Cell: The Basic

Unit of Life
Introducing of Cell

• Some organisms are made of a

single cell and are known as
unicellular.
• Examples of unicellular
organisms are
Chlamydomonas, Amoeba,
Escherichia coli
• Other organisms are made of
many cells and are known as
multicellular organisms.
• Examples of multicellular
organisms are the mammals
and flowering plants.
The Basic Unit of Life

• Robert Hooke examined thin slices of plant material (cork) using a

microscope

• Further observations of cells in living materials resulted in the cell theory:

○ Schleiden & Schwann suggested that all plants and animals are
made of cells
○ Virchow suggested that all cells come from pre-existing cells by the
process of cell division

• Why cells?
○ A cell can be thought of as a bag in which the chemistry of life
occurs, surrounded by a thin membrane.
○ The membrane acts as a barrier (physical protection and prevent
poisonous substances from entering) , but also controls exchange
between the cell and its environment (partially permeable)
○ If it were freely permeable, life could not exist, because the chemicals
of the cell would simply mix with the surrounding chemicals by
diffusion.
 Two Types of Cells

• Eukaryote: an organism whose cells contain a

nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles
• Includes: animals, plants, fungi

• Prokaryote: an organism whose cells do not

contain a nucleus or any other membrane-bound
organelles, the DNA is freely suspended in the
cytoplasm
• Includes: bacteria

• Eukaryotes are thought to evolve from

prokaryotes more than two billion years ago
Cell Biology &
Microscopy
 Units of Measurement
• The study of cells has given rise to an important branch of biology known as cell biology (cell
biochemistry, cell physiology, cell genetics, etc…)

• Cell biologists study cells using various types of microscopes: the light microscope & electron
microscope

• Unit of measurement: International System (SI) Units

• Examples:
○ Human eye: 50-100 um
○ Body cells: 5-40 um
○ Bacterial cells: about 1 um
○ Ribosome: 25 nm
 Units of Measurement

1. A cell measures 0.094 mm in diameter

a. Convert this to micrometres
b. Express this value in standard form!

2. A cell organelle is 12 nm long. Express this value in μm, in standard form!

 Light Microscopy
• We use microscopes to magnify the cells of biological specimens in order to see them at all.
• Figure 1.3 shows two types of light microscope.

• In the simple microscope (the hand lens), a single

biconvex lens is held in a supporting frame so that the
instrument can be held close to the eye.
• In the compound microscope, light rays are focused by
the condenser on to a specimen on a microscope slide
on the stage of the microscope.
• Light transmitted through the specimen is then focused
by two sets of lenses (hence the name ‘compound’
microscope).
• The objective lens forms an image (in the microscope
tube) which is then further magnified by the eyepiece
lens, producing a greatly enlarged image.
 Light Microscopy

• Light microscope use light as a source of radiation

in order to create an image of the specimen being
examined

• Cover slip: a thin sheet of glass used to cover the

specimen & prevents it from drying out and
prevents the objective lens from touching the
specimen.
 Plant & Animal Cells

Using this figure, name

the structures that:
● animal & plant
cells have in
common
● are found only in
plant cells
● are found only in
animal cells

Structures shared by
both cells:
● Nucleus
● Cell membrane
● Mitochondria
● Cytoplasm
● Golgi body
Drawings of the structure of a generalized animal & plant cell seen with a light microscope
 Plant & Animal Cells

• Photomicrograph: a photograph of a
specimen as seen with a light microscope.

• Many of the cell contents are colourless and

transparent so they need to be stained with
coloured dyes to be seen.

