Physics - Motion

Sunday, 14 May, 2023

12:21 PM
▪ An object is in motion when its position changes with time.
▪ Motion also is inferred through indirect evidences. Eg. we infer the motion of air by
observing the movement of leaves/branches of trees
▪ Most motions are complex.
▪ The simplest type of motion is the motion along a straight line.

▪ We describe the location of an object by specifying a reference point.

▪ Eg. A school is 2 km north of the railway station. We have specified the position of the
school with reference to the railway station. Here, the railway station is the reference point.
▪ Thus, to describe the position of an object, we need to specify a reference point called the
origin.

▪ The magnitude of the length covered by a moving object it's distance.

▪ To describe distance, we need to specify only the numerical value and not the direction of
motion.

▪ The numerical value of a physical quantity is its magnitude.

The shortest distance measured from initial to final position of object, is known as
displacement.
▪ Distance and displacement can be equal but displacement can never be greater than
distance.

▪ SCALAR QUANTITY: The quantity that has only magnitude (fully described by magnitude
and no need for direction)
▪ VECTOR QUANTITY: The quantity that has direction and magnitude (described by
magnitude and direction)

▪ Distance and displacement are used to describe overall motion of an object, and to locate
its final position with reference to its initial position at given time.

▪ Automobiles are fitted with a device that shows the distance travelled. Such a device is
known as an odometer.

▪ If an object covers equal distances in equal intervals of time, it is said to be in uniform

motion.
▪ If an object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time, it is said to be in non-
uniform motion.
▪ Eg. a car is moving on a crowded street or a person is jogging in a park.

▪ Measuring the rate of motion of an object: find distance travelled by object in unit time.
▪ This quantity is referred to as speed. The SI unit of speed is metre per second.
▪ To specify speed of object, we require only its magnitude.
▪ Mostly objects will be in non-uniform motion. Thus, we describe rate of motion of objects
in terms of average speed.
▪ (Speed) = (distance) / (time) or v = s/t
▪ Average speed = Total distance travelled / Total time taken

▪ Velocity is speed of object moving in definite direction.

▪ It can be changed by changing object’s speed/direction of motion or both.

▪ If the velocity of an object is changing at a uniform rate, then average velocity is given by
the arithmetic mean of initial velocity and final velocity for a given period of time.
▪ Average velocity = (initial velocity + final velocity) / 2 or (u + v) / 2
▪ Velocity = displacement/ time
NOTE: Average speed and velocity is equal if distance and displacement are same or the object
doesn't change directions.

▪ During uniform motion of object along a straight line, velocity remains constant with time.
Thus, change in velocity of object for any time interval is zero.
▪ In non-uniform motion, velocity varies with time. It has different values at different
instants/ different points of the path. Thus, change in velocity of the object during any time
interval is not zero.

▪ Acceleration is a measure of the change in velocity of object per unit time.

▪ acceleration = change in velocity / time taken
▪ a = (v-u) / t

NOTE: A change in speed/direction can result in acceleration

▪ The acceleration is taken to be positive if it's in direction of velocity and negative when it is
opposite to the direction of velocity (because magnitude of velocity decreases and object
slows down)(deceleration if negative)
▪ The SI unit of acceleration is m/s^2 .

▪ If an object travels in a straight line and its velocity increases /decreases by equal amounts
in equal intervals of time, then the acceleration of the object is said to be uniform. Eg. The
motion of a freely falling body
▪ Non-uniform acceleration- if object's velocity changes at a non-uniform rate. Eg. a car
travelling along straight road increases its speed in unequal amounts in equal intervals of
time.

▪ If there is no change in velocity, the acceleration is zero and the object is in uniform
motion.
▪ Change in speed or direction is known as change in velocity. Thus, a change in speed or
direction will give acceleration

EXTRA: Slope of distance-time graph will give speed.

• Slope = change in y axis / change in x axis or distance / time
• Slope of velocity - time graph will give acceleration

▪ Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity with time. Eg. Sprinters increase
their speeds in a very short time to win the race.
▪ Deceleration is the magnitude of acceleration of a body whose velocity is decreasing with
time. It is negative acceleration. Eg. When a ball is thrown vertically upwards, during the
upward motion, its velocity decreases and at the highest point it becomes zero.

