MODULE 1 BIOLOGY NOTES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cell Structure: What distinguishes one cell from another? .............................2

investigate different cellular structures, including but not limited to: examining a variety of
prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (ACSB1032, ACSB1048), describe a range of technologies that are
used to determine a cell’s structure and function ................................................................................ 2
investigate a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structures, including but not limited to:
drawing scaled diagrams of a variety of cells (ACSBL035), comparing, and contrasting different cell
organelles and arrangements, modelling the structure and function of the fluid mosaic model of the
cell membrane (ACSBL045) ............................................................................................................... 2
Cell Function: How do cells coordinate activities within their internal
environment and external environment? .....................................................5
investigate the way in which materials can move into and out of cells, including but not limited:
conducting a practical investigation modelling diffusion and osmosis (ACSBL1046), examining the
roles of active transport, endocytosis, and exocytosis (ACSBL046), relating the exchange of
materials across membranes to the surface-area-to-volume ratio, concentration gradients and
characteristics of the materials being exchanged (ACSBL1047) ......................................................... 5
investigate cell requirements, including but not limited to: suitable forms of energy, including light
energy and chemical energy in complex molecules (ACSBL044) matter, including gases, simple
nutrients and ions, removal of wastes (ACSBL044) ............................................................................ 6
investigate the biochemical processes of photosynthesis, cell respiration and the removal of cellular
products and wastes in eukaryotic cells (ACSBL049, ACSBL050, ACSBL052, ACSBL053) ............ 7
conduct a practical investigation to model the action of enzymes in cells (ACSBL050) ..................... 7
investigate the effects of the environment on enzyme activity through the collection of primary or
secondary data (ACSBL050, ACSBL051) .......................................................................................... 8
CELL STRUCTURE: WHAT DISTINGUISHES ONE CELL FROM ANOTHER?

investigate different cellular structures, including but not limited to: examining a
variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells (ACSB1032, ACSB1048), describe a range of
technologies that are used to determine a cell’s structure and function

• Prokaryotes are single-celled organisms composed of prokaryotic cells.

o They lack membrane-bound organelles and are usually unicellular.
o Small so they can absorb/excrete substances more efficiently.
o For example: eubacteria, archaea
• Eukaryotes are unicellular or multicellular organisms made up of eukaryotic cells.
o They all have membrane-bound organelles with specialised functions.
o For example: plants, animals, fungi, Protista
• Cell size is important as it tells scientists important information about its function.
• FOV is the diameter of the view under a microscope.
o 1000 x 1mm = 1000 micrometres
o Size of cell (mm) = FOV (mm)/ number of cells (FIT#) -> multiply by 1000 to get the
measurement in micrometres or use the dFOV in micrometres

Magnification dFOV(mm) dFOV (micrometres)

40 4.5 4500
100 1.8 1800
400 0.45 450

• Robert Hooke: first person to see cells and name them.

• Anton van Leeuwenhoek: saw living microorganisms swimming around in water.
• Robert Brown: first person to discover organelles in cell -> named the nucleus.

investigate a variety of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell structures, including but not
limited to: drawing scaled diagrams of a variety of cells (ACSBL035), comparing, and
contrasting different cell organelles and arrangements, modelling the structure and
function of the fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane (ACSBL045)

• Nucleus is a large organelle surrounded by a double membrane that is found only in

eukaryotes.
o Contains DNA (stores hereditary information) in the form of chromosomes for cell
replication, growth, repair, and function.
o Has nuclear envelope, nucleoplasm, nucleolus, nuclear pore.
• Ribosomes are small, dense, rounded granules found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
o Contain RNA and proteins which carry out protein synthesis.
o Can be found in cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum.
• Endoplasmic reticulum is a series of sacs that produce lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, and
provides a transport system within cells.
o Allows for molecules to move in and out of nucleus as it is an extension of the nucleus.
o Rough ER is embedded with ribosomes, smooth ER is not.
• Golgi apparatus is a system of flattened smooth membrane sacs.
o Processes, packages, modifies, stores, and distributes substances produced by the
endoplasmic reticulum.
• Lysosomes are formed by Golgi bodies and are found in the cytoplasm - have transport
proteins, a membrane, and enzymes.
o Contain digestive enzymes responsible for splitting complex chemical compounds into
simple ones.
o Can destroy entire cells by enveloping old cells and diffusing it through the cell
membrane.
• Mitochondria are highly folded structure of the inner + outer membrane and a matrix with
free fluid.
o Generate chemical energy needed to power biochemical reactions.
o Stored in ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and can replicate.
• Vacuoles are fluid filled sacs in the cytoplasm of animal and plant cells.
o Provide storage and support to plant cells (one large vacuole)
o Animal cells have numerous small ones.
o Store water, waste, enzymes, other molecules.
• Chloroplasts are found in the green tissue of plants.
o Contain DNA, ribosomes, chlorophyll.
o Are responsible for producing energy through photosynthesis.
• Cell wall is located outside the membrane and provides cells with structural support and
protections.
o Permeable to most molecules and only found in plant cells.
o Made of cellulose
• Cell membrane is made of a phospholipid bilayer and is selectively permeable.
o Controls the movement of substances between intracellular and extracellular fluid.
o Helps maintain an environment within the cell that differs from external
environment.
o Involved in cell recognition + communication.
• Cytoplasm is a liquid that fills the inside of a cell and is everything inside of the cell except for
the nucleus.
• The Fluid Mosaic Model of the Cell Membrane
o The cell membrane maintains the difference between the internal and external
environment of a cell and which substance exit and enter the cell.
o The fluid mosaic model describes the structure of the cell membrane.
o Cell membranes consist of a phospholipid bilayer with proteins, carbohydrates, and
cholesterol scattered throughout.
o Cholesterol maintains fluidity and structure.
o Carbs are chains of sugar that allow cell recognition (glycoproteins/glycolipids)
o Phospholipids have a hydrophilic phosphate head and two hydrophobic fatty acid
tails.
o Proteins include:
• Channel/carrier proteins move large molecules.
• Receptor proteins receive chemical signals from outside the cell.
• Enzymatic proteins carry out metabolic reactions.
• Glycoproteins identify cells.
CELL FUNCTION: HOW DO CELLS COORDINATE ACTIVITIES WITHIN
THEIR INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT AND EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT?

