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The "simple" answer is that small cells can more easily transport and transpire materials into and out of themselves. Cells "eat" and "breathe" and "excreet" by virtue of what they can move across (in through and out through) their cell walls. And a small cell can do this more effectively in living structures than a large one.

Cells are the "right size" to live as they do. Not big, and not "virus small" but "just right" to maintain a "correct" surface area to volume ratio that optimizes the way they work within the larger structures of which they are a part.

Answer:they need to be small for fusion to work efficiently

1. There is a surface area to volume ratio - There has to be enough surface area (plasma membrane) to supply the cell with all of the materials that it needs for survival.

2. There also has to be enough DNA to be able to code for metabolism.

Answer:Cells are small because materials move in and out of the cell through the cell membrane.

cells are so small because they have so many different parts to it it needs to be small. a cell is made of of atoms and atoms are ity bity so if a cell is made up of only a few of them then you can only imagine how small a cell really is

Answer:The current thinking is that, as cells become larger, the volume increases faster than the surface area. Doubling the volume will double the number of metabolic reactions, but since the surface area only increases by 1.414, the cell has difficulty taking in food and ejecting waste products via diffusion through its surface. In other words, only a microscopic cell can have a large enough outer surface to avoid strangling on waste products, and larger cells would die. Answer:Large cells are much harder to maintain. The osmotic stress would be too strong and the plasma membrane would be likely to break. Energy would also be used at huge rates.
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13y ago
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15y ago

The size of the cell will not increase efficiency. The millions of cells are clustered by function in different parts of the organism so it can work as a tissue. It also helps the organism survive longer.

I mean, imagine how much longer a cut would take to heal. Instead of having millions of cells regenerate at once, you would have to wait for a couple enormous cells to grow in.

Think of it this way: Is it easier to have fifty machines working in a factory, or just three big machines?

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Helen Peleti

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1y ago
very helpful

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13y ago

It's all about surface:volume ratio. Cells rely on diffusion for lots of things. As the cell gets bigger, volume increases as a cubic function while surface area increases as a square function. Eventually the volume of the cell will be too large such nutrients and wastes cannot diffuse in and out efficiently. Keeping the cells small solves this problem. An alternative solution is to make the surface of the cell very irregular (ie: microvilli) so that the volume stays small but the surface area increases.

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11y ago

Because of surface area and volume ratio. A big cell will have a small surface area in comparison to it's volumn therefore needing more nutrients, diffusion (for example) takes time and so the cell will weaken and could even die. Small cells on the other hand have a large surface are in comparison to their volume - the small the cell the more efficient the diffusion of nutrients will be and the stronger and healthier the cell will be. If you think of our bodies, say our arm muscle - the more dense (More muscle strands tighter together) the muscle the strong we are and the easier we find manual labor with our arms. This also applies to cells in organisms it's better to have millions and millions of tiny but strong cells packed together rather than a couple of dozen big ones that are weak and fatigue easily.

For example plant cells are about twice the size of animal cells - how easy is it to rip a leaf of a plant or rip it in half, i don't think i ever seen anyone pull a limb of a dog :D lol

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11y ago

As complexity grows, the specialization of the parts within the organism must increase, as well. With larger organisms, more cells must be added in order to specialize and perform the biological functions of higher life forms. Additionally, the larger a cell gets, the smaller the surface area-to-volume ratio becomes. This means that, at a certain point, the cell will be too large to consume (or produce) energy and expel wastes efficiently.

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14y ago

because if there was lots of large ones there would be more area of the large ones to fall apart and when there is lots of small ones it makes it more less dense and more stronger.

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9y ago

if there was lots of large ones there would be more area of the large ones to fall apart and when there is lots of small ones it makes it more less dense and more stronger

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11y ago

Because the cells are small.

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2y ago

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Q: Why are we made of small cells and not large cells?
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Related questions

Why are organs made up of small cells instead of large cells?

Organs are made up of small cells instead of large cells to allow the organs to be not easily harmed. This way if one cell dies or is attacked then the organ will not be damaged. If the cell was larger then the organ might not be able to recover.


What is small in animal cells but large in plant cells?

Animal cells have small vacuoles, whereas plant cells have large vacuoles.


Why can small cells exchange substance readily than large cells?

why can small cells exchange substances more readily than large cells?


Why cells are so small even when they are part of a large organism?

u may c a big bunglow made up of small bricks and the same goes with the small cells making up an organism


Are animal cells large or small?

Not as small as your penis


Is everything made up of cells?

No not every thing is made of cells. rocks are not, water is not and air is not. cells are for living things. a small germ is a single cell, a small bug is a group of many cells. and you are a very large group of cells all working together for mutual benefit.


Are prokaryotic cells small?

yes they are small and they have no nucleus unlike eukaryotic cells that do have a nucleus and are large.


Are the cells in a large potato larger than the cells in a small potato?

no. a large potato justhas a larger amount of cells.


Why are small cells better then large cells for moving materials through membranes?

small cells have a greater surface-to-volume ratio than larger cells.


What are large organisms made of?

Cells


Why can small cells exchange subtances more readily than large cells?

Small cells have higher surface area to volume ratio than larger cells.


Do large animals have llarger cells then small animals?

No they do not. They all have the same size of cells.