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CIE IGCSE Biology Your notes

2.1 Cell Structure & Size of Specimens

Contents
2.1.1 Cell Structure
2.1.2 Organisation of Cells
2.1.3 Magnification Formula
2.1.4 Converting Between Units: Extended

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2.1.1 Cell Structure

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Animal & Plant Cells
Animals
The main features of animals:
They are multicellular
Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane
Their cells do not have cellulose cell walls
Their cells do not contain chloroplasts (so they are unable to carry out photosynthesis)
They feed on organic substances made by other living things
They often store carbohydrates as glycogen
They usually have nervous coordination
They are able to move from place to place

A typical animal cell

Plants

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The main features of plants:

They are multicellular
Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane Your notes
Their cells have cell walls made out of cellulose
Their cells contain chloroplasts (so they can carry out photosynthesis)
They feed by photosynthesis
They store carbohydrates as starch or sucrose
They do not have nervous coordination

A typical plant cell

Cell Structures Found in Both Animal and Plant Cells Table

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An animal and plant cell as seen under a light microscope

Cell Structures Found Only in Plant Cells Table

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Bacteria Cells
Bacteria, which have a wide variety of shapes and siz es, all share the following biological Your notes
characteristics:
They are microscopic single-celled organisms
Possess a cell wall (made of peptidoglycan, not cellulose), cell membrane, cytoplasm and
ribosomes
Lack a nucleus but contain a circular chromosome of DNA that floats in the cytoplasm
Plasmids are sometimes present - these are small rings of DNA (also floating in the
cytoplasm) that contain extra genes to those found in the chromosomal DNA
They lack mitochondria, chloroplasts and other membrane-bound organelles found in
animal and plant cells
Some bacteria also have a flagellum (singular) or several flagella (plural). These are long, thin,
whip-like tails attached to bacteria that allow them to move
Examples of bacteria include:
Lactobacillus (a rod-shaped bacterium used in the production of yoghurt from milk)
Pneumococcus (a spherical bacterium that acts as the pathogen causing pneumonia)

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A typical bacterial cell

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Identifying Cell Structures & Function

Within the cytoplasm, the following organelles are visible in almost all cells except prokaryotes Your notes
when looking at higher magnification (ie using an electron microscope):
Mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion) are organelles found throughout the cytoplasm
Ribosomes are tiny structures that can be free within the cytoplasm or attached to a system
of membranes within the cell known as Endoplasmic Reticulum
Endoplasmic reticulum studded with ribosomes looks rough under the microscope; this
gives rise to its name of Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (often shortened to R.E.R.)
Vesicles can also be seen using a higher magnification - these are small circular structures
found moving throughout the cytoplasm

Structures in an animal cell visible under a light microscope and an electron microscope

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Structures in a plant cell visible under a light microscope and an electron microscope

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2.1.2 Organisation of Cells

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Producing New Cells
The cells in your body need to be able to divide to help your body grow and repair itself
Cells grow and divide over and over again
New cells are produced by the division of existing cells

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Specialised Cells
Specialised cells in animals Your notes
Specialised cells are those which have developed certain characteristics in order to perform
particular functions. These differences are controlled by genes in the nucleus
Cells specialise by undergoing differentiation: this is a process by which cells develop the
structure and characteristics needed to be able to carry out their functions
Specialised Cells in Animals Table

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Diagrams of specialised cells in animals:

Ciliated cell

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Nerve cell

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Red blood cells

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Sperm cell

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Egg cell
Examples of specialised cells in plants:

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Diagrams of specialised cells in plants:

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Root hair cell

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Xylem structure

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Palisade mesophyll cell

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Levels of Organisation in an Organism

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Levels of organisation

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Your syllabus states that you should be able to identify the different levels of organisation in
drawings, diagrams and images of familiar material
An example of this is shown in the exam question below:

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Typical levels of organisation question

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Exam Tip
Most incorrect answers here come from not being able to identify a tissue, so it’s worth making
sure you understand and remember that tissues are always made up of only one type of cell.

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2.1.3 Magnification Formula

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Magnification Formula
Calculating magnification and specimen size using millimetres as units
Magnification is calculated using the following equation:
Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size
A better way to remember the equation is using an equation triangle:

Magnification equation
Rearranging the equation to find things other than the magnification becomes easy when you
remember the triangle - whatever you are trying to find, place your finger over it and whatever is
left is what you do, so:
Magnification = image siz e / actual siz e
Actual siz e = image siz e / magnification
Image siz e = magnification x actual siz e
Remember magnification does not have any units and is just written as ‘x 10’ or ‘x 5000’

Worked example
An image of an animal cell is 30 mm in siz e and it has been magnified by a factor of x 3000.
What is the actual siz e of the cell?

To find the actual siz e of the cell:

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Worked example using the magnification equation

Exam Tip
This skill most frequently comes up in paper 5 and 6 (although it also comes up in the multiple
choice and occasionally the theory paper) and you will definitely have to calculate either
magnification, drawing size or actual size in a least one paper. To ensure you do not lose marks:
1. Always look at the units that have been given in the question - if you are asked to measure
something, most often you will be expected to measure it in millimetres NOT in centimetres -
double check the question to see!
2. Learn the equation triangle for magnification and write it on the page straight away
3. Don’t forget that magnification has NO UNITS - students often lose a mark because they put
one in

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2.1.4 Converting Between Units: Extended

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Converting Between Units: Extended
Using millimetres and micrometres as units
The table below shows how millimetres are related to two other measures of length
What this basically means is that 1mm = 1000µm and 1cm = 10,000µm
This usually comes up in questions where you have two different units and you need to ensure
that you convert them both into the same unit before proceeding with the calculation
For example:

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Example extended magnification question

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Remember 1mm = 1000µm

2000 / 1000 = 2 so the actual thickness of the leaf is 2mm and the drawing thickness is 50mm
Magnification = image siz e / actual siz e = 50 / 2 = 25 Your notes
So the magnification is x 25 (NO UNITS)

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Exam Tip
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If you are given a question with two different units in it, make sure you convert them to the same
unit before doing your calculation.If you don’t, there is a good chance that your answer will be the
same as one of the incorrect options in a multiple choice question so you may think you got it
right when, in fact, you haven’t!The following diagram may help with unit conversion between mm
and µm:

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