Chemistry - Structure of the Atom

Sunday, 14 May, 2023
12:23 PM
▪ Atoms and molecules are the fundamental building blocks of matter.
▪ The existence of different kinds of matter is due to different atoms constituting them.

▪ A major challenge before the scientists at the end of the 19th century was to reveal the
structure of the atom and explain its important properties.
▪ One of the first indications that atoms are not indivisible, comes from studying static
electricity and the condition under which electricity is conducted by different substances.
▪ On rubbing two objects together, they become electrically charged

▪ It was known by 1900 , the atom was indivisible particle but contained one sub-atomic
particle – the electron identified by J.J. Thomson.
▪ Before the electron was identified, E. Goldstein in 1886 discovered the presence of new
radiations in a gas discharge and called them canal rays.
▪ These rays were positively charged radiations which ultimately led to the discovery of
another sub-atomic particle.

▪ This sub-atomic particle had a charge, equal in magnitude but opposite in sign to that of
the electron. Its mass was approximately 2000 times as that of the electron. It was given
the name of proton.

▪ The mass of a proton is taken as one unit and its charge as plus one.
▪ The mass of an electron is considered to be negligible and its charge is minus one.
▪ An atom is composed of protons and electrons, mutually balancing their charges.

▪ It also appeared that the protons were in the interior of the atom, for whereas electrons
could easily be removed off but not protons.

▪ Dalton’s atomic theory suggested that the atom was indivisible and indestructible. But the
discovery of electrons and protons, led to the failure of this aspect of Dalton’s atomic theory

▪ J.J. Thomson (electron) was the first one to propose a model for structure of an atom.
▪ He proposed the model to be similar to Christmas pudding. The electrons, in a sphere of
positive charge, were like dry fruits in a spherical Christmas pudding.
▪ We can also think of watermelon, the positive charge is spread all over like the red edible
part of watermelon, while electrons are studded in the positively charged sphere, like seeds
in watermelon.
 • Thomson proposed:
(i) An atom consists of a positively charged sphere and the electrons are embedded in it.
(ii) The negative and positive charges are equal in magnitude. So, the atom as a whole is
electrically neutral.

Ernest Rutherford (nucleus)

▪ He was interested in knowing how electrons are arranged within an atom. Rutherford
designed an experiment for this.
▪ In this experiment, fast moving alpha (α)-particles (doubly-charged helium ions)(they were
heavy and high in energy) were made to fall on a thin gold foil. (He selected gold foil
because he wanted the thinnest layer possible. This gold foil was about 1000 atoms thick)
▪ It was expected that α-particles would be deflected by the gold foil straightly. (Since the α-
particles were much heavier than protons, he did not expect to see large deflections.

▪ The following observations were made:

(i) Most of the fast moving α-particles passed straight through the gold foil.
(ii) Some α-particles were deflected by the foil by small angles.
(iii) One of every 12000 particles appeared to rebound.
In the words of Rutherford, “This result was almost as incredible as if you fire a 15-inch shell at a
piece of tissue paper and it comes back and hits you”.

▪ If a blind-folded child throws stones at a barbed-wire fence, most of the stones would not
hit the fencing and no sound would be heard. This is because there are lots of gaps in the
fence which allow the stone to pass through them.

• Similarly, Rutherford concluded (from the gold foil experiment):

• Most of the space inside the atom is empty because most of the α-particles passed through
the gold foil without getting deflected.
• Very few particles were deflected from their path, indicating that the positive charge of the
atom occupies very little space.
• A very small fraction of α-particles were deflected by 180 degrees ,indicating that all
positive charge and mass of the gold atom was concentrated in a very small volume within
the atom.

▪ From the data he also calculated: the radius of the nucleus is about 10^5 times less than
the radius of the atom.

• On the basis of his experiment, Rutherford put forward the nuclear model of an atom,
which had the following features
• (i) There is a positively charged centre in an atom called the nucleus. Nearly all mass of an
atom resides in the nucleus.
• (ii) Electrons revolve around the nucleus in circular paths.
• (iii) The size of the nucleus is very small as compared to the size of the atom.