We can see that:

• Animal cells : nucleus (clearly because

heavily stained)
• Plant cell : have pigments
Photomicrographs of human cheek cells & plant cells in moss leaf
seen with a light microscope (X400 magnification)
 Similarities Between Plant & Animal Cells

Cell surface membrane

○ Found in both eukaryotes & prokaryotes
○ A very thin membrane surrounding all cells
○ Partially permeable (allows certain molecule to pass
through cell surface membrane)
○ Controls the exchange of materials between the cell and its
environment

Nucleus
○ A feature found in all eukaryotes
○ Relatively large & stains intensely (chromatin &
chromosome)
○ Chromatin contains DNA (chromatin → condensed DNA)
○ Contains the nucleolus - made of loops of DNA, makes
ribosomes
 Similarities Between Plant & Animal Cells
Cytoplasm
○ All living material inside the cell (including the nucleus) -
protoplasm
○ All living material outside the nucleus - cytoplasm
○ An aqueous (watery) material containing small structures
(organelles). (Aqueous →site of many chemical reactions
inside the cell)

Mitochondria
○ Surrounded by two membranes
○ Barely visible using the light microscope
○ Carries out aerobic respiration (produce energy)

Golgi apparatus
○ Surrounded by a membrane
○ Collects & processes molecules within the cell, particularly
proteins

Mitochondria and Golgi apparatus have membrane – bound

organelles (but only in eukaryotes)
 Differences Between Plant & Animal Cells
Centrioles (the role → animal cell division)
○ Small structure close to the nucleus Organelles Animal cells Plant cells

○ Absent in plant cells Centrioles Yes No

Cell walls & No Yes

Cell walls & plasmodesmata plasmodesmata

○ An extra structure found outside of the Vacuoles Small & temporary Large & permanent

cell surface membrane Chloroplasts No Yes

○ Made of fibers of cellulose (cellulose is
derivate from carbohydrate)
○ May be reinforced with lignin (we can
find in xylem vessels)
○ Plant cells are linked to neighbouring
cells by pores containing fine strands of
cytoplasm (plasmodesmata)
○ Plasmodesmata allows for intercellular
communication and transport of
materials).
 Differences Between Plant & Animal Cells

Vacuoles Organelles Animal cells Plant cells

○ Sac-like structures surrounded by the
Centrioles Yes No
tonoplast (vacuole membrane)
○ In plants: contains pigments, enzymes, sugars, Cell walls & No Yes
other organic compounds plasmodesmata

○ Regulates the osmotic properties of the cell Vacuoles Small & temporary Large & permanent
(water content, etc…)
○ The role of vacuoles also intracellular digestion Chloroplasts No Yes

Chloroplasts
○ Specialized structures for photosynthesis
○ Possess tiny grains or grana which contains
chlorophyll & absorbs light during
photosynthesis
 Notes

• You can think of a plant cell as being very similar to an animal cell but with extra
structures.

• Plant cells are often larger than animal cells, although cell size varies enormously.

• Do not confuse the cell wall with the cell surface membrane.
Cell walls are relatively thick and physically strong, whereas cell surface
membranes are very thin.
Cell walls are freely permeable, whereas cell surface membranes are partially
permeable. All cells have a cell surface membrane, but animal cells do not have a
cell wall.

• Vacuoles are not confined to plant cells; animal cells may have small vacuoles,
such as phagocytic vacuoles, although these are not usually permanent structures
Making Temporary Slides
• Used to examine fresh material containing
living cells

• Procedure:
○ Place the biological specimen on a
clean glass slide, add one or two
drops of stain
○ Cover the specimen to protect the
microscope lens & prevent the
specimen from drying out
○ Draw the structures you observe
Biological Drawing

What would you suggest to

improve this drawing?
Measuring Size &
Calculating
Magnification
Units of Measurement

• Magnification: the number of times larger an image of an object is than

the real size of the object

• Cells & organelles can be measured with a microscope using an

eyepiece graticule (a transparent scale with 100 divisions)

• To calibrate the eyepiece graticule, a stage micrometer is used

○ Use the eyepiece graticule to measure the specimen
○ After calibrating, calculate the size of the specimen
Example

Look for a good alignment of marks on the two scales, as far

apart as possible. The 0s of both scales match up, and there
is another good match at 80 small divisions on the eyepiece
graticule.

a. How many small divisions on the micrometer equal 80

small divisions on the eyepiece graticule?

a. Use your answer to calculate how many micrometers

are represented by one small division on the eyepiece
graticule.
Calculating Magnification
Photograph of plant cells
● Real length of the cell = 80μm
● Image length of the cell = 60 mm

Based on this information, calculate the magnification?

