CELL DIVERSITY AND CELL SIZE pp

Cell shape Cells specialized (i.e. epithelial vs nerve cell) Cell shape related to function of the cell

Cell size

surface area to volume ratio decreases with increasing cell size (EX. 6:1 vs 3:1) Volume increases quicker than the surface area

What does this mean for the cell? The bigger the volume the less surface area not enough surface area to meet the needs of the increasing volume distance to center increases as cell increases Difficulty exchanging materials (such as nutrients, oxygen, and waste products) across the cell

Why is this important to the cell? Substances cannot get to the center, or out of the center of the cell if it’s too big