Cell Biology - Topics and Organelles

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, organelle functions, and structural differences between cell types based on the lecture notes.

Cells

the basic structural and functional units of living organisms that carry out essential life processes.

Organelles

tiny cell structures that each have a specific job to keep the cell alive.

Prokaryotic Cells

small unicellular organisms that lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, usually classified in Kingdom Monera.

Eukaryotic Cells

large, complex cells that have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles, found in plants, animals, fungi, and protists.

Nucleus

a large, membrane-bound organelle that controls the cell and contains most of its DNA as chromosomes.

Nucleolus

a dark region inside the nucleus where ribosomes are made.

Mitochondrion

an oval-shaped organelle where cellular respiration happens, turning glucose and oxygen into energy for the cell.

Ribosomes

tiny structures that make proteins by joining amino acids together using instructions from RNA.

Plasma Membrane

a flexible, semi-permeable barrier around the cell that controls what enters and leaves (like water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide).

Cytoplasm

everything inside the cell (excluding the nucleus), including cytosol, organelles, and dissolved substances.

Cytosol

the jelly-like fluid part of the cytoplasm.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (Rough ER)

a network of membrane channels near the nucleus with ribosomes attached, helping transport proteins.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum (Smooth ER)

a network of membrane channels without ribosomes that makes and transports lipids.

Golgi Body/Apparatus

stacks of membranes that modify, sort, and package proteins and lipids into vesicles for transport in or out of the cell.

Chloroplast

an organelle in plant cells and some protists that contains chlorophyll to capture sunlight for photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll

a green pigment in chloroplasts that traps light for photosynthesis.

Stroma

the fluid inside chloroplasts where enzymes carry out photosynthesis reactions.

Cell Wall

a rigid protective layer outside the cell membrane, made of cellulose in plants, chitin in fungi, and carbohydrates in bacteria.

Large Permanent Vacuole

a plant cell organelle that stores water, nutrients, and waste, and helps support the cell by maintaining pressure against the cell wall.

Turgid

when a plant cell’s vacuole is full of water and pushes against the cell wall, making the plant firm and upright.

Flaccid

when a plant cell has little water in the vacuole, causing it to lose support and the plant to wilt.

Lysosomes

small round structures in animal cells that break down large molecules and recycle materials using enzymes.

Vesicles

small membrane-bound sacs that transport proteins and lipids within or out of the cell.

Endocytosis

the process where a cell takes in materials by engulfing them into vesicles.

Exocytosis

the process where a cell releases materials by fusing vesicles with the cell membrane.

Binary Fission

the method of cell division used by prokaryotic cells where one cell splits into two identical cells.

Mitosis

the method of cell division in eukaryotic cells where one cell divides to form two identical cells.

Nucleoid

the region in a prokaryotic cell where circular DNA is found, not enclosed by a membrane.