Many Words one Should Know About Cells and How They Function

1. active transport - movement of materials through a membrane against a concentration gradient

2. endocytosis - a process by which a cell surrounds and takes in material from it's environment

3. exocytosis - is the expulsion or secretion of materials from a cell

4. facilitated diffusion - the passive transport of materials across a plasma membrane with the aid of transport proteins

5. hypertonic solution - the concentration of dissolved substances outside the cell is higher than the concentration inside the cell

6. hypotonic solution - the concentration of the dissolved substances is lower in the solution outside the cell than the concentration onside the cell

7. isotonic solution - the concentration of dissolved substances in the solution is the same as the concentration of dissolved substances outside the cell

8. osmosis - the diffusion of water across a selectively permeable membrane

9. passive transport - movement of particles across a cell membrane by diffusion or osmosis; the cell uses no energy to move particles across the membrane

10. anaphase - the 3rd phase of mitosis where the separation of sister chromatids occurs

11. cell cycle - the sequence of growth and division of a cell

12. centrioles - small, dark, cylindrical structures that are made out of microtubules and are located just outside the nucleus

13. centromere - cell structure that joins the two sister chromatids together

14. chromatin - long strands of DNA wrapped around proteins

15. chromosomes - cell structures that carry the genetic material that is copied and passed from generation to generation of cells

16. cytokinesis - the stage in mitosis where the cytoplasm divides

17. interphase - cell growth phase where a cell increases in size, carries on metabolism, and duplicates chromosomes prior to division

18. metaphase - the 2nd phase of mitosis in which the doubled chromosomes become attached to the spindle fibers