Specialised cells

• Specialised cells

  • Have specific structures on the body to help them fulfil their function
  • Can have a specific shape or outer covering
• Root hair cell

  Absorbs water and minerals from the soil
• Muscle cell

  Contracts to move bones and joints
• Xylem

  Transports water and minerals upwards through the plant
• How are sperm cells adapted to their function

  Digestive Enzymes - used to break a hole into the egg when the sperm reaches it

  Flagellum - enables movement for the sperm cell to swim to the ovum

  Mitochondria- provides energy required for swimming
• How are nerve cells adapted to their function

  Axon - carries electrical impulses from one part of the body to another

  Dendrites - increases surface area so that other nerve cells can connect more easily

  Myelin sheath - increases the speed at which messages can travel
• What does a myelin sheath do

  Insulates electrical impulses
• Dendrites are branched endings of a neurone to connect them together
• Translocation

  The movement of dissolved sugars
• Why is active transport necessary in root hair cells?

  For movement of minerals against their concentration gradient
• Xylem tissues

  • Involved in transpiration
  • Transport in one direction
  • Made of dead cells
  • Do not contain cytoplasm
• Phloem tissues

  • Involved in translocation
  • Transports in two directions
  • Made of living cells
  • Contains cytoplasm