CELL FUNDAMENTAL UNIT OF LIFE

ORGANISMS - living part of environment

unicellular/acellular organisms
multicellular
organisms
Made of single cell
made of many cell
single cell does all
work
single cel does one/ more work
no division of labour
there is division of labour
organism has short life span
long life span
eg : Amoeba,paramoecium
eg: most fungi, plants and animals

All organisms are made of cells so cell is called structural unit of life and all functions done
by organisms are due to the activities done by the cells so cell is called functional unit of
life.
Cell may be specialised to perform a special function but the basic structure and function
of part of all cells remain the same.

DISCOVERY OF CELL
ROBERT HOOKE - used compound microscope to study dead cork.He saw small room like honey
comb structures which he called CELLA means SMALL ROOM. He wrote his observations in
a book called MICROGRAPHIA.
A.V LEEUWENHOEK - observed unicellular organisms like blood cells,bacteria
ROBERT BROWN - discovered nucleus in the cells.
PURKINJE - coined term protoplasm for the fluid present in cell.
CELL
1.
2.
3.

THEORY : Given by SCHLEIDEN and SCHWANN which states:

All living organisms are made up of cells.
Cell is the structural and functional unit of life.
New cells arise from pre-existing cells (present cells divide to form new cells)

DIVISION OF LABOUR: All multicellular organisms show division of labour i.e. different parts
perform different functions.
Every cell also shows division of labour as different cell organelles do different functions.
A GROUP OF CELLS Tissue
A GROUP OF TISSUES Organ
GROUP OF ORGANS Organ System
DIFFERENT ORGAN
SYSTEMS - Organism
SIZE OF CELL : SMALL CELL is MORE ACTIVE than big one as small cells have large surface
area/unit volume.
Large SA/unit Volume helps in transporting more substances through the surface.
If the size of cell will
- SA/unit Volume will
which means raw material needed for survival of
cell will not be sufficient and the exchange process will become less efficient.For this reason,big
organisms like humans are multicellular and not made of single cell.
SHAPE OF A CELL: depends on :
1. function of cell
2. internal and external pressure
Animal cells have different shapes but plant cells have fixed shape due to presence of a cell
wall.Like :

Cells like Amoeba and WBC have no fixed shape.The flexibility of the cell membrane in
amoeba helps it to engulf in food from outside environment.
Nerve cells have a typical shape due to function they perform
RBC : biconcave
Stomata : bean shaped

Though the cells may be different in shape/size,the basic structure of all cells remain the
same.Every cell has 3 essential parts because of which all activities are possible :
1. Plasma membrane or cell membrane
2. Cytoplasm
3. Nucleus

CELL WALL: found only in plant cells.

It is non living,outer most covering of the Cell.

Rigid and freely-permeable(anything can pass)

Made out of Cellulose.

Functions of Cell Wall
1. Gives shape,structure and rigidity to the cell.

2. It protects the cell contents

CELL MEMBRANE/PLASMA MEMBRANE

It is flexible and selectively permeable (allows the entry of useful substances and exit
of waste materials)

Made out of Lipid and Proteins.

Three layered, consisting of middle lipid layer in between two protein layers.
Functions of Cell Membrane
1. Gives shape & size to the cell.
2. Separates the cell from the
external surroundings.

Difference :
CELL WALL

CELL

MEMBRANE
found in plants

found in plants and

animals
outermost boundary of cell
made of cellulose

lies inside to cell wall

made of lipids and

proteins
permeable

semi permeable

CYTOPLASM : It is jelly-like substance.Contains living (ORGANELLES little organs ) and non

living (food,secretions,waste etc) inclusions.
NUCLEUS

Largest structure of cell,located in centre (animals cell) and in the side (in plant cell due to
presence of large vacuole).

Nucleus controls all activities of the cell.

Most cells have nucleus but RBCs dont have a nucleus.

PARTS OF NUCLEUS

Nuclear Membrane - controls exchange of materials between Cytoplasm and

Nucleoplasm.

Nucleolus - site of formation of rRNA.

Chromosomes - Nucleus has rod shaped structures called chromosomes that are seen only
when the cell is dividing.They are made of DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) and protein.

