Question

why is surface to volume ratio important to the cell

Answer 1

because reasons.

Answer 2

jokes
surface area to volume ratio is very critical to a cell.
a large surface area to volume ratio means that a cell can exchange materials with its surroundings more effectively.
for example, the RBCs of mammals have a circular biconcave shape which helps in increasing the surface o volume ratio. this helps it in easy exchange of gases with other cells cells in various tissues.
this aspect is not just important at the cellular level, but even for large organisms. animals in the polar regions are usually huge (especially homeotherms) because this reduces the surface to volume ratio, which helps the organism to maintain a higher body temperature. if the surface to volume ratio of an organism is more, more heat will be lost from the body, which is very harmful to the polar organisms. but such a body structure is found in desert animals, which need to lose more amount of heat in order to maintain optimum body temperature.

Answer 3

kewl-kewl?

Answer 4

The ratio between the surface area and volume of cells and organisms has an enormous impact on their biology(the physiology, behaviour, and other qualities of a particular organism or class of organisms.) For example, many aquatic microorganisms have increased surface area to increase their drag in the water. This reduces their rate of sink and allows them to remain near the surface with less energy expenditure.

An increased surface area to volume ratio also means increased exposure to the environment. The many tentacles of jellyfish and anemones are the result of increased surface area for the acquisition of food. Greater surface area allows more of the surrounding water to be sifted for food.

Individual organs in animals are often based on the principle of greater surface area. The lung is an organ with numerous internal branchings that increase the surface area through which oxygen is passed into the blood and carbon dioxide is released from the blood. The intestine has a finely wrinkled internal surface, increasing the area through which nutrients are absorbed by the body. This is done to increase the surface area in which diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs and diffusion of nutrients in villi of the small intestine can occur.

Cells can get around having a low surface area to volume ratio by being long and thin (nerve cells) or convoluted (microvilli)

Increased surface area can also lead to biological problems. More contact with the environment through the surface of a cell or an organ (relative to its volume) increases loss of water and dissolved substances. High surface area to volume ratios also present problems of temperature control in unfavorable environments.