Drawbacks of Rutherford’s model

▪ The revolution of the electron in a circular orbit is not expected to be stable.
▪ Any particle in a circular orbit would undergo acceleration and charged particles would
radiate energy.
▪ Thus, the revolving electron would lose energy and finally fall into nucleus.
▪ If this were so, the atom should be highly unstable and hence matter would not exist in the
current form (atoms are quite stable)

• BOHR’S MODEL OF ATOM

▪ In order to overcome the objections raised against Rutherford’s model of the atom, Neils
Bohr put forward the following postulates about the model of an atom:
• (i) Only certain special orbits known as discrete orbits of electrons, are allowed inside the
atom.
• (ii) While revolving in discrete orbits, the electrons don't radiate energy

▪ These orbits or shells are called energy levels.

J.CHADWICK (neutrons)
▪ In 1932, J. Chadwick discovered another sub-atomic particle which had no charge and a
mass nearly equal to that of a proton.
▪ It was eventually named as neutron. (electron = negative charge, proton = positive charge,
neutron = no charge)
▪ Neutrons are present in the nucleus of all atoms, except hydrogen.
▪ In general, a neutron is represented as ‘n’.
▪ The mass of an atom is therefore given by the sum of the masses of protons and neutrons
present in the nucleus.

ELECTRON DISTRIBUTION
▪ The distribution of electrons into different orbits of an atom was suggested by Bohr and
Bury.
▪ The following rules are followed for writing the number of electrons in different energy
levels or shells:
i. The maximum number of electrons present in a shell is given by the formula 2n^2,
where ‘n’ is the orbit number/energy level index 1,2,3,….Hence the maximum
number of electrons in different shells are as follows: first orbit or K-shell will be = 2
× 1^2 = 2, second orbit or L-shell will be = 2 × 2^2 = 8, third orbit or M-shell will be =
2 × 3^2 = 18, fourth orbit or N-shell will be = 2 × 4^2 = 32, and so on.
ii. The maximum number of electrons that can be accommodated in the outermost
orbit is 8.
iii. Electrons are not accommodated in a given shell, unless the inner shells are filled.
That is, the shells are filled in a step-wise manner.
VALENCY
▪ The electrons present in the outermost shell of an atom are known as the valence
electrons.
▪ From the Bohr-Bury scheme, we also know that the outermost shell (valence shell) of an
atom can accommodate a maximum of 8 electrons.
▪ It was observed that the atoms of elements, having a completely filled outermost shell
show little chemical activity.
▪ In other words, their combining capacity or valency is zero. (Valency = no.of electrons that
can make an atom stable)
▪ The combining capacity of the atoms of other elements,(their tendency to react and form
molecules with atoms of the same or different elements), was thus explained as an
attempt to attain a fully-filled outermost shell.
▪ An outermost-shell, which had eight electrons was said to possess an octet.
▪ Atoms would thus react, so as to achieve an octet in the outermost shell. This was done by
sharing, gaining or losing electrons.
▪ The number of electrons gained, lost or shared so as to make the octet of electrons in the
outermost shell, gives us directly the combining capacity of the element, that is valency.
▪ For example, hydrogen/lithium/sodium atoms contain one electron each in their
outermost shell, therefore each one of them can lose one electron. So, they are said to have
valency of one.
▪ If the number of electrons in the outermost shell of an atom is close to its full capacity,
then valency is determined in a different way.
▪ For example, the fluorine atom has 7 electrons in the outermost shell, and its valency could
be 7.
▪ But it is easier for fluorine to gain one electron instead of losing seven electrons. Hence, its
valency is determined by subtracting seven electrons from the octet and this gives you a
valency of one for fluorine.
ATOMIC NUMBER
▪ The atomic number is defined as the total number of protons present in the nucleus of an
atom.
▪ It is denoted by ‘Z’.
▪ All atoms of an element have the same atomic number.
▪ Elements are defined by the number of protons they possess.

MASS NUMBER
▪ Mass of an atom is practically due to protons and neutrons alone. (These are present in
nucleus of an atom. So protons and neutrons are also called nucleons)
▪ Therefore, mass of atom resides in nucleus.
▪ The mass number is defined as sum of total protons and neutrons present in nucleus of an
atom.
▪ It is denoted by ‘A’.

Element notation:

Atomic mass number

Element
Atomic number

ISOTOPES
 ▪ A number of atoms of some elements have been identified, which have the same atomic
number but different mass numbers.
▪ For example, hydrogen atom, carbon, chlorine, etc.
▪ Isotopes are defined as the atoms of the same element, having the same atomic number
but different mass numbers.

