are cells or atoms smaller
The captured energy in photosynthesis is the basis of life's energy. Cells build molecules for information, function, and fuel in an unpward building process called anabolic chemistry. Burning down to smaller molecules is called a catabolic reaction. Reactions that release energy fuel the upward building reactions and other processes. Simple carbohydrates are sugars made from atoms of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. Inside cells, sugar molecules are broken down. This process provides usable energy for the cell. Simple sugar molecules can also be linked into long chains to form more complex carbohydrates, such as starch, cellulose, and glycogen. Starch and cellulose are complex carbohydrates made by plant cells. In living things, there are four main types of large molecules: (1) carbohydrates, (2) lipids, (3) proteins, and (4) nucleic acids. Thousands of these molecules work together in a cell. The four types of molecules in all living things share one important characteristic. They all contain carbon atoms. A cell is much, much larger than an atom. A typical animal cell might be 10,000 times as wide, long, and tall as a typical atom, or about 1 trillion times the volume of an atom. Another way to arrive at this answer is to consider the fact that cells are made up of atoms, so the atoms must therefore be smaller. There are smaller pieces that make up cells such as macromolecules and organelles. A protein is an example of a macromolecule while a mitochondrion is an example of an organelle. Cells can also connect to form larger structures. They might group together to form the tissues of the stomach and eventually the entire digestive system. However, in the same way that atoms are the basic unit when you study matter, cells are the basic unit for biology and organisms. In larger organisms, the main purpose of a cell is to organize. Cells hold a variety of pieces and each cell type has a different purpose. By dividing responsibilities among different groups of cells, it is easier for an organism to survive and grow. Proteins are made up of amino acids. Proteins carry out most of the chemical activity in cells. Proteins are made of smaller molecules called amino acids. Amino acids contain the elements carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur. In proteins, amino acids are linked together into long chains that fold into three-dimensional shapes. The main concept of cell theory is that cells are the basic structural unit for all organisms. Cells are small compartments that hold the biological equipment necessary to keep an organism alive and successful. Molecules are visualized scientifically by crystallizing a pure sample of a chemical and shining x-rays through it. The emerging X-rays are deciphered by computer programs. .....Unlike a cell, individual atoms and molecules can't be seen in a microscope, they are too small. Cells reproduce by dividing into two cells, a process called mitosis. Independent cells are usually in a colony, like bacteria, and some view such colonies as organisms...........Organisms, such as the plankton species, below, right, are made of cells. (Small discrepensies occur, positive and negative ions.) In the atom the nucleus, pictured as a sphere, we know contains as many protons because there are many electrons. The nucleus also contains neutrons which have no effective charge, (neutral) and so don't have any influence on the electrons.
Atoms