Grade 10 Academic Science Specialized Cells Grade 10 Academic Science
Partner Activity: Specialized Cells With your partner I would like you to take 1 minute and write down as many specialized cells as you can think of... Try to think of specific cells that perform different jobs and have different appearances. When you have done this, try to think of what specific function they provide... These types of cells are said to be specialized for a certain task. Make sure your WRITE THEM DOWN!
Humans Going back a few lessons, a starfish only has a few different types of cells that make it up; however a human has about a hundred different types of cells making it up.
Specialization (differentiation): How? It all starts with a stem cell... Can anyone tell me what a stem cell is? Everyone starts out as one stem cell which them divides into more stem cells, which then differentiates into the specialized cells...
How? Stems cells are said to be totipotent. Meaning: they are capable to expressing any gene in your DNA, as well as becoming any cell in the body. When a cell chooses it’s path, it is then said to be unipotent. It is important to note... All cells contain all of your genes; however, each specialized cell only expresses the genes necessary to carry out its job.
Specialized Cells: Shape and Function A lot of the time we can often tell about the function of a cell by its shape. Example: Nerve Cell Take a look at the picture and try to think of the reason as to why it is shaped the way it is…Think about its function… Nerve cells are used to transmit signals throughout the body, from the brain to different parts of the body; so it is shaped like a “wire” so this can be carried out.
Learning Check What is cell specialization? List three different functions that animal cells carry out. Why would different types of cells have different types of organelles?
Your Task: What do our cells do? Complete the table labelled “What do our Cells do?” In this table you are going to summarize some of the major types of cells in plant and animal systems. Try to write down a couple key functions as well as any other key points that pertain to their structure and function. Information packages for each type of cell are available on the teacher’s desk, please take one package at a time with your partner to complete the task.