AP Biology Summer Work
Chapter 1
1. A person is declared dead upon the irreversible ceasing of spontaneous
functions: brain activity, blood
... [Show More] circulation, and respiration. Only about 1
percent of a body’s cells have to die in order for all of these things to happen.
How can a person be dead when 99 percent of his or her cells are alive?
a. The 1% of cells that are dead were responsible for controlling vital
function such as respiration, blood circulation, and brain activity, all a
necessity to keep a person alive. Without having this 1% of cells, the
person will die very quickly because the remaining cells will no longer
receive oxygen or blood to stay alive. Ultimately, since the body can no
longer function without these systems or these cells, it can be
concluded that these cells are responsible for maintaining homeostasis
for the human as a whole. During homeostasis, the body systems work
together to maintain a balance. However, since that balance was
disrupted from the dying of the 1% of cells, the balance is shifted, and
homeostasis is not maintained. In biology the human body is explicitly
made up of levels of organization where everything is connected and
dependent on something, disrupting one system has the potential to
affect the entire body. The human body controls homeostasis by
strictly regulating the nervous and endocrine systems, and according
to the patient’s symptoms is seems as these are the two systems that
were most primarily hit, causing the entire body not to be able to
Malhotra 2
maintain things such as temperature, pH, and other conditions at the
right levels to support life. This lack of control and homeostasis causes
the person to die although the other 99% of his or her cells are still
healthy and alive.
2. What is the difference between a one-celled organism and a single cell of a
multicelled organism?
a. When comparing a cell from a single-celled organism to a cell from a
multicelled organism, the differences between the two become very
evident. A cell from a single-celled organism is independent and
performs all the required functions of life by itself. It has to protect
itself, reproduce by itself, etc. [Show Less]