Chromatin Network - When the cell in not dividing,chomosomes are present as thread like
structure called chromatin fibres. Chromatin is made of DNA, RNA, and nuclear proteins.
TYPES OF CELL ON THE BASIS OF TYPE OF NUCLEUS
PROKARYOTIC CELL
EUKARYOTIC CELL
Simple structure
Complex structure
poorly developed nucleus
Well developed nucleus
Organisms are called prokaryotes
Organisms are called eukaryotes
Has 1 chromosome
Has 2 chromosomes
Membrane bound organelles absent
Membrane bound organelles
present
Eg: archaebacteria,cyanobacteria, eubacteria
Eg: anything other than bacteria
(fungi,alga)

ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER)

ER is a network of membrane bound tubes found in the cytoplasm. One end of ER is

connected to the nuclear membrane and the other is connected to the plasma membrane.
There are two types of ER :
1. RER (Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum)
2. SER (Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum)
1. RER

It is rough due to presence of ribosomes on it. RER is involved in protein synthesis.

Functions of RER

Provides channel for quick transport of materials

2. SER

Smooth as it does not have ribosomes.It helps in making fat molecules ( lipids).
Functions of SER

Synthesis of fat and hormones.

Detoxification - SER present in liver cells breaks down harmful substances like
poison,drugs etc into less harmful substances so that they can be released from the cell.
Some proteins and lipids made by RER and SER are used to make plasma
membrane.This process is called
MEMBRANE BIOGENESIS.

GOLGI APPARATUS (Discovered by Camillo Golgi)

They are membrane-bound vesicles present parallel to each other in stacks called cisterns.
Function of Golgi Apparatus
1. Storage, modification and packaging of products.
2. Convert complex sugar into simple sugars.
3. Involved in the formation of lysosomes.
LYSOSOMES: Membrane bound organelles that remove waste of cell and are responsible for
intra cellular digestion.They arise from golgi apparatus.
They have digestive enzymes that can digest all organic material present in the cell. If the cell
gets damaged,lysosomes burst and enzymes digest its own cells.Hence they are also called
suicidal bags.
Function:
1. Protect the cell from infection.
2. Keep cell clean by digesting old cell organelle.Hence,called garbage disposal system of
cell.
3. During starvation,lysosomes digest stored
food and give energy.
MITOCHONDRIA:
are the powerhouse of the cell.They release energy in the form of ATP(ADENOSINE TRI
PHOSPHATE).
ATP is the energy currency of cell.Body uses the energy stored in ATP to perform various
functions .
They have 2 membranes outer one is porous while inner one has folds (called CRISTAE)to
increase the surface area for ATP production.
They have their own DNA and ribosomes and can make their own proteins.Hence they are also
called as semi autonomous organelles.

PLASTIDS:
Are only present in plant cells.
Structure same as mitochondria and like mitochondria, they also have their own DNA and
ribosome.
2 types CHROMOPLASTS (chrome-color)
LEUCOPLASTS (leucowhite)
(coloured because of pigments and exposed to sunlight)
(white or colourless and not
exposed to sunlight)
(Store starch,oil and
proteins)
Non green chromoplast
yellow -xanthophyll
CHLOROPLAST).
red - rhodoplast
kitchen of cells

green chromoplast
(have green pigment called chlorophyll and are called
They trap sunlight needed for photosynthesis and are called

During ripening of fruits,green color changes to yellow or red because the chlorophyll gets
degenerated and other pigments mask it.
DIFFUSION:

Diffusion is defined as the movement of particles from a region of high concentration to a region
of low concentration.
IMPORTANCE in cell :
1. exchange of gases and water
2. getting nutrition
OSMOSIS :
Movement of water (solvent) from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration
through a semi permeable membrane.
Conditions For Osmosis:
1. Two solutions of different concentration
2. Semi permeable membrane
TYPES of OSMOSIS:
Ex-osmosis (exit)
Endosmosis (entry)
Happens when cell is placed in hypotonic solution
Happens when cell is placed in
hypertonic solution
Water moves in the cell
water moves out of cell
Cell swells (turgid)
Cell shrinks (crenated animal
cell, plasmolysed for
plant cell)
Eg - Mango piece shrinks when put in salt solution
Eg - Raisins (kishmish) swells
when put in water.
Types Of Solution:
1. HYPERTONIC SOLUTION : [CONC OF WATER OUTSIDE CELL IS LOW AND INSIDE CELL
IS HIGH]
cell looses water and gets crenated.In case of plant cell we say, it gets plasmolysed
EXOSMOSIS

2. ISOTONIC : [CONC OF WATER OUTSIDE AND INSIDE CELL SAME]

size of cell remains same
3. HYPOTONIC : [CONC OF WATER OUTSIDE IS HIGH AND INSIDE CELL IS LOW]
cell swells/becomes turgid and may burst (haemolysed) - END - OSMOSIS

PLANT CELL

ANIMAL CELL