Unicellular and Multicellular

Organisms

Unicellular Organisms
Most are microscopic
Examples: Amoeba, Paramecia, E. Coli
Perform the same tasks as multicellular
organisms
They move, eat, reproduce and expel waste.

THE AMOEBA

Binary Fission (cell

division)
PARAMECIA

The Amoeba
Have characteristics of an animal cell
Live in fresh and salt water environments
and decaying vegetation sites.
Are predators they prey on algae and
bacteria
Uses osmosis to get water and diffusion to
get oxygen and dispose of carbon dioxide.

Multicellular Organisms
Rely on a variety of cells to perform cellular
functions. These are called specialized cells.
Specialized cells perform duties such as digestion or
movement.
Example: Eyes, Muscles and Tongue. (what duties
do these perform?)
Cells can be compared to small cities. Each one
performs a different job/function. They all work
together to be efficient. Just like we need specialist
doctors, cells need specialist cells.

Question to Consider
Why do you think small cells are more
efficient than large cells?

Cellular Process in Plants and

Animals
Materials enter cells through diffusion and
osmosis
Cells break down materials and convert them to
energy, to transport energy from one place to
another, to build protein and send chemical
messages.
Cells also expel waste products. The higher
number of cells, the more waste that is expelled.

Energy
Energy is necessary for digestion, transport,
reproduction and repairing damage to cells
In animal cells, the mitochondria are responsible
for breaking down carbs and releasing energy.
Specialized cells like liver and muscle cells have
more mitochondria than other cells in the animal
system. Why do you think this is?
In plant cells, chlorophyll convert energy to sugars
using water, carbon dioxide and nutrients.

Processing and Transporting

Main Cell Parts: Cytoplasm, Endoplasmic Reticulum,
Golgi Apparatus, Lysosomes
Materials move through the cytoplasm
The Endoplasmic Reticulum creates protein from the
materials and passes them to the Golgi Apparatus
The Golgi apparatus processes the protein and
secretes them outside the cell to be used in other
places.
Lysosomes break down food and digest waste.

Reproduction
Cells have a life span. Amoeba live for approximately 2
days.
Brain cells: 30-50yrs
Red Blood Cells: 120 days
Skin Cells 20 days
New cells are created through cell division, when one cell
splits into two. First the nucleus splits, and then the
remainder of the cell.
The two new cells are identical.
In plant cells, the nucleus divides and then a new cell wall is
created.

CELL DIVISION

Do you Get It?

Consider the following question:
A unicellular organism is a living thing that meets
all of the basic needs with just one cell. A
multicellular organism can require up to several
trillion cells to do the same thing. Which do you
consider to be more advanced? Explain your
reasoning.