A.

Cellular Processes

a. Intracellular fluid
̶ Human cells are bathed in fluids both inside the cell and out. In fact, the water that is inside the cell
makes up about 42% of the total body weight. The fluid inside the cell is called intracellular fluid (ICF).
Intracellular fluid contains water and dissolved solutes and proteins. The solutes are electrolytes, which
help keep our body functioning properly. An electrolyte is an element or compound that, when dissolved
in fluid, breaks up into ions. There are a lot of electrolytes inside the cell, but potassium, magnesium, and
phosphate have the greatest concentrations.

b. Extracellular fluid
̶ Extracellular fluid (ECF) surrounds all cells in the body.
Extracellular fluid has two primary constituents: the fluid
component of the blood (called plasma) and the interstitial fluid
(IF) that surrounds all cells not in the blood. The ECF accounts
for the other one-third of the body’s water content.
Approximately 20 percent of the ECF is found in plasma. Plasma
travels through the body in blood vessels and transports a
range of materials, including blood cells, proteins (including
clotting factors and antibodies), electrolytes, nutrients, gases,
and wastes. Gases, nutrients, and waste materials travel
between capillaries and cells through the IF. Cells are separated from the IF by a selectively permeable
cell membrane that helps regulate the passage of materials between the IF and the interior of the cell.
The body has other water-based ECF. These include the cerebrospinal fluid that bathes the brain and
spinal cord, lymph, the synovial fluid in joints, the pleural fluid in the pleural cavities, the pericardial fluid
in the cardiac sac, the peritoneal fluid in the peritoneal cavity, and the aqueous humor of the eye.
Because these fluids are outside of cells, these fluids are also considered components of the ECF
compartment.

B. Passive Transport

a. Simple Diffusion

̶ Simple diffusion is the passage of a molecule or ion in a membrane without the help or aid of another
intermediary such as proteins. What drives the molecules and ions from a certain point to the other side
of the membrane is through diffusion’s force. The molecule or ion must be able to pass through the
hydrophobic wall of the membrane. A few types of molecules can pass with ease which are hydrophobic.
These are oxygen, ethanol, and carbon dioxide. In simple diffusion there is no energy involved in the
penetration of these molecules.

b. Carrier- Facilitated Diffusion

 ̶ Facilitated diffusion is also called facilitated transport or passive mediated transport. It is a process in
which the type of transport is passive that is enabled by proteins. Diffusion by this type is also
spontaneous, unstructured, or unplanned passage of molecules or ions in a membrane through the aid
of proteins. Certain molecules cannot pass through a membrane such as certain polar and non-polar
molecules. Small, non-polar molecules can diffuse easily. An example of this is oxygen. Large molecules
are diffused through the aid of proteins.

C. Active Transport

Active transport is the movement of molecules across

a membrane from a region of their lower concentration to a region
of their higher concentration—in the direction against the
concentration gradient or other obstructing factor (often
a concentration gradient). Active transport uses cellular energy to
move them against a gradient, polar repulsion, or other resistance.
Active transport is usually associated with accumulating high
concentrations of molecules that the cell needs, such
as ions, glucose and amino acids. If the process uses chemical
energy, such as from adenosine triphosphate (ATP), it is termed
primary active transport. Secondary active transport involves the use
of an electrochemical gradient. Examples of active transport include
the uptake of glucose in the intestines in humans and the uptake of mineral ions into root hair cells of plants.

D.

a. Plasmolysis
 ̶ Plasmolysis is the process in which cells lose water in a hypertonic solution. Plasmolysis is mainly known
as shrinking of cell membrane in hypertonic solution and great pressure.
Plasmolysis can be of two types, either concave plasmolysis or convex plasmolysis. Convex plasmolysis is
always irreversible while concave plasmolysis is usually reversible. [3]During concave plasmolysis, the
plasma membrane and the enclosed protoplast partially shrinks from the cell wall due to half-spherical,
inwarding curving pockets forming between the plasma membrane and the cell wall. During convex
plasmolysis, the plasma membrane and the enclosed protoplast shrinks completely from the cell wall,
with the plasma membrane's ends in a symmetrically, spherically curved pattern.

