Cells working as a team
Each kind of cell has its own job, and they help each other.
Eating a meal
You swallow food. It goes down the food pipe to the stomach, where it is broken down. Your body is made of many cells, so multicellular.
Does one kind of cell do all these jobs?
What this lesson covers
The idea
In multicellular organisms, cells carry out specialised functions individually but also cooperate with each other to increase the chance of survival.
Eating a meal
You swallow food. It goes down the food pipe to the stomach, where it is broken down. Your body is made of many cells, so multicellular.
Does one kind of cell do all these jobs?
- No, different kinds of cell do different jobs
- Yes, every cell does every job
- Only the nucleus does all the work
A team in your body
Tap each kind of cell to let it do its own job.
Own job, plus teamwork
In multicellular organisms, cells carry out specialised functions individually but also cooperate with each other to increase the chance of survival.
Together, they digest the food for the body.
- Kind of cell | Its own job
- Food pipe muscle cells | Contract and relax to push food down to the stomach
- Stomach muscle cells | Churn the food
- Stomach lining cells | Make digestive juices that help break down the food
Notes
In multicellular organisms, cells do specialised jobs individually but also cooperate with each other to increase the chance of survival.
Check yourself
What do cells in a multicellular organism do?
Which cells push food down the food pipe?
Why do the cells cooperate?
- Each does a specialised job, and they also cooperate — correct. Yes. This increases the chance of survival.
- All of them do exactly the same job. Cells carry out specialised functions.
- They work completely alone and never cooperate. Cells also cooperate with each other.
- Muscle cells that contract and relax — correct. Yes. They contract and relax, pushing food to the stomach.
- Plant tube cells. Plant tube cells carry water in plants.
- Inner cheek cells. Inner cheek cells form a protective lining in the cheek.
- To increase the chance of survival of the organism — correct. Yes. Working together helps the whole organism survive.
- To make the organism smaller. Cooperation helps the organism survive. It does not make it smaller.
- So that no cell needs a job. Each cell still has its own specialised job.