Cell project

For this project we were given three eggs that had been soaking in vinegar for 24 hours. Then we had to put them in three different substances. Those substances were deionized water, vinegar, and karo syrup. The reason for this lab was to learn about diffusion in different concentrations of solutions.

Prokaryotic Vs. Eukaryotic

In a Eukaryotic cell, the DNA is found in the nucleus unlike a Prokaryotic cell which has its DNA is stored in the nucleotide that is floating around in the cytoplasm. Eukaryotic cells have a lot more organelles than Prokaryotic cells which are a lot simpler and are generally part of single celled organisms.

Plant cell Vs. Animal cells

Plant and animal cells are very similar but there are a few differences. One difference between them is the size and the absence of a vacuole in animal cells. In plant cells the vacuole is very large and is always present. Plant cells also have a rigid cell wall around them where animal cells do not have this .

Homeostasis - A state of steady internal equilibrium maintained in every living organism.

Osmosis - a process by which molecules of a solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane

Nucleus - Controls gene expression, mediates DNA replication, controls activity

Nucleolus - Makes RNA and ribosomes from protein

Cell Wall - Provides cell with structure and strength, controls what enters and exits the cell

Cell Membrane - Controls movement of substances in and out of the cell

Ribosomes - Makes proteins

Mitochondria - Breaks down nutrients to make ATP (energy)

Chloroplast - Conducts photosynthesis

Cytoplasm - Fluid that fills the cell and keeps organelles in their place

Centriole - Helps with cell division, creates spindle fibres that separate chromosomes

Vacuole - Storage waste disposal, growth, protection

Golgi Apparatus - Sort and package protein, transports lipids, creates lysosomes

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum - Creates hormones and lipids

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum - Produces protein

In this lab most of the procedures went according to plan except in one area. When the eggs were initially soaking in the vinegar they were getting closer to the state of equilibrium. this happened because the eggs were not left in the vinegar long enough. Because of this the egg in the vinegar grew instead of staying the same size which it was supposed to do. Something that I learned during this lab is that there is nothing better than pure water, sugary drinks will actually shrink your cells and will take a long time to absorb. Something that we could have done better in this lab was be more careful with the eggs because we popped two eggs before we completed the experiment. Another thing we could have done better was to leave the eggs in the vinegar in the beginning longer to let them reach equilibrium.