AVERAGE ATOMIC MASS/RELATIVE ATOMIC MASS/ ABUNDANCE OF ISOTOPES

▪ Many elements consist of a mixture of isotopes.
▪ Each isotope of an element is a pure substance.
▪ The chemical properties of isotopes are similar but their physical properties are different.
▪ The mass of an atom of any natural element is taken as the average mass of all the
naturally occuring atoms of that element.
▪ If an element has no isotopes, then the mass of its atom would be the same as the sum of
protons and neutrons in it.
▪ But if an element occurs in isotopic forms, then we have to know the percentage of each
isotopic form.
▪ The average atomic mass of chlorine atom, on the basis of above data, will be:

NOTE: This does not mean that any one atom of chlorine has a fractional mass of 35.5 u. It means
that if you take a certain amount of chlorine, it will contain both isotopes of chlorine and the
average mass is 35.5 u.
ISOBARS
▪ Let us consider two elements — calcium: atomic number 20, and argon: atomic number 18.
▪ The number of electrons in these atoms is different, but the mass number of both these
elements is 40.
▪ That is, the total number of nucleons is the same in the atoms of this pair of elements.
▪ Atoms of different elements with different atomic numbers, which have the same mass
number, are known as isobars.
A
X
Z

Biology - The Fundamental Unit of Life

Sunday, 14 May, 2023
12:23 PM
▪ While examining a thin slice of cork(substance from bark of a tree), Robert Hooke saw that
the cork resembled the structure of a honeycomb consisting of many little compartments.
▪ This was in the year 1665 when Hooke made this chance observation through a self-
designed microscope.
▪ Robert Hooke called these boxes cells. Cell is a Latin word for ‘a little room’.
▪ This was the very first time that someone had observed that living things appear to consist
of separate units.

▪ The cells of the onion peel will all look the same, regardless of the size of the onion they
came
from.
▪ These small structures that we see are the basic building units of the onion bulb.
▪ These structures are called cells.
▪ All organisms that we observe around are made up of cells.

▪ However, there are also single cells that live on their own.
▪ Chlamydomonas, Paramoecium and bacteria. These organisms are called unicellular
organisms
(uni = single).
▪ On the other hand, many cells group together in a single body and assume different
functions in it to form
various body parts in multicellular organisms (multi = many) such as some fungi, plants and
animals.

▪ Every multi-cellular organism has come from a single cell. (Cells divide to produce cells of
their own kind.
▪ All cells thus come from pre-existing cells.

▪ The shape and size of cells are related to the specific function they perform.
▪ Some cells like Amoeba have changing shapes. In some cases, the cell shape could be more/
less fixed and peculiar for particular type of cell; for example, nerve cells have typical shape.

▪ There is a division of labour in multicellular organisms such as human beings.

▪ Different parts of the human body perform different functions.
▪ Similarly, division of labour is also seen within a single cell. In fact, each such cell has got
certain specific components known as cell organelles.
▪ Each kind of cell organelle performs a special function, eg. making new material in the cell
▪ These organelles together constitute the basic unit called the cell.
▪ All cells are found to have the same organelles, no matter their function/ organism
 ▪ If we study a cell under a microscope, we would come across three features in almost every
cell; plasma membrane, nucleus and cytoplasm.
▪ All activities inside the cell and interactions of the cell with its environment are possible
due to these features.

PLASMA MEMBRANE / CELL MEMBRANE

▪ This is the outermost covering of the cell that separates the contents of cell from external
environment. The plasma membrane allows the entry and exit of some materials.
▪ It also prevents movement of some other materials. The cell membrane, thus is called a
selectively permeable membrane.

▪ Some substances like carbon dioxide or oxygen can move across cell membrane by a
process called diffusion.
▪ There is spontaneous movement of a substance from a region of high concentration to a
region where its concentration is low.

▪ Something similar to this happens in cells when, for example, some substance like CO2
(which is cellular waste and requires to be excreted out by the cell) accumulates in high
concentrations inside the cell. In the cell’s external environment, the concentration of CO2
is low as compared to that inside the cell. As soon as there is a difference of concentration
of CO2 inside and outside a cell, CO2 moves out of the cell, from a region of high
concentration, to a region of low concentration outside the cell by the process of diffusion.
▪ Similarly, O2 enters the cell by the process of diffusion when the concentration of O2 inside
the cell decreases. (Thus, diffusion plays an important role in gaseous exchange between
the cells as well as the cell and its external environment)

▪ Water also obeys the law of diffusion. The movement of water molecules through such a
selectively permeable membrane(plasma membrane) is called osmosis.
▪ The movement of water across the plasma membrane is also affected by the amount of
substance dissolved in water.
▪ Thus, osmosis is the net diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane
toward a higher solute concentration. (osmosis is a special case of diffusion through a
selectively permeable membrane.)