investigate the way in which materials can move into and out of cells, including but not
limited: conducting a practical investigation modelling diffusion and osmosis
(ACSBL1046), examining the roles of active transport, endocytosis, and exocytosis
(ACSBL046), relating the exchange of materials across membranes to the surface-area-
to-volume ratio, concentration gradients and characteristics of the materials being
exchanged (ACSBL1047)

• The permeability of a cell membrane refers to its ability to allow movement of materials into
and out of a cell.
o Size: small molecules will move quicker and easily
o Electrical charge: neutrally charged molecules will easily cross - will not cross if they
are ions or polar molecules.
o Lipid solubility: hydrophobic molecules move easily, hydrophilic have difficulty.
• Passive transport is the movement of substances across the cell membrane that requires no
energy input and is along a concentration gradient.
• Diffusion is the passive movement of a solute molecule from a region of high concentration to
a region of low concentration.
o There is constant movement till equilibrium is reached.
o When it is reached the same number of particles are entering as well exiting so the net
diffusion is 0.
o Concentration, temperature, and particles size affect diffusion
• Facilitated diffusion is the diffusion of charged or large molecules across the cell membrane
through protein channels.
o Membrane transport proteins are specific to certain particles and the transport occurs
rapidly. No energy is needed.
o Channel and carrier proteins assist with this.
• Osmosis is the movement of water across a semi-permeable membrane from a high-water
concentration to a low water concentration.
o Water will diffuse till concentration is equal.
o Cells lose water and shrink in a hypertonic solution.
o Cells gain water and swell + burst (lysis) in a hypotonic solution.
• Isotonic solution - no water movement as fluids inside and outside of cell are equal.
• Hypertonic - water leaves cell as there is less water surrounding the cell.
• Hypotonic - water goes into cell as there is more water surrounding the cell.
• Active transport is the movement of substances across a cell membrane against a
concentration gradient that requires an input of energy.
• Endocytosis brings large molecules into cells that can't pass through the cell membrane.
o Phagocytosis - a cell engulfs solid material by wrapping cytoplasmic extensions
around it. They then break off and fuse with a lysosome which digests the material.
o Pinocytosis - same as phagocytosis but for liquid materials
o Receptor mediated endocytosis - a type of pinocytosis that only engulfs specific
substances. Receptor proteins respond to molecules, bind to it, and trigger the
engulfment of the substance into the cell.
• Exocytosis is the opposite of endocytosis - actively transports large molecules outside the cell.
o Substances are coated in a vesicle which joins to the cell membrane and released
substances into the external environment.
o Can secrete or excrete proteins/waste.
 • Surface area to volume ratio is how the area of the surface affects the rate at which nutrients
can enter the cell and wastes leave.
o Smaller cell = higher SA:V ratio = more efficient cell
• Effect of SA: V
o A cell with a small SA: V means organelles are further from the outside. If the
organelles are closer together it is more efficient (flatter + smaller)
o Multicellular organisms are efficient - uptake of nutrients and removal of wastes.
• Increasing surface area of cell membrane
o Cell compartmentalisation: reduces exchange that needs to occur across the cell
membranes, maintains a suitable environment, creates space for enzymes.
o A flattened shape - larger SA:V ratio
o Cell membrane extensions - counteract SA:V ratio through extensions.

