Agar Cube Data Table:

Agar Cubes:

 

Questions:

  1. In terms of maximum diffusion, what was the most effective size that you tested?The most effective one was the smallest agar cube.
  2. Why was that size most effective at maximizing diffusion? What are the important factors that affect how materials diffuse into cells or tissue?The smallest agar cube has the highest surface area to volume ratio, that being 6:1. Size plays a factor in diffusion, but the main effectiveness of diffusion is surface area.
  3. If a large surface area is helpful to cells, why do cells not grow to be very large?A large surface area is helpful, but not a large volume, the ideal shape would be as flat as possible, similar to a plate.
  4. You have three cubes, A, B, and C. They have surface to volume ratios of 3:1, 5:2, and 4:1 respectively. Which of these cubes is going to be the most effective at maximum diffusion, how do you know this?4:1, since it has 4x more surface area than volume, while the 3:1 has 3x, and the 5:2 has 2.5x.
  5. How does your body adapt surface area-to-volume ratios to help exchange gases?

    Our body adapts by splitting cells that get too large, into two smaller cells. This way our body maintains a low volume to high surface area ratio.

  6. Why can’t certain cells, like bacteria, get to be the size of a small fish?A cell can only reach a certain size until it becomes dangerous for it to grow any larger, as diffusion would not be effective anymore.
  7. What are the advantages of large organisms being multicellular?Many small cells means an extremely high surface area, maximizing diffusion efficiency and effectiveness. Although that means it requires more cells, each cell is not being hindered by being too large for complete diffusion.