A busy little factory
Many jobs at once, each in its own organelle.
Three jobs, one cell
A cell must build new materials, remove waste, and provide energy. All of them are needed all the time.
Would it be better to do the jobs one after another, or all at once?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Eukaryotic cells carry out different life processes in different organelles independently at the same time; the organelles build new materials, remove waste and provide energy, together performing all functions of the cell.
Three jobs, one cell
A cell must build new materials, remove waste, and provide energy. All of them are needed all the time.
Would it be better to do the jobs one after another, or all at once?
- All at once, in different places
- One after another
- It does not matter
Compare the timings
Run time one job at a time. Then let the organelles work together.
Different jobs, different organelles
Eukaryotic cells carry out different life processes in different organelles, independently, at the same time. Organelles help in building new materials, removing waste, and providing energy. Together they perform all the functions of the cell.
A cell is like a tiny living factory, each part doing a specific job.
- Job | Time (s)
- Building new materials | 4
- Removing waste | 3
- Providing energy | 5
- One at a time (4 + 3 + 5) | 12
- At the same time (the longest) | 5
Notes
Eukaryotic cells do different jobs in different organelles at the same time: building materials, removing waste and providing energy.
Check yourself
Why are organelles useful?
Jobs take 4 s, 3 s and 5 s. If done one after another, how many seconds in all?
Answer: 12 s
4 + 3 + 5 = 12 s.
The same jobs, all done at the same time. How many seconds until the last one is done?
Answer: 5 s
They run together, so the longest (5 s) decides.
Which is not one of the main jobs of organelles named here?
- Different jobs can happen in different places at the same time — correct. Yes.
- They make the cell bigger. Their job is to carry out processes.
- They stop the cell from working. They allow the work.
- Making the cell wall of an animal cell — correct. Animal cells have no wall.
- Building new materials. It is one of the three.
- Removing waste. It is one of the three.
- Providing energy. It is one of the three.