Calculating The Real Size of an Object

Image length = 40 mm

Calculate the actual length of the cells!

Electron
Microscopy
 Magnification & Resolution

• Micrograph a is taken using a light microscope, while micrograph b is

taken using an electron microscope

• Resolution: the ability to distinguish between two objects very close

together; the higher the resolution of an image, the greater the detail that
can be seen

• Maximum resolution for light microscope: 200 nm

(if two objects are 100 nm apart, they cannot be distinguished as two
separate objects)

• Magnification is not the same as resolution (increase magnification ≠

increase resolution)

From this 2 pictures, where is higher resolution and lower resolution?

 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Light travels in waves, with lengths ranging from 400 nm to about 700 nm

• Visible light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, the range of different wavelengths of electromagnetic
radiation is called the electromagnetic spectrum

• Wavelengths change with energy: the greater the energy, the shorter the wavelength

Higher energy Lower energy

 How the Light Microscope Works

• Some organelles (e.g. mitochondrion) are large enough to

interfere with the light waves (400 nm).
It can observe under the light microscope

• However, ribosomes are far too small to have any effect on

the light waves
It cannot observe under the light microscope

• If an object is smaller than half the wavelength of the radiation

used to view it, it cannot be seen separately from nearby
objects

• In light microscope, the best resolution is 200 nm (the shortest

wavelength of visible light is 400 nm)
The Electron Microscope

• Able to see objects smaller than 200 nm

• Uses free electrons, which behave like electromagnetic radiation

• For the electron microscope used with biological materials, the limit of
resolution is about 5 nm.
Using an electron microscope, a resolution of 0.5 nm can be obtained, 400
times better than a light microscope.

• Why are they used?

○ extremely short wavelength, so it’s better resolution
○ negatively charged (can be focused easily using electromagnets), so it is
suitable for observe small objects

• Two types of electron microscopes:

○ Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM): beams of electrons are
passed through the specimen, used to see the inside of cells
○ Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM): beams of electrons are used to
scan the surfaces of structures, producing a three-dimensional image,
but has a lower resolution (3-20 nm), observe reflected beams
 TEM & SEM
TEM to observe dead speciment or preserved speciment

(Scanning the surface) (See the inside of the cell)

Electron Micrograph
Copy and complete this table, to compare what
can be seen in typical animal cells and plant cells
using optical microscopes and electron
microscopes!
Quiz
1) Which one of the following cell structures can be seen with a light microscope?
A. mitochondrion
B. ribosome
C. rough ER
D. smooth ER

1) The use of electrons as a source of radiation in the electron microscope allows high resolution to
be achieved because electrons:
A. are negatively charged.
B. can be focused using electromagnets.
C. have a very short wavelength.
D. travel at the speed of light.

1) Which one of the following structures is found in animal cells, but not in plant cells?
A. cell surface membrane
B. centriole
C. chloroplast
D. Golgi body
4)

5)
6)
A red blood cell goes through a number of stages in the bone marrow before
it is released into the circulation to carry out its role of oxygen transport.

Fig. 3.1 is a transmission electron micrograph of developing red blood cells in

the bone marrow. Each cell is known as an erythroblast.

Fig. 3.1 shows erythroblasts at a higher magnification than can be obtained

using the light microscope.

Explain the advantages of using an electron microscope to obtain images

such as that in Fig. 3.1.
Fig. 1.1 is a labelled diagram of a leaf palisade mesophyll cell, as
seen with a high quality light microscope.

An electron micrograph of the same leaf mesophyll cell at the

same magnification would show more detail than is shown in Fig.
1.1.

Explain why, at the same magnification, an electron micrograph

is able to provide more detail than a light micrograph.