b. Hydration
̶ The process of combining with water; usually reversible.
̶ The chemical process where water is added to an element to form a compound, where the compound is
referred to as a hydrate. Cellular hydration is about getting the water to where it can be used in the
body, the cell (not linger in the blood serum, plasma or interstitial fluid). As mentioned before,
electrolytes help the body do this. Without the proper electrolytes in the body osmosis cannot occur,
and electrical nerve impulses can’t travel properly. Electrolytes are a critical component to proper
endurance nutrition.

c. Pinocytosis
̶ In cellular biology, pinocytosis, otherwise known as cell
expelling, fluid endocytosis, and bulk-phase. Pinocytosis, is a
mode of endocytosis in which small particles are brought out to
the mitochondria and then expelled from the cell, forming
an invagination, and then suspended within a small vesicle.
Pinocytosis is used primarily for the expelling of extracellular
fluids (ECF). Pinocytosis, on the other hand, is when the cell
engulfs already-dissolved or broken-down food. Pinocytosis is
non-specific and non-absorptive.

d. Phagocytosis
̶ In cell biology, phagocytosis is the process by which a cell—often a phagocyte or a protist—engulfs a
solid particle to form an internal compartment known as a phagosome. It is distinct from other forms
of endocytosis like pinocytosis that involves the internalization of extracellular liquids. Phagocytosis is
involved in the acquisition of nutrients for some cells.

̶ In an organism's immune system, phagocytosis is a major mechanism

used to remove pathogens and cell debris. For example, when
a macrophage ingests a pathogenic microorganism, the pathogen
becomes trapped in a phagosome which then fuses with a lysosome to
form a phagolysosome. Within the phagolysosome, enzymes and toxic
peroxides digest the pathogen. Bacteria, dead tissue cells, and small
mineral particles are all examples of objects that may be phagocytized.
 Phagocytosis engulfs whole particles, which are later broken down by enzymes, such as cathepsins, and
absorbed into the cells.

E. Mitosis vs. Inciosis

Mitosis is a process where a single cell divides into two identical daughter cells (cell division).

̶ During mitosis one cell divides once to form two identical cells.
̶ The major purpose of mitosis is for growth and to replace worn out cells.
̶ If not corrected in time, mistakes made during mitosis can result in changes in the DNA that can
potentially lead to genetic disorders.

In meiosis cells split to form new cells with half the usual number of chromosomes, to produce gametes for sexual
reproduction.

̶ Meiosis, on the other hand, is used for just one purpose in the human body: the production
of gametes—sex cells, or sperm and eggs. Its goal is to make daughter cells with exactly half as many
chromosomes as the starting cell.
̶ To put that another way, meiosis in humans is a division process that takes us from a diploid cell—one
with two sets of chromosomes—to haploid cells—ones with a single set of chromosomes. In humans,
the haploid cells made in meiosis are sperm and eggs. When a sperm and an egg join in fertilization, the
two haploid sets of chromosomes form a complete diploid set: a new genome.

F. Stages of Mitosis in an Animal

Cell

Mitosis is divided into five phases:

1. Interphase:
 ̶ The DNA in the cell is copied in preparation for cell division, this results in two identical full sets
of chromosomes.
̶ Outside of the nucleus are two centrosomes, each containing a pair of centrioles, these structures are
critical for the process of cell division.
̶ During interphase, microtubules extend from these centrosomes.

2. Prophase:

̶ The chromosomes condense into X-shaped structures that can be easily seen under a microscope.
̶ Each chromosome is composed of two sister chromatids, containing identical genetic information.The
chromosomes pair up so that both copies of chromosome 1 are together, both copies of chromosome 2 are
together, and so on.
̶ At the end of prophase the membrane around the nucleus in the cell dissolves away releasing the
chromosomes. The mitotic spindle, consisting of the microtubules and other proteins, extends across the cell
between the centrioles as they move to opposite poles of the cell.

3. Metaphase:

̶ The chromosomes line up neatly end-to-end along the centre (equator) of the cell.
̶ The centrioles are now at opposite poles of the cell with the mitotic spindle fibres extending from them.
̶ The mitotic spindle fibres attach to each of the sister chromatids.
̶

4. Anaphase:

̶ The sister chromatids are then pulled apart by the mitotic spindle which pulls one chromatid to one pole and
the other chromatid to the opposite pole.

5. Telophase:

̶ At each pole of the cell a full set of chromosomes gather together.

̶ A membrane forms around each set of chromosomes to create two new nuclei.
̶ The single cell then pinches in the middle to form two separate daughter cells each containing a full set of
chromosomes within a nucleus. This process is known as cytokinesis.