Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can name the parts of any act of cell communication: signalling cell, signal, target cell with receptor, and response. (Guide: “Why cells need to communicate”)
- I can describe the two kinds of direct contact, junctions and surface molecules, with an example of each. (Guide: “Communication by direct contact”; Practice Q1)
- I can explain how an antigen-presenting cell activates a helper T cell, and how a killer T cell recognises an infected cell. (Guide: “Surface molecules that touch”; Practice Q1)
- I can explain why a local regulator affects only nearby cells, and why neurotransmitter signalling is short-distance even when the neuron is long. (Guide: “Neurotransmitters”; Practice Q3)
- I can explain how a morphogen gradient gives cells different fates depending on where they sit. (Guide: Worked example 1)
- I can describe quorum sensing and explain why bacteria benefit from acting only at high density. (Guide: “Quorum sensing in bacteria”; Practice Q5)
- I can name hormones that travel long distances in the blood, with where each is made and what it does. (Guide: “Communication over long distances”)
- I can explain why a hormone reaches nearly every cell but only target cells with a matching receptor respond. (Guide: “Specificity comes from receptors”; Practice Q2, Q6)
Calculation and skills
- I can use a halving model to find signal concentrations and the positions of fate boundaries. (Guide: Worked example 1)
- I can calculate means, light per cell and percentage change from experimental data. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can use t = x² ÷ (2D) to compare diffusion times over different distances, with distances in metres. (Practice Q7)
Reasoning
- I can predict how a change in signal production, or a missing receptor, changes which cells respond. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q5, Q6)
- I can judge what an experiment shows about a signal, identify its control and suggest a further control. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can use data to reject a claim that confuses delivery of a signal with response to it. (Practice Q6)
All ticked? Move on to Topic 4.2, Introduction to Signal Transduction, or return to the course roadmap.