Question

Eukaryotic cells tend to be 10-1,000 times larger than prokaryotic cells, which it means that it takes much longer for molecules to diffuse from one side of the cell to the other (just as getting across a large warehouse takes longer than getting across a small room). However, biological processes happen just as quickly in eukaryotic cells as they do in prokaryotic cells.

From the choices below, which reason best explains why biological processes in eukaryotic cells happen just as quickly as in prokaryotic cells, despite being so much larger?


The reactants and enzymes required for a particular biological process are concentrated in a particular organelle.
The reactants and enzymes required for a particular biological process are distributed randomly throughout the eukaryotic cell.
unanswered
If we remove a process that occurs in an organelle and have that biological process happen in the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell instead, would you predict it would occur:
faster
slower
at the same speed

Answer 1

The reactants and enzymes required for a particular biological process are concentrated in a particular organelle.

Slower

Step-by-step explanation:

Enzymes are usually localized in organelles to make it easier for cellular processes to occur. Enzymes are NOT randomly distributed in the cell. Each organelle is capable of a specific function and uses specific enzymes to do these processes. Enzymes are very specific and only work for certain organelles, so they are appropriately distributed throughout cells to ensure biological processes can proceed appropriately. This is also why processes would run slower if they were just in the cytoplasm, because organelles have reactant-specific enzymes to do certain biological processes, which cannot be effectively done in the cytoplasm in the cell.