▪ What will happen if we put an animal cell or a plant cell into a solution of sugar or salt in
water?
One of the following three things could happen:

1. If the medium surrounding the cell has a higher water concentration than the cell,(outside
solution is very dilute), the cell will gain water by osmosis. Such a solution is known as a
hypotonic solution. The cell is likely to swell up.

2. If the medium has exactly the same water concentration as the cell, there will be no net
movement of water across the cell membrane. Such a solution is known as an isotonic
solution.
• Water crosses the cell membrane in both directions, but the amount going in is the same as
the amount going out, so there is no overall movement of water. The cell will stay the same
size.

3. If the medium has a lower concentration of water than the cell, (it is a very concentrated
solution), the cell will lose water by osmosis. Such a solution is known as a hypertonic
solution.
• Again, water crosses the cell membrane in both directions, but this time more water leaves
the cell than enters it. Therefore the cell will shrink.

▪ Unicellular freshwater organisms and most plant cells tend to gain water through osmosis.
Absorption of water by plant roots is also an example of osmosis.
▪ Thus, diffusion is important in exchange of gases and water in the life of a cell. In additions
to this, the cell also obtains nutrition from its environment. (Transport of different
molecules requires energy)
▪ The plasma membrane is flexible and is made up of organic molecules called lipids and
proteins.
• The flexibility of the cell membrane also enables the cell to engulf in food and other
material from its external environment. Such processes are known as endocytosis. Eg.
Amoeba acquires its food through such processes.

CELL WALL
▪ Plant cells, in addition to the plasma membrane, have another rigid outer covering called
the cell wall (structural strength and support). The cell wall lies outside the plasma
membrane.
▪ The plant cell wall is mainly composed of cellulose.(Cellulose is a complex substance and
provides structural strength to plants).

▪ When a living plant cell loses water through osmosis, there is shrinkage/ contraction of the
contents of the cell away from the cell wall.
▪ This phenomenon is known as plasmolysis.
▪ Only living cells, and not dead cells, are able to absorb water by osmosis.

▪ Cell walls permit the cells of plants, fungi and bacteria to withstand very dilute (hypotonic)
external media without bursting. In such media the cells tend to take up water by
osmosis.
▪ The cell swells, building up pressure against the cell wall. The wall exerts an equal pressure
against the swollen cell.
▪ Because of their walls, such cells can withstand much greater changes in the surrounding
medium than animal cells.

NUCLEUS
▪ The nucleus has a double layered covering called nuclear membrane.
▪ The nuclear membrane has pores which allow the transfer of material from inside the
nucleus to its outside (to the cytoplasm)
▪ The nucleus contains chromosomes, which are visible as rod-shaped structures only when
cell is about to divide.
▪ Chromosomes contain information for inheritance of characters from parents to next
generation in the form of DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid).
▪ Chromosomes are composed of DNA and protein.

▪ DNA molecules contain the information necessary for constructing and organising cells.
▪ Functional segments of DNA are called genes.
▪ In a cell which is not dividing, this DNA is present as part of chromatin material.
▪ Chromatin material is visible as entangled mass of thread like structures.
▪ Whenever the cell is about to divide, the chromatin material gets organised/condensed
into chromosomes.

▪ The nucleus plays a central role in cellular reproduction (process by which a single cell
divides and forms two new cells)
▪ It also plays a crucial part, along with the environment, in determining the way the cell will
develop and what form it will exhibit at maturity, by directing chemical activities of cell.

