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Bigger cells need more food and oxygen, but can't transport it fast enough or in big enough quantities. So as the cell grows bigger material exchange can't keep up with the demand for transport across the membrane.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoThe greatest problem facing a large cell would be moving nutrients in and waste out.
Cells require nutrients and oxygen to survive. These compounds must diffuse into the cell, which means they must be absorbed through the cell membrane and make their way to all parts of the cell.
The reason this wouldn't work with large cells requires some math.
Hard part
The ratio of surface area (amount of space on the membrane) to volume (the amount of space inside the cell) decreases as size increases. Imagine a cube with each side two inches, the surface area of the cube would be 2x2x6 or 24 square inches and the volume would be 2x2x2 or 8 cubic inches.
Now imagine a cube with each side 4 inches, the surface area of the cube would be 4x4x6 or 96 square inches and the volume would be 64 cubic inches.
The first cube has a 4:1 surface area to volume ratio while the second cube has a ratio of 1.5:1.
Easy explanation
That math might be a bit confusing but the meaning is simple. The 2 inch cell has 4 inches of space on the membrane for every 1 inch of stuff inside.
The large cell has only 1.5 inches of space on the membrane for every 1 inch of stuff inside. So the large cell has a harder time bringing in enough nutrients and oxygen.
D & R
As the size of the cell increases the communication between the nucleus and the cytoplasm grows weaker...to combat this problem the cell may have multiple nuclei or may incorporate cytoplasmic streaming..
To deal with the problem of surface area to volume ratio, the cell can change it's conformation(shape) to increase it's surface area.
Wiki User
∙ 14y agothey lack sufficient surface area
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TRUE
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