Cellular Transport
Imagine that you pour salt water around the roots of any tree or plant. Predict its effect on the plant.
What was your prediction in the hanging question in the What’s New activity? Did you predict
that the plant will wilt then eventually will die? If that is your prediction then that is absolutely
correct! But the next question would be… why did the plant die?
Do you still remember your lesson on Module 1 about the cell membrane? The cell membrane is the semi-permeable
or selectively permeable membrane which has the control over on what particles can or cannot pass through. Some
particles can just be carried in and out, others involve special structures to enter or exit from a cell, while some
particles even require an energy boost to get across a cell membrane. Each cell’s membrane contains the right mix of
these structures to help that cell keep its internal environment balance or just right (homeostasis).
So, what happened when you pour the saltwater to the plant? There was a movement of water across the cell
membrane which we call as the cell transport!
Cell Transport- is the movement of materials across the cell membrane, it includes the passive and active
transport.
Active and passive transport are processes by which molecules and other materials move in and out of cells
and across intracellular membranes
Active transport- is the movement of molecules or ions contrary a concentration gradient (from an area of lower to
higher concentration), which does not ordinarily occur, so enzymes and energy are required.
Passive transport- on the other hand, is the movement of molecules or ions from an area of higher to lower
concentration.
FORMS OF PASSIVE TRANSPORT:
1. simple diffusion 2. facilitated diffusion 3. filtration, 4. Osmosis
Passive transport occurs because of the entropy (degree of disorder or randomness) of the system, so additional
energy isn't required for it to occur. Molecules flow across the membrane by diffusion. Figure 1 shows how
molecules or particles move across the membrane
So, what kind of cell transport actually happen in the cell membrane
of the plant? Since salt water is a hypertonic solution (solution
which has greater concentration of solutes) when compared to
the plant cells, thus the water inside the plant cells will diffuse by
osmosis out of the cells in order to lessen the concentration of the
salt solution. This will reduce the turgor pressure inside the plant
cells thus they wither, if too much water is lost, the cells will
eventually die
Activity 1
How Does Cell Transport Material?
Objective :
Differentiate active and passive transport
Procedure :
Read the passage and answer the questions below. The passage was derived from
Cross-curricular reading comprehenson worksheet of K12 Reader (Reading
Instruction Resources).
Active and Passive Transport
Cross-Curricular Focus: Life Science
All living things are built from tiny units called cells. The cells are
surrounded by a covering called a cell membrane. The membrane controls what
moves in and out of the cell. Cells need many kinds of materials in order to survive.
They require water, oxygen, glucose (sugar), sodium, potassium and a variety of
other minerals. The body has to have a transport system to get these materials
where they must have to go. Moreover, every cell produced waste materials that it
needs to remove. The body has to have a method of collecting and disposing wastes.
Like a fleet of trucks that form a transport system to pick up and deliver goods in
the world, the body has a transport system, too. There are two forms of transport:
active transport, and passive transport.
Passive transport is an easier way for the cells because they don’t need to
use any energy to make it happen. Diffusion is the simplest and most usual form
of passive transport. Throughout the diffusion process, molecules of the materials
that need to be delivered to the cells are spread through either a gas, like oxygen,
or a liquid, like water. Areas with high concentrations of the materials gradually
diffuse them to areas of low concentration of the materials. Osmosis is a unique
form of passive transport that permits water to cross the cell membrane but keeps
most other materials out.
Active transport is applied when the concentration of materials inside the
cell is high, and the cell needs to push materials in to areas of high concentration
of the materials. Unfortunately, this kind of transport requires the cell to work
contrary to the normal direction of diffusion. This causes the cell to spend energy.
An example of this is how nerve cells work, they pump sodium out and pull
potassium in. Although they must spend energy in this process, doing so allows
them to live.
Answer the following questions based from the reading passage. Don’t forget to go
back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm your answer.
1. What is the main function of the cell membrane?
______________________________________________________________________
2. What does a cell need to be able to survive?
______________________________________________________________________
3. What is osmosis?
______________________________________________________________________
4. What happens to the tiny particles/molecules of materials during
diffusion process?
______________________________________________________________________
5. What comparison is made to help the reader of this passage better
understand how materials are moved throughout the body?
______________________________________________________________________
6. Name one type of cell that uses active transport.
______________________________________________________________________
7. How are active and passive transport different?
______________________________________________________________________
Rearrange each set of jumbled letters to form the correct term. Refer to the given
clues.
