Chapter 4 Lecture Enrichment Ideas
Describe the history of looking at cells¾
from light microscopes to electron microscopes and other new techniques. Consider how research had to await new technology and different methods to allow smaller structures to be examined.
Describe the difference between magnification (the ability to make something appear larger) and resolution (the ability to distinguish between two adjacent structures). Ask why the electron microscope has greater resolving power at the same magnification than the light microscope (electrons have smaller wavelengths than light waves).
Consider why bacteria are so numerous and how they compare to eukaryotic cells in size and complexity.
Describe the functions of the eukaryotic organelles as well as how those jobs are done in a bacterial cell.
Follow the pathway a protein molecule might take through the endomembrane system from its production on the rough endoplasmic reticulum through release from a vesicle at the cell's surface. How would the pathway be different if the protein were made on a free ribosome in the cytosol?
Display slides or transparencies of eukaryotic organelles as seen through a light microscope or an electron microscope.
Calculate how a cubelike cell increases its size by doubling its dimensions, and consider the relationship of volume and surface area. Consider the increase in surface area relative to volume when the cell is spherical or cuboidal versus elongated or with the surface drawn out into microvilli.
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