NS001: BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE 

ACTIVITY 2 

Pamaran, Kristel Denish

BSP 1-F

PART I: PARTS AND FUNCTION OF THE CELL

1. Mitochondrion - is a spherical or rod-shaped organelle that serves as the power house of the
cell as it produces Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for cellular consumption.
2. Vacuoles - are the temporary storage of the cell. It is the plants’ large membrane bound
chamber which found in the cytoplasm of most plant cells. The function is to maintain the cell's
turgor, pressure by controlling movement of molecules between the cytosol and sap, stores
useful material and digests waste proteins and organelles.
3. Cytoplasm or cytosol - is the gel-like medium inside the cell membrane which constitute all
other cell organelles. It supports cell organelles and prevents the cell from bursting or shrinking.
4. Golgi complex (apparatus) or Golgi bodies - is responsible for storing, packaging of cellular
products.
5. Vesicles – are a basic tool used by the cell for organizing cellular substances.
6. Peroxisome - is a small organelle present in the cytoplasm of many cells, which contains the
reducing enzyme catalase and usually some oxidases.
7. Centrioles - organized the microtubules assembly during cell division.
8. Plasma Membrane – is a semi-permeable membrane that forms the outer covering of the cell. It
is made up of phospholipids which has polar heads and non-polar tails.
9. Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) – are membrane covered organelles that transport materials. It is
membrane-bound compartment which look like flattened sacs lined side by side. It is a large
network of interconnecting membrane tunnels.
 10. Ribosomes – are organelles that assemble proteins. It is the smallest and most abundant
organelle which comprises the RNA and protein. They are found in all cells because proteins are
necessary for the survival of the cell.
11. Microtubules – are hollow rods that support and shape the cell.
12. Nucleus - contains the hereditary material DNA and directs the activities of the cell. It is
surrounded by a porous membrane called nuclear membrane.

PART II: CELL CLASSIFICATION

Instructions: Give at least ten (10) criteria on the comparison between eukaryotic cell and
prokaryotic cells. (25 points)

CRITERIA PROKARYOTIC CELL UEKARYOTIC CELL

1. Cell Wall Usually chemically Only in plant cells and fungi
complex (chemically simpler)
2. Chloroplasts Absent; chlorophyll Present (in plants)
scattered in the
cytoplasm
3. Golgi Apparatus Absent Present
4. Vesicles Present Present
5. Ribosomes Smaller Larger
6. Cytoskeleton Absent Present
7. Mitochondria Absent Present
8. Endoplasmic Reticulum Absent Present
9. Microtubules Absent Present
10. Lysosomes and Peroxisomes Absent Present
PART III: CELLULAR TRANSPORT

Instructions: Discuss and differentiate cellular transport: (50 points)

A. Passive Transport
It is the movement of molecules down a concentration gradient from a region of higher to a
lower concentration until equilibrium is reached. In moving substances across biological
membrane, a passive transport may or may not need the assistance of the membrane protein.

1. Diffusion
- occurs when organisms need to move molecules from an area where they are highly
concentrated to an area where the molecules are less concentrated. There are two
types of diffusion:
a. Simple Diffusion
- is the tendency of materials to move randomly from areas where they are highly
concentrated to areas of lower concentration, until they are evenly distributed in a state
of dynamic equilibrium.
b. Facilitated Diffusion
- is a process by which molecules and ions are transported from one location to another
with the aid of some intermediary, such as a protein. This process is done by binding of
the molecules with a carrier protein in the plasma membrane to be transported from an
area of higher concentration to area of lower concentration.
2. Osmosis
- is the term used to describe about water molecules diffusing across a membrane. It is
the diffusion of water through a selective (semi) permeable membrane from a region of
greater concentration to a region of lesser concentration.
a. Isotonic
- Isotonic solutions have concentrations of substances (solutes) and water (solvent) on
both sides of the membrane are equal.
b. Hypotonic
- Hypotonic solutions have a lower concentration of substance (and more water) in it
when associated to another solution.
c. Hypertonic
- Hypertonic solutions have a higher concentration of substance in it (and less water)
when compared to another solution.
3. Filtration
- is the last form of passive transport used most often in the capillaries. It is the
movement of water and solute molecules across the cell membrane due to hydrostatic
pressure generated by the cardiovascular system. Since the capillaries are so thin that
diffusion simply occurs through them, this expresses that capillary membrane acts as
filter paper, permitting fluid to surround the body’s cells and keeping large molecules
from getting into the tissue fluids.
B. Active Transport
- It is the movement of particles from an area of low concentration to an area of high
concentration that uses energy provided by ATP or a difference in electrical charges
across a cell membrane. It often requires the use of pumps that use energy (ATP) to
move molecules against their concentration gradients.
1. Sodium-potassium Pump
- is when specific membrane proteins use energy, usually in the form of ATP, to do the
work of active transport. It pumps sodium and potassium ions across a nerve cell
membrane to return the nurse to its resting state.
2. Exocytosis
- is the transport vesicles migrating to the plasma membrane, fuse with it and release
their contents. Examples are wherein nerve cells occurs as vesicles release
neurotransmitters into a synapse.
3. Endocytosis
- happens when molecules enter cells within vesicles that pinch inwards from the plasma
membrane. It is the process where the cell engulfs extracellular fluid (ECF) including
materials dissolved or suspended in it. A portion of a plasma membrane is invigilated
and pinch off forming a membrane-bounded vesicle called endosome.
a. Phagocytosis
- is the taking in large molecules by the cell or cell eating.
b. Pinocytosis
- known as cell drinking, is a process where small droplets of extracellular fluids is being
taken up by the cell.
c. Receptor-mediated endocytosis
- enables the cell to take up large quantities of very specific substance. Receptor in the
plasma membrane are being recognized by the extracellular molecules and binds with it
in order for them to penetrate the cell.