1. Series of chemical reactions that captures energy molecules of ATP.
(two words) LLUCELAR PIRARESNOIT
2. It refers to the diffusion of water molecules in a solution. MOSSOIS
3. The movement of substances across the membrane without any input of
energy from the cell. (two words) VEAPISS TRPORANTS
4. It refers to the movement of materials from an area of lower concentration to
an area of higher concentration. (two words) ITACEV TROPARNST
5. The movement of molecules from higher concentration to lower
concentration. UIONDIFFS
6. It is the process of cellular division that produces reproductive cells, which
contain half the number of chromosomes as the parent cells. MOSISIE
7. It is the process wherein the cell divides to produce two daughter cells with
exactly the same number and type of chromosomes. MIOTISS
8. It is a high-energy particle found in the cells of the human body, creatures,
plants, and so on. (two words) NOSINEADE PHATESOHPTRI
9. It refers to the division of cytoplasm following mitosis. SISCYKITOEN
10. The stage of mitosis in which the chromosomes line up at the center of the
cell. ATMESEPHA
11. The process by which plants produce glucose from carbon dioxide and
water. SYNTOPHOSISTHE
12. A simple sugar broken down during cellular respiration (C6H12O6). OSECLGU
13. Organisms that cannot make their own food. ROTETROHPHE
14. Produced in the process of photosynthesis and used directly by living things.
XYENOG
15. A process of making ATP when organisms do not require oxygen.
MENFERTIONTA
Cell Division
Aside from the cellular transport that we discussed in Lesson 2.1, there are other cellular functions that
you need to learn such as Cell Division. Unicellular organisms reproduce and multiply their number by cell
division. In this process one cell splits into two, two to four and so on. In multicellular organisms, a large body
composed of millions of cells develops from the cell division of an embryo, which also develops from a single
fertilized egg.
Cell division happens as a part of the “cell cycle”.
The eukaryotic cell cycle consists of two major phases:
interphase and mitotic cell division.
During interphase,- the cell acquires nutrients from its environment, grows and replicate its chromosomes.
During mitotic cell division- one copy of each chromosome and approximately half the cytoplasm is wrapped
out into each of two daughter cells.
The period immediately after cell division, the duplication of the chromosome is the G1 phase (short for “first
gap”, referring to the first gap in DNA synthesis). During this phase, the cell acquires nutrients from its
environment, carries out its specialized function and grows. S phase stands for “synthesis”, occurs during DNA
replication and duplication of each chromosome
The period after DNA synthesis but before the next cell division is the G2 phase (“second gap”). The cell is
already committed to cell division and most of the phase is spent in synthesizing molecules other than DNA that
are required for cell division.
The continuity of life depends on the process of cell division.
Through this process, parent cells produce new cells like themselves.
In the process of wound healing for example, cells continue to divide and
multiply to replace damaged cells. The two major functions of cell division
are (1) to create body cells (somatic cells) that will maintain, replace and
repair damaged cells (2) to form gametes (eggs and sperm) for sexual
reproduction.
There are two types of cell division in multicellular organisms – mitosis and meiosis.
Mitosis is a process of nuclear division wherein two genetically identical daughter cells with the same
number of chromosomes as their parent cell are produce. Mitosis happens in body cells or somatic cells. In
mitosis, each daughter cell is diploid that has a complete set of chromosomes (2n), which is similar to that of the
parent cell.
four phases/stages:
prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase
The mitotic cell division has two major parts: mitosis and cytokinesis. Cytokinesis, is a process when cytoplasm is
divided about equally between the two daughter cells.
the second type of cell division is Meiosis. Meiosis generates sex cells (gametes), the parent cell divides into
four daughter cells that each contain half the number of chromosomes (haploid cells).
It involves two nuclear divisions: Meiosis I and Meiosis II.
In preparation for meiosis, all the chromosomes are duplicated during interphase, producing sister
chromatids joined at the centromere. During meiosis I, the duplicate homologous chromosomes are separated into
two daughter cells (shows in figure 5). In meiosis II, the sister chromatids of each daughter cell are separated
Cytokinesis may occur, producing four haploid cells, each with one set of unduplicated chromosomes.
the phases/stages of meiosis have the same names as the roughly equivalent phases in mitosis, followed by a I or
II to distinguish the two stages of meiosis.
The stages of meiosis are:
Interphase,
Prophase I,
Metaphase I,
Anaphase I,
Telophase I,
Cytokinesis I,
Prophase Ii,
Metaphase Ii,
Anaphase Ii,
Telophase Ii, And Finally
Cytokinesis Ii.
