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what is the definition of surface area in biology

by Rosa Gaylord Published 2 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Surface area refers to the outside area of an object, e.g. it is the area around the. outside of a cell.

Full Answer

What is a surface area in the context of Science?

Surface area is the measure of how much exposed area a solid object has, expressed in square units. Mathematical description of the surface area is considerably more involved then the definition ...

What does 'surface area' mean?

The surface area of a three-dimensional object is the total area of all of its surfaces. Surface area is important to know situations where we want to wrap something, paint something, and eventually while building things to get the best possible design.

What is the formula for a surface area?

Surface area of a cylinder. The surface area formula for a cylinder is π x diameter x (diameter / 2 + height), where (diameter / 2) is the radius of the base (d = 2 x r), so another way to write it is π x radius x 2 x (radius + height). Visual in the figure below:

How do you calculate total surface area?

Surface Area = 2(Area of top) + (perimeter of top)* height Surface Area = 2(pi r 2) + (2 pi r)* h In words, the easiest way is to think of a can. The surface area is the areas of all the parts needed to cover the can. That's the top, the bottom, and the paper label that wraps around the middle. You can find the area of the top (or the bottom).

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What is mean by surface area in biology?

Surface area is the amount of surface an object has. For a cube, the formula for area is (length of a side)2 x 6. For a sphere, the formula for area is 4 Π r2.

What is a simple definition of surface area?

What is surface area? Surface area is the amount of space covering the outside of a three-dimensional shape.

What is the surface area answer?

Summary. The surface area of a figure (in square units) is the number of unit squares it takes to cover the entire surface without gaps or overlaps. If a three-dimensional figure has flat sides, the sides are called faces. The surface area is the total of the areas of the faces.

Why is surface area important in biology?

Smaller single-celled organisms have a high surface area to volume ratio, which allows them to rely on oxygen and material diffusing into the cell (and wastes diffusing out) in order to survive. The higher the surface area to volume ratio they have, the more effective this process can be.

What is surface area Definition for kids?

Surface area is a measurement of all the space that the surface of a three-dimensional shape takes up (with a three-dimensional shape being a shape with height, width, and depth). In other words, surface area is the total of all the areas of each of the sides of an object.

What does surface mean for kids?

a set of points in two or three dimensions defining a space. • a surface may be flat or curved, simple or complex. • a surface is the outer layer of an object.

What is surface area and example?

0:171:33Surface Area - MathHelp.com - Math Help - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSurface area is the sum of the areas of all of the phases of a three-dimensional. Figure so to findMoreSurface area is the sum of the areas of all of the phases of a three-dimensional. Figure so to find the surface area of a cube. Notice that each phase of a cube has the same area. So we can simply

How do you define surface area and area?

The area is the measurement of the size of flat-surface in a plane (two-dimensional), whereas surface area is the measurement of the exposed surface of a solid shape (three-dimensional). This is the key difference between area and surface area.

What is the ratio of surface area of a sphere and cylinder of the same radius and height?

The below given formulas can be used to show that the surface area of a sphere and cylinder of the same radius and height are in the ratio 2 : 3, as follows.

What is the surface area of a sphere of radius R?

A sphere of radius r has surface area 4πr2.

Why is the inner membrane of the mitochondrion so large?

The inner membrane of the mitochondrion has a large surface area due to infoldings, allowing higher rates of cellular respiration ( electron micrograph ).

What is the SA to volume ratio?

The surface area to volume ratio (SA:V) of a cell imposes upper limits on size, as the volume increases much faster than does the surface area, thus limiting the rate at which substances diffuse from the interior across the cell membrane to interstitial spaces or to other cells. Indeed, representing a cell as an idealized sphere of radius r, the volume and surface area are, respectively, V = (4/3)πr3 and SA = 4πr2. The resulting surface area to volume ratio is therefore 3/r. Thus, if a cell has a radius of 1 μm, the SA:V ratio is 3; whereas if the radius of the cell is instead 10 μm, then the SA:V ratio becomes 0.3. With a cell radius of 100, SA:V ratio is 0.03. Thus, the surface area falls off steeply with increasing volume.

Why is surface area important?

Surface area is important in chemical kinetics. Increasing the surface area of a substance generally increases the rate of a chemical reaction. For example, iron in a fine powder will combust, while in solid blocks it is stable enough to use in structures. For different applications a minimal or maximal surface area may be desired.

Who created the definition of surface area?

A general definition of surface area was sought by Henri Lebesgue and Hermann Minkowski at the turn of the twentieth century. Their work led to the development of geometric measure theory, which studies various notions of surface area for irregular objects of any dimension. An important example is the Minkowski content of a surface.

