Red Blood Cells
Red blood cells main job, or function, is to take in oxygen as blood passes by the lungs, and then travel along in the bloodstream to deliver that oxygen throughout the body to all the body tissues.
How does the structure of a red blood cell help it do it’s job?
Structure
Disk Shaped, Flattened and Smooth
Flexible
Don’t have a nucleus
Function
Can easily pass through small blood vessels
Can squeeze through narrow blood vessels
Leaves more space to carry oxygen
Fat Cell (Lipocyte)
Fat cells main job, or function is to store extra fat in the body until it is needed by the body as a source of energy.
How does the structure of a fat cell help it do it’s job?
Structure
Large, round, empty looking
Function
Has plenty of room to store fat when there is an excess.
Nerve Cells (Neurons)
A nerve cell’s main job is to quickly relay information to and from the brain. They sense stimuli in the environment and send the information to the brain. Then they send a signal from the brain back to the body so that the body can respond to the stimuli.
How does the structure of a nerve cell help it do it’s job?
Structure
Long, thin branching arms
Many branches connecting to other nerve cells
Function
Lets messages move rapidly over longer distances
Allows cells to pass messages in a chain form one to the next.
Skin Cells
Skin cells cover your entire body and also line body cavities. The skin plays a key role in protecting the body against invaders and excessive water loss. Its other functions are insulation, temperature regulation, sensation.
How does the structure of a skin cell help it do it’s job?
Structure
Very thin, flat, and overlapping
Contain a lot of keratin( a protien that provides strength and support)
Function
So gases can pass through, and overlapping for protection
Makes it strong for protection
Sperm Cells
Sperm cells main job is to carry genetic material from the father, and deliver it to the egg during fertilization. This way the offspring gains genes from both of its parents. It swims through the female reproductive tract until it finds the egg.
How does the structure of a sperm cell help it do it’s job?
Structure
Have a long flagellum (tail)
Have a pointed tip (head)
Function
To help it swim up the female reproductive tract to meet the egg
To help it push into the egg through the eggs cell membrane
Muscle Cells
The main job of muscle cells is to contract, or shorten in order to produce movement. They may contract to move your body, or pump your heart, or move food along your digestive tract.
How does the structure of a muscle cell help it do its job?
Structure
Long and narrow
Function
So that they can pack closely together, and then shorten and relax to produce movement.
Guard Cells
When you get hot, you sweat, and when you sweat, water comes out of your skin through pores called sweat glands. Plants also 'sweat' through a process calledtranspiration, and the plant's pores, which are found on the leaves, are calledstomata.
How do plants keep from losing all their water through stomata? Surrounding each stomata are twoguard cells, which regulate the opening and closing of stomata to facilitate gas exchange and control transpiration in plants..
StructureFunction
FlexibleRegulates movement water and gases
Curved Shapeinto and out of the plant cell
Has Vacuoles
Aids in photosynthesis