Question

Cell x has a surface area of 60 m² and a volume of 15 m³. Cell y has a surface area of 36 m² and a volume of 12 m³. Using the information above, determine the surface-area-to-volume ratio of each cell. What is the surface-area-to-volume ratio of the cell that will exchange materials with its environment at the fastest rate of diffusion?

Answer 1

Cell X with a surface-area-to-volume ratio of 4 to 1 will exchange materials through diffusion more efficiently than Cell Y with a ratio of 3 to 1.

Step-by-step explanation:

The surface-area-to-volume ratio is crucial for determining a cell's efficiency in exchanging materials through the process of diffusion. To calculate the surface-area-to-volume ratio for each cell, we divide the surface area by the volume of the cell. For Cell X with a surface area of 60 m² and volume of 15 m³, the ratio is 60/15, or 4 to 1. For Cell Y with a surface area of 36 m² and volume of 12 m³, the ratio is 36/12, or 3 to 1.

The cell with the higher surface-area-to-volume ratio will exchange materials with its environment at a faster rate of diffusion. Therefore, Cell X with a surface-area-to-volume ratio of 4 to 1 will exchange materials more efficiently than Cell Y with a ratio of 3 to 1.