Reference no: EM13586240
The Discussion Board (DB) is part of the core of online learning. Classroom discussion in an online environment requires the active participation of students and the instructor to create robust interaction and dialogue. Every student is expected to create an original response to the open-ended DB question as well as engage in dialogue by responding to posts created by others throughout the week. At the end of each unit, DB participation will be assessed based on both level of engagement and the quality of the contribution to the discussion.
At a minimum, each student will be expected to post an original and thoughtful response to the DB question and contribute to the weekly dialogue by responding to at least two other posts from students. The first contribution must be posted before midnight (Central Time) on Wednesday of each week. Two additional responses are required after Wednesday of each week. Students are highly encouraged to engage on the Discussion Board early and often, as that is the primary way the university tracks class attendance and participation.
The purpose of the Discussion Board is to allow students to learn through sharing ideas and experiences as they relate to course content and the DB question. Because it is not possible to engage in two-way dialogue after a conversation has ended, no posts to the DB will be accepted after the end of each unit.
Background:
When you look at the world around us, you can see many examples that demonstrate how an object's or a system's structure relates to its function. The structure of a highway system, for example, can affect traffic flow. You can, no doubt, think of many other examples.
In this discussion board, you will look at the structure of the most basic unit of life, the living cell. And, you will investigate how the structures of cells are directly related to functions that are important to life.
Assignment details:
Answer the following three essay questions.
1. All living cells, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, have the following cell structures: plasma membrane, cytosol, ribosomes, and at least one chromosome. Choose any one of these. Describe its basic structure (including molecular composition) as well as the function. Explain why a cell could not exist without the function(s) performed by this cell structure.
2. Cells can be categorized as either prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Only bacterial cells are prokaryotic. For question two, answer any one of the following comparison questions. Be sure to compare both molecular (physical) structure and function in each answer.
a. Compare the nucleoid area (prokaryotic) to a nucleus (eukaryotic)? How do they differ; how are they similar?
b. Compare the bacterial flagellum (prokaryotic) to an animal cell flagellum (eukaryotic)? How do they differ; how are they similar?
c. Compare a bacterial cell wall (prokaryotic) to a plant cell wall (eukaryotic)? How do they differ; how are they similar?
3. Eukaryotic cells (in plants, animals, fungi, and algae) are bigger than prokaryotic (bacterial) cells. This bigger size allows eukaryotic cells to have more structural complexity.
Choose any one of the following eukaryotic cell structures for a short essay:
• Mitochondrion
• Cytoskeleton
• Golgi apparatus
• Endoplasmic reticulum
• Lysosome
• Chloroplast (found only in photosynthetic cells)
In your answer, describe its basic structure (including molecular composition) as well as the function. Why is the function important to keeping the cell alive?