AS Biology

Intro to Transport

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Diffusion and the Problem of Size

All organisms need to exchange substances such as food, waste, gases and heat with their surroundings. These
substances must diffuse between the organism and the surroundings. The rate at which a substance can diffuse is given by
Fick's law:

surface area x concentration difference

Rate of Diffusion
distance

The rate of exchange of substances therefore depends on the organism's surface area that is in contact with the
surroundings. The requirements for materials depends on the volume of the organism, so the ability to meet the
requirements depends on the surface area : volume ratio. As organisms get bigger their volume and surface area both get
bigger, but volume increases much more than surface area.. This can be seen with some simple calculations for differentsized organisms. In these calculations each organism is assumed to be cube-shaped to make the calculations easier. The
surface area of a cube with length of side L is LxL X6 (6L), while the volume is L.

Organism
bacterium
amoeba
fly
dog
whale

Length

SA (m)

vol (m)

SA/vol (m-1)

1 mm

(10-6 m)

6 x 10-12

10-18

6,000,000

100 mm

(10-4 m)

6 x 10-8

10-12

60,000

10 mm

(10-2 m)

6 x 10-4

10-6

600

1m

(100 m)

6 x 100

100

100 m

(102 m)

6 x 104

106

0.06

So as organisms get bigger their surface area/volume ratio gets smaller. A bacterium is all surface with not much inside,
while a whale is all insides with not much surface. This means that as organisms become bigger it becomes more difficult
for them to exchange materials with their surroundings. In fact this problem sets a limit on the maximum size for a single cell
of about 100 mm. In anything larger than this materials simply cannot diffuse fast enough to support the reactions needed
for life. Very large cells like birds' eggs are mostly inert food storage with a thin layer of living cytoplasm round the outside.
Organisms also need to exchange heat with their surroundings, and here large animals have an advantage in having a
small surface area/volume ratio: they lose less heat than small animals. Large mammals keep warm quite easily and don't
need much insulation or heat generation. Small mammals and birds lose their heat very readily, so need a high metabolic
rate in order to keep generating heat, as well as thick insulation. So large mammals can feed once every few days while

AS Biology
Intro to Transport
small mammals must feed continuously. Human babies also lose heat more quickly than adults, which is why they often
need woolly hats.
So how do organisms larger than 100 mm exists? All organisms larger than 100 mm are multicellular, which means that
their bodies are composed of many small cells, rather than one big cell. Each cell in a multicellular organism is no bigger
than about 30mm, and so can exchange materials quickly and independently. Humans have about 10 14 cells.
Key Ideas of Transport Systems
Importance of Having a Transport System in some Multicellular Organisms
1.
Living organisms need to constantly exchange substances between the cells ad their external environment. This enables them to
obtain oxygen and nutrients for cellular activities, and to remove waste products.
2.
Small organisms have a large total surface area to volume (TSA/V) ratio. Substances need to diffuse in or out of the cells for a
short distance only.
3.
These organisms are able to obtain oxygen and nutrients directly from the external environment, and remove carbon dioxide
and waste products by diffusion through the cell membrane.
4.
Some simple multicellular organisms such as flatworms have thin flattened bodies. These provide a large surface area for
exchange of substances.
5.

Simple organisms therefore do not require a specialized internal transport system.

6.
In larger multicellular organisms, there is an increased need for more nutrients and oxygen to be supplied to the larger number
of cells. There is a need to excrete more waste products.
7.

When the size of an organism increases, the total surface area to volume (TSA/V) ratio decreases.

8.
Many of the body cells are too far away from the external surface or between different parts of the body. The exchange of
substances by simple diffusion occurs at too slow a rate to sustain cellular activities.
9.
In order to survive, these larger multicellular organisms have adapted by developing specialized structures to increase the
surface area for exchange of substances.
10.

Some multicellular organisms have developed an internal transport system of vessels or tubes.

11.

In human and more complex animals, there is development of a blood circulation system t carry the substances.

12.

In plants, transport of substances is carried out by the vascular system containing xylem and phloem.

A. CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
1.

A circulatory system in a large organism is the mass flow of fluid through the tissues and organs of the organism.

2.
The circulatory system allows for the transport and exchange of nutrients, oxygen ad waste products. It also plays a role in
protecting the body against infection.
3.

In large multicellular animals, the three components of a circulatory system are: a. a medium

b. vessels

c. a pump

4.
The medium is the fluid that flows in the circulatory system. It transports substances around the body. In many animals, blood
is the transport medium. However, in many arthropods such as insects, there is a fluid called hemolymph in the hemocoel. It is the
hemolymph that transports water, organic and inorganic compounds throughout the hemocoel.
5.
A system of large and small vessels carry the blood from one part of the body to another. These vessels are called arteries,
veins and capillaries.
6.
The pump in the body is the muscular heart. When the heart contracts, it generates a pressure that forces the blood through the
blood vessels.

AS Biology
Intro to Transport
7.
In the capillaries which act as the sites of exchange of materials, nutrients and oxygen diffuse from the blood capillaries into the
surrounding cells, while carbon dioxide ad waste products diffuse from the cells into the blood capillaries.
8.
As animals are more active than plants, they require an efficient transport system to obtain nutrients and oxygen to maintain
their high rate of metabolism, as well as to eliminate their waste products

AS Biology
Intro to Transport

AS Biology
Intro to Transport

AS Biology
Intro to Transport

AS Biology
Intro to Transport

AS Biology
Intro to Transport