▪ In some organisms like bacteria, the nuclear region of the cell may be poorly defined due
to the absence of a nuclear membrane.
▪ Such an undefined nuclear region, containing only nucleic acids is called a nucleoid.
▪ Such organisms, whose cells lack a nuclear membrane, are called prokaryotes (Pro =
primitive or primary; karyote ≈ karyon = nucleus).
▪ Prokaryotic cells also lack most other cytoplasmic organelles . (Prokaryotic cells have no
membrane-bound organelles, their chromosomes are composed of only nucleic acid, and
they have only very small ribosomes as organelles.)
 ▪ Organisms with cells having a nuclear membrane are called eukaryotes.
▪ Many of the functions of such organelles are also performed by poorly organised parts of
cytoplasm.
▪ The chlorophyll in photosynthetic prokaryotic bacteria is associated with membranous
vesicles (bag like structures) but not with plastids as in eukaryotic cells.

CYTOPLASM
▪ We can see a large region of each cell enclosed by the cell membrane. This region takes up
very little stain. It is called the cytoplasm.
▪ The cytoplasm is the fluid content inside the plasma membrane. It also contains many
specialised cell organelles. (It enables cells to maintain turgidity and shape, and serves as
site for enzyme reactions and metabolic activity)
▪ Each of these organelles performs a specific function for the cell.
▪ Cell organelles are enclosed by membranes.

▪ In prokaryotes, beside the absence of a defined nuclear region, the membrane-bound cell
organelles are also absent.
▪ On the other hand, the eukaryotic cells have nuclear membrane as well as membrane-
enclosed organelles.

▪ The significance of membranes can be illustrated with the example of viruses. Viruses lack
any membranes and hence do not show characteristics of life until they enter a living
body and use its cell machinery to multiply.

CELL ORGANELLE
▪ Every cell has a membrane around it to keep its own contents separate from the external
environment.
▪ Large and complex cells,(including cells from multicellular organisms) need a lot of chemical
activities to support their complicated structure and function.
▪ To keep these activities of different kinds separate from each other, these cells use
membrane-bound little structures (or ‘organelles’)
▪ This is one of the features of the eukaryotic cells that distinguish them from prokaryotic
cells.
 ▪ Some important examples of cell organelles: endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus,
lysosomes, mitochondria, plastids and vacuoles. (They are important because they carry
out some very crucial functions in cells)

ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) AND RIBOSOMES

▪ The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a large network of membrane-bound tubes and sheets.
▪ It looks like long tubules or round or oblong bags (vesicles).
▪ The ER membrane is similar in structure to the plasma membrane.
▪ There are two types of ER– rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) and smooth endoplasmic
reticulum (SER).

▪ RER looks rough under a microscope because it has particles called ribosomes attached to
its surface.
▪ The ribosomes, which are present in all active cells, are the sites of protein manufacture.
(Nucleolus: site of ribosome biogenesis)
▪ The manufactured proteins are then sent to various places in the cell depending on need,
using the ER.

▪ The SER helps in the manufacture of fat molecules, or lipids, important for cell function.
▪ Some of these proteins and lipids help in building the cell membrane. This process is known
as membrane biogenesis.
▪ Some other proteins and lipids function as enzymes and hormones.
▪ Although the ER varies greatly in appearance in different cells, it always forms a network
system.
▪ Thus, one function of the ER is to serve as channels for the transport of materials (especially
proteins) between various regions of the cytoplasm or between the cytoplasm and the
nucleus.
▪ The ER also functions as a cytoplasmic framework providing a manufacturing surface for
some of the biochemical activities of the cell.
▪ In the liver cells of the group of animals called vertebrates, SER plays a crucial role in
detoxifying many poisons and drugs.

GOLGI APPARATUS (factory)

▪ The Golgi apparatus, first described by Camillo Golgi, consists of a system of membrane-
bound vesicles arranged approximately parallel to each other in stacks called cisterns.
▪ These membranes often have connections with the membranes of ER and therefore
constitute another portion of a complex cellular membrane system.
▪ The material synthesised near the ER is packaged and dispatched to various targets inside
and outside the cell through the Golgi apparatus.
▪ Its functions include the storage, modification and packaging of products in vesicles.
▪ In some cases, complex sugars may be made from simple sugars in the Golgi apparatus.
▪ The Golgi apparatus is also involved in the formation of lysosomes.

