Daily Archives: February 2, 2010

Welcome Back! Unit 1: Cells – the Units of Life.

cheek cells

Image Source: Stained cheek cells as viewed through a light microscope

We will be aiming to finish one chapter of your text each fortnight to get through the unit 1 course prior to mid-year exams. This first Area of Study is all about the history, structure and function of cells. You will need to understand the names for each of the cell organelles and what they do within the cell. You will need to know what chemicals cells are made up of – mostly carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but also phosphoros, sulfur, calcium and nitrogen. These elements make up the amino acids (chains of amino acids make up proteins), carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids that form the organelles. Check out the Cells Alive site for animations of animal, plant and bacterial cells. We will be completing the worksheet using this site during the first couple of weeks.