Surface Area-to-Volume Ratios
- Surface area and volume are both very important factors in the exchange of materials in organisms
- The surface area refers to the total area of the organism that is exposed to the external environment