investigate cell requirements, including but not limited to: suitable forms of energy,
including light energy and chemical energy in complex molecules (ACSBL044) matter,
including gases, simple nutrients and ions, removal of wastes (ACSBL044)
• All life on earth requires specific substances to function properly. A carbon source and an
energy source.
o They are essential building blocks from which cells and living tissue are made.
o They are a source of energy for the cell.
• Autotrophs are organisms such as plants that derive their energy from the sun through
photosynthesis.
o Dispose of water by excretion through pores such as algae passing waste chemicals
into surrounding sea water (osmosis)
o Store waste in leaves or bark which later fall off.
• Heterotrophs derive energy from autotrophs or other heterotrophs.
o Diffusion across respiratory surfaces to remove CO2 (carbon and water is diffused
into lungs so it can be breathed out)
o Urine - diluted excess water is removed from the body as urine, kidneys filter toxins
and excess substance so they leave as urea.
• Wastes can alter the internal environment of organisms.
o Inhibits enzyme functioning + prevents normal metabolic activity.
o Build-up of nitrogenous wastes makes pH alkaline.
o CO2 accumulations make pH acidic.
o Osmotic imbalance interferes with reaction rates + membrane functioning.
• Organic compounds contain carbon and hydrogen atoms and are usually complex. Inorganic
compounds are chemicals and do not contain carbon or are simple compounds with two or
fewer carbon atoms.
• Carbohydrates are organic molecules made up of C, H, O atoms.
 o Source of quick energy in cells and can be used as stored energy in plant cells,
animals’ cells, or structural part of cell walls.
• Proteins are complex molecules made up of amino acids, C, H, O, N, and sulfur.
o Form structural components, sometimes control metabolic reactions, control
hormones.
• Lipids are fatty, oily compounds made of C and H atoms.
o Used for energy storage, structure of membranes + hormones.
• Nucleic acids are biomacromolecules that contain C, H, O, N, and phosphorus as well as
DNA and RNA
o Make DNA during cell replication.
• Water is a substance composed of 2 H and 1 O atom.
o Can be solid, liquid, or gas. Is a transport medium, solvent for molecules, and can be
used in chemical reactions?
• Salts are chemical compounds consisting of sodium chloride - neutral (Acid base rection)
o Assist chemical reactions, synthesis of molecules, membrane function.
• Gases are substances with no fixed size or shape.
o CO2 (product of respiration) and 02 (product of photosynthesis)

investigate the biochemical processes of photosynthesis, cell respiration and the

removal of cellular products and wastes in eukaryotic cells (ACSBL049, ACSBL050,
ACSBL052, ACSBL053)
• Photosynthesis is a chemical reaction that takes place in the chloroplasts of green plant cells.
o Light energy is used to convert CO2 and H20 into glucose and 02.
o 6CO2+ 6H2O → C6H12O6+ 6O2
o Occurs in a series of reactions:
• Light dependent: absorption of light to split water into hydrogen ions and
oxygen gas. This releases energy and oxygen.
• Dark (light independent): hydrogen and CO2 combine to form glucose.
• Cellular respiration is a process used by the body to release energy from digested food
(glucose)
o Glucose + oxygen -> carbon dioxide + water (+ATP energy)
o C6H12O6 + 6O2→ 6CO2 + 6H2O
o Aerobic respiration as energy is released in the presence of oxygen.
• Biochemical process of waste removal
o Chemical reactions produce excess products that need to be reused to removed.
o Lysosomes take care of this as they are small vesicles with digestive enzymes.
• Float in the cell and fuse with vesicles that contain waste products.
• Enzymes break down the waste which is then reused or transported out
through exocytosis.

conduct a practical investigation to model the action of enzymes in cells (ACSBL050)

• Enzymes are biological catalysts that speed up the rate of chemical reactions without
undergoing permanent change (can be reused)
o Proteins which lower the activation energy required for metabolic processes which
increases rate of reactions.
o Made up of amino acids joined in a long chain.
• The shape of an enzyme has a direct effect on how an enzyme catalyses a reaction:
determined by a sequence of amino acids + bonds between atoms.
o Will only be catalysed by molecules with the right shape.
• These are known as the reactant/substrate molecules.
• The part of the enzyme the substrate binds to is known as the active site.
• Catabolic enzymes work to decompose large molecules into small ones.
o For example, lactase splits lactose into glucose + galactose
• Anabolic enzymes work to synthesis by converting simple molecules into complex ones.
 o For example, DNA polymerase forms and repairs DNA
• Lock and Key Model
o The enzyme is a lock, and the substrate is the key. Only one will fit to make the
reaction catalysed.
o Substrate enters and fits perfectly into the active site of enzyme creating an enzyme-
substrate complex.
• Induced Fit Model
o Substrate enters the active site of the enzymes.
o The enzyme changes shape slightly to allow the substrate to bind to the active site -
creates enzyme-substrate complex.
o Substrate turns into products - creates enzyme/products complex.
o Products leave the active site, and the enzyme is free to catalyse another reaction.

investigate the effects of the environment on enzyme activity through the collection of
primary or secondary data (ACSBL050, ACSBL051)
• Temperature: an enzymes optimal temp is the temp at which it functions fastest. If temp
exceeds this the enzyme denatures and will not function. If temp is less than optimal then the
rate of reaction will be slower.
• pH: an enzyme can be denatured if pH is higher than optimum and can be slower is pH is less
than optimum.
• Enzyme/substrate concentration: more enzymes mean the rate of reaction will be faster as
there are more helpers to catalyse the substrate. More substrates mean rate of reaction will
increase till all enzymes are being sued (saturation point).
• Surface area: a smaller SA: V to ratio means the enzymes will be able to work quicker.