LYSOSOMES
▪ Lysosomes are a kind of waste disposal system of the cell. (They're spherical sacs)
 ▪ Lysosomes help to keep the cell clean by digesting any foreign material as well as worn-out
cell
organelles.
▪ Foreign materials entering the cell, such as bacteria or food, as well as old organelles
end up in the lysosomes, which break them up into small pieces.
▪ Lysosomes are able to do this because they contain powerful digestive enzymes capable of
breaking
down all organic material.
▪ During the disturbance in cellular metabolism, for example, when the cell gets damaged,
lysosomes may burst and the enzymes digest their own cell.
▪ Therefore, lysosomes are also known as the ‘suicide bags’ of a cell.
▪ Structurally, lysosomes are membrane-bound sacs filled with digestive enzymes.
▪ These enzymes are made by RER.

MITOCHONDRIA
▪ Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell.
▪ The energy required for various chemical activities needed for life is released by
mitochondria
in the form of ATP (Adenosine triphopshate) molecules.
▪ ATP is known as the energy currency of the cell.
▪ The body uses energy stored in ATP for making new chemical compounds and for
mechanical work.
▪ Mitochondria have two membrane coverings instead of just one.
▪ The outer membrane is very porous while the inner membrane is deeply folded.
▪ These folds create a large surface area for ATP-generating chemical reactions (increasing
ATP production)
▪ Mitochondria are strange organelles in the sense that they have their own DNA and
ribosomes.
▪ Therefore, mitochondria are able to make some of their own proteins.

PLASTIDS
▪ Plastids are present only in plant cells.
▪ There are two types of plastids – chromoplasts (coloured plastids) and leucoplasts (white
or colourless plastids).
▪ Chromoplasts assist in pigment synthesis, pollination and seed dispersal (colors attract
pollinators like insects)
▪ Plastids containing the pigment chlorophyll are known as chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are
important for (main site) photosynthesis, manufacturing and storing food in plants.
Chloroplasts also contain various yellow or orange pigments in addition to chlorophyll.
▪ Leucoplasts are primarily organelles in which materials such as starch, oils and protein
granules are stored.
▪ The internal organisation of the plastids consists of numerous membrane layers embedded
in a material called the stroma.
▪ Plastids are similar to mitochondria in external structure. Like the mitochondria, plastids
also have their own DNA and ribosomes.
VACUOLES
▪ Vacuoles are storage sacs for solid or liquid contents.
▪ Vacuoles are small sized in animal cells while plant cells have very large vacuoles. (The
central vacuole of some plant cells may occupy 50-90% of the cell volume)
▪ In plant cells, vacuoles are full of cell sap and provide turgidity and rigidity to the cell.
▪ Many substances of importance in the life of the plant cell are stored in vacuoles (also
wastes). These include amino acids, sugars, various organic acids and some proteins.
(minerals and salts too)
▪ Sap vacuoles maintains osmotic pressure in cell for turgidity and absorption of water.
▪ In single-celled organisms like Amoeba, the food vacuole contains the food items that the
Amoeba has consumed.
▪ In some unicellular organisms, specialised vacuoles also play important roles in expelling
excess water and some wastes from the cell.

BASIC UNIT OF LIFE

▪ Each cell thus acquires its structure and ability to function because of the organisation of
its membrane and organelles in specific ways.
▪ The cell thus has a basic structural organisation.

▪ This helps the cells to perform functions like respiration, obtaining nutrition, and clearing
of waste material, or forming new proteins.
▪ Thus, the cell is the fundamental structural unit of living organisms. It is also the basic
functional unit of life.

CELL DIVISION
▪ New cells are formed in organisms in order to grow, to replace old, dead and injured cells,
and to form gametes required for reproduction.
▪ The process by which new cells are made is called cell division. There are two main types
of cell division: mitosis (equation division) and meiosis (reduction division)

▪ The process of cell division by which most of the cells divide for growth is called mitosis.
(in somatic cells)
▪ In this process, each cell called mother cell divides to form two identical daughter cells.
▪ The daughter cells have the same number of chromosomes as mother cell.
▪ It helps in growth and repair of tissues in organisms.

▪ Specific cells of reproductive organs/tissues in animals and plants divide to form

gametes, which after fertilisation give rise to
offspring.
▪ They divide by a different process called meiosis which involves two consecutive divisions.
(in reproductive cells)
▪ When a cell divides by meiosis, it produces four new cells instead of just two.
▪ The new cells only have half the number of chromosomes than that of the mother cells (to
maintain no.of gametes)
NOTE: Division of nucleus = karyokinesis and division of cytoplasm = cytokinesis.

NOTE: