
microfilaments are present in bundles and form a three-dimensional
(3D) intracellular meshwork. Apart from actin, they’re also having
troponin and tropomyosin.
• Microtubules, the third principal component of the cytoskeleton, are
rigid hollow rods approximately 25 nm in diameter. Like actin
filaments, microtubules are dynamic structures that undergo
continual assembly and disassembly within the cell. They are
composed of a protein named tubulin.
• Q11: Which organelles are single membrane bound, double
membrane bound and lacking any membrane.
• Ans: Single membrane bound organelles are: peroxisomes and
glyoxisomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and
lysosomes.
• Double membrane bound organelles are: nucleus,
mitochondria, plastids.
• Organelles having no membrane are: ribosomes, cytoskeleton,
cell wall and centrioles.
• Q12: How cytoskeletons are important to eukaryotic cells?
• Ans: The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking
protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including
those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell
nucleus to the cell membrane and is composed of similar proteins in
the various organisms.
• The cytoskeleton of eukaryotic cells provides structure and
organization, resists and transmits stresses, and drives shape change
and movement.
• Q13: Compare the chemical composition of nucleoplasm with
that of cytoplasm.
• Ans: The composition of cytoplasm and nucleoplasm is
different from each other. Cytoplasm is composed of
suspended, membrane-bound organelles and inclusions.
Nucleoplasm lacks membrane-bound organelles but still bears
the nucleolus. Chromatin is born by the nucleoplasm.
• Q14: Explain that nucleoli are the areas where ribosomes are
assembled.
• Ans: The nucleolus is a ribosome production factory, designed
to fulfill the need for large-scale production of rRNAs and
assembly of the ribosomal subunits.
• The nucleolus is a spherical structure found in the cell's nucleus
whose primary function is to produce and assemble the cell's
ribosomes. The nucleolus is also where ribosomal RNA genes
are transcribed.
• Q15: Write down the difference between resolution and
magnification, cytoplasm of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell, rough
ER and smooth ER, chromatin and chromosome.
• Ans: [Link]fication is the ability to make small objects seem
larger, such as making a microscopic organism visible. Resolution is
the ability to distinguish two objects from each other.
• 2. The cytoplasm of eukaryotic cell is located between the cell
membrane and nuclear membrane, while in prokaryotic cells the
cytoplasm fills the whole space bounded by the cell membrane.
• The cytoplasm of both eukaryote and prokaryote cells consists of a
gelatinous liquid known as cytosol.
• 3. The most basic difference between RER and SER is the
presence of ribosomes. When ribosomes attach to the surface
of an ER, it gives a characteristic rough appearance; hence it is
called Rough ER. On the other hand, a smooth ER does not
have ribosomes on its surface. It possesses ribosomes attached
to its membrane.
• The smooth endoplasmic reticulum is involved in the
production of lipids, while the rough endoplasmic reticulum is
involved in the synthesis of proteins.
• 4. The main difference between chromatin and chromosome is
that chromatin packages DNA into the cell nucleus, whereas
chromosomes ensure the proper separation of the genetic
material between daughter cells.
• Chromatin is the complex of genomic DNA with proteins called
histones, where each histone-bound DNA molecule is referred
to as a chromosome. However, chromatin not only compacts
the genome into the nucleus, but is also the mechanism
controlling how the genome is read out from cell to cell.
THANK YOU..