cell differentiation and specialisation

• What is differentiation?


  Differentiation is where a cell becomes specialised to do it's job
• Why does differentiation occur in organisms?

  when an animal develops but lots of plants don't.
• what are undifferentiated cells called?

  stem cells
• what are sperm cells specialised cells for?


  reproduction
• A sperm cell is to get the male DNA to the female DNA.It has a long tail to help it swim to the egg. There are lots of mitochondria in the cell that provide energy. It also contains enzymes in it's head to digest through the egg cell membrane.

  
• What are nerve cells specialised for ?


  rapid signalling
• Nerve cells carry electrical signals around the body and are long to cover more distance.They have branched connections at their end to connect to other nerve cells to form a network throughout the body.

  
• what are muscle cells specialised for?


  contraction
• what are root hair cells specialised for?


  absorbing water and minerals
• what are phloem and xylem specialised for?


  transporting substances
• Muscle cells contract quickly, and they are long so they have space to contract. It also contains lots of mitochondria for the energy needed for contraction.

  
• root hair cells are thin, which increases the surface area for absorbing water and minerals.

  
• nerve cells have branched connections called synapses where chemicals can be released into the gap between two neurons to transmit an electrical signal along the next part of the nervous system.
• phloem and xylem contain many tubes that transport substances up and down the plant. They are made from dead cells with thick walls to support them as they transport materials through the plant.
• cells that differentiate in mature animals are mainly used for what?


  repairing and replacing cells such as skin or blood cells