Final answer:
As a cell grows larger, it faces difficulty maintaining a sufficient surface area-to-volume ratio, affecting the efficiency of nutrient uptake and waste elimination. This limitation often triggers cellular adaptations or cell division to ensure proper functioning.
Step-by-step explanation:
One difficulty a cell endures as it grows larger is difficulty in maintaining an adequate surface area-to-volume ratio. When a cell's volume increases, its surface area does not keep up proportionally because volume increases as the cube of its radius, while surface area increases only as the square. If a cell becomes too large, its plasma membrane cannot provide enough surface area for the necessary rate of diffusion to exchange nutrients and waste efficiently.
Therefore, as a cell grows larger, it can struggle with waste elimination and nutrient uptake. To combat this, cells often divide or develop adaptations such as foldings of the cell membrane, flattening, elongating, or forming organelles that perform specific tasks, leading to more complex cells like eukaryotic cells.