Why is a high surface to volume ratio important to cells?
In: Biology
Oxygen and other important molecules travel via diffusion. Diffusion is the natural tendency for substances to move from areas of high concentration to low concentration. A cell with a low surface area to volume ratio can’t get oxygen etc. from outside of the cell to all of the areas of the cell that need it fast enough to sustain life. The surface area of a cell needs to be large enough to allow for nutrients to be delivered to all of the areas of a cell. Alternatively, the volume of a cell has to be small enough to allow for efficient movement of molecules.
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