Homework 1 BTY100: Biology for Engineers S: C1211 MM:30 1. (a) Which physicochemical properties need to be regulated by the cell?

Define chemical equilibrium and discuss how it is maintained by the cell. (b) Differentiate between facilitated diffusion and simple diffusion. Explain both the processes in detail. 10 marks 2. Your friend has just returned from a deep sea mission and claims to have found a new singlecelled life form. He believes this new life form may not have descended from the common ancestor that all types of life on Earth share. However, hes never taken Cell Biology, so he asks you determine whether his claim is true. In order to verify or dispute your friends claim, you realize that you must first make a list of characteristics common to all prokaryotes and eukaryotes, so that you can check whether this new life form is different in some fundamental characteristic from all other types of life on Earth. So you generate a list of traits shared by all prokaryotes and eukaryotes. What would you place on that list? 5 marks 3. Which organelles are known as power house of the cell and protein factories of the cell? Elaborate your answer. 5 marks 4. (a) What is meant by the cells being in G0 phase of the cell cycle. (b) Why is mitosis called equational division 5 marks 5. Do you think meiotic division is equivalent to mitosis? Why or why not? Draw a diagram showing all the stages of meiosis. 5 marks