Do surface areas of flat polygonal shapes have to be the same?

Surface areas of flat polygonal shapes must agree with their geometrically defined area. Since surface area is a geometric notion, areas of congruent surfaces must be the same and the area must depend only on the shape of the surface, but not on its position and orientation in space.

Why does diffusion take longer when there is more volume?

When the cell increases in size, the volume increases faster than the surface area, because volume is cubed where surface area is squared. When there is more volume and less surface area, diffusion takes longer and is less effective.

What is the SA:V ratio?

Answer: The surface area to volume ratio (SA:V) limits cell size because the bigger the cell gets, the less surface area it has for its size.

How to measure cell radius?

You can take a picture in a camera equipped microscope at a known magnification and use a scale bar to measure cell radius. There are also methods to automate this through image processing

Why do cells divide?

This is because there is a greater area that needs to receive the substance being diffused, but less area for that substance to actually enter the cell. this is actually why cells divide. When they become too large and it takes too long for them to transport materials across the cell, they lose efficiency and divide in half to raise ...

Where are the nutrients diffused in a cube?

The "nutrients" have diffused all the way to the centre of the smallest cube, but the largest cube is mostly "starved" in the centre.

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Videos you watch may be added to the TV's watch history and influence TV recommendations. To avoid this, cancel and sign in to YouTube on your computer.

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Overview

The surface area of a solid object is a measure of the total area that the surface of the object occupies. The mathematical definition of surface area in the presence of curved surfaces is considerably more involved than the definition of arc length of one-dimensional curves, or of the surface area for polyhedra (i.e., objects with flat polygonal faces), for which the surface area is the sum of the …

Definition

While the areas of many simple surfaces have been known since antiquity, a rigorous mathematical definition of area requires a great deal of care. This should provide a function
which assigns a positive real number to a certain class of surfaces that satisfies several natural requirements. The most fundamental property of the surface area is its additivity: the area of the whole is the sum of the areas of the parts. More rigorously, if a surface S is a union of finitely m…

In chemistry

Surface area is important in chemical kinetics. Increasing the surface area of a substance generally increases the rate of a chemical reaction. For example, iron in a fine powder will combust, while in solid blocks it is stable enough to use in structures. For different applications a minimal or maximal surface area may be desired.

In biology

The surface area of an organism is important in several considerations, such as regulation of body temperature and digestion. Animals use their teeth to grind food down into smaller particles, increasing the surface area available for digestion. The epithelial tissue lining the digestive tract contains microvilli, greatly increasing the area available for absorption. Elephants have large ears, allowing them to regulate their own body temperature. In other instances, animals will need to m…

See also

• Perimeter length
• Projected area
• BET theory, technique for the measurement of the specific surface area of materials
• Spherical area

External links

• Surface Area Video at Thinkwell

1.Surface Area - in Biology - LiquiSearch

Url:https://www.liquisearch.com/surface_area/in_biology

19 hours ago The surface area of an organism is important in several considerations, such as regulation of body temperature and digestion. Animals use their teeth to grind food down into smaller …

2.Videos of What Is The Definition Of Surface Area in Biology

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2 hours ago  · The area is the measurement of the size of flat-surface in a plane (two-dimensional), whereas surface area is the measurement of the exposed surface of a solid …

3.Surface area - Wikipedia

Url:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface_area

32 hours ago  · The surface area of a solid object is a measure of the total area that the surface of the object occupies. Their work led to the development of geometric measure theory, which …

4.Surface Area to Volume Ratio - Biology | Socratic

Url:https://socratic.org/biology/cell-structure-and-function/surface-area-to-volume-ratio

21 hours ago Surface area is a measurement of all the space that the surface of a three-dimensional shape takes up (with a three-dimensional shape being a shape with height, width, and depth). In other …

5.Biology - surface area Flashcards | Quizlet

Url:https://quizlet.com/106808318/biology-surface-area-flash-cards/

26 hours ago Cell size is usually measured in micrometre (μm). The surface area is the external layer of an object. In the case of a cell, it is the plasma membrane. The volume of a cell refers to the total …

6.Biology - Surface Area: Volume Ratio Flashcards | Quizlet

Url:https://quizlet.com/72896776/biology-surface-area-volume-ratio-flash-cards/

15 hours ago  · Explanation: When the cell increases in size, the volume increases faster than the surface area, because volume is cubed where surface area is squared. When there is more …

7.surface area Definitions and Synonyms - Macmillan …

Url:https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/surface-area

36 hours ago plural membranes. parts of the trachea. C-shaped cartilage, smooth muscle, Blood vessels, Goblet cells and glands, cilia cells, mucus. function of cartilage in the trachea. resists it from …

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