Function and characteristics of cells
- Every
organism is made up of cell which provides support and structure to the
body of an organism. For example – the skin of living being is made up of a
a large amount of cell that provides a structure to their body, xylem and
phloem in plants are made up of cells that provide them structural
support to stand. - Every cell has one nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
- Cells
help to make the organization, a group of cells is known as tissue, a
group of tissues is known as an organ, a group of organs is known as
organelle, a group of organelles or organ system finally forms living
being such a human, animal, plant, etc. - The different organs made by different kinds of cells perform different functions. For example –
the stomach performs digestion of food, lungs perform purification of air
etc. - It facilitates growth by helping to perform mitosis which is a process when a parent cell divides into daughter cells. So, by dividing it facilitates growth in any organism which simply means the
multiplication of cells. - The cells help in energy production through a process such as photosynthesis in plants and respiration in animals.
- It
also allows transportation of substance within cells as various
nutrients (useful and waste) are imported and exported inside the cells
to perform a different chemical process. Which is done by active and
passive transportation. Through passive transport, small molecules such
as oxygen, ethanol and carbon dioxide are diffused across the cell
membrane along the concentration gradient which through passive
transport large molecules are diffused via active transport which
requires a great amount of energy to do so. - It also facilitates reproduction through cell division. e., mitosis, and meiosis.
We will read about mitosis and meiosis in the next notes.