Which of the following statements accurately describes the surface area-to-volume ratio and cell growth?
A) The surface area-to-volume ratio increases as the cell grows larger.
B) The surface area-to-volume ratio decreases as the cell grows larger.
C) The surface area-to-volume ratio is unrelated to cell growth.
D) The surface area-to-volume ratio remains constant during cell growth.
E) The surface area-to-volume ratio varies randomly during cell growth.
IMAT 2023 · Question 27
Q27 - Cell size
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The correct answer is B) The surface area-to-volume ratio decreases as the cell grows larger.
When a cell grows, its volume grows faster than its surface, so the surface-to-volume ratio goes down. For a cube of side L, the ratio is 6/L, so doubling L halves it.
This is the reason cells stay small: past a certain size the membrane can't exchange nutrients and waste fast enough for everything inside. Cells deal with it by dividing or by folding their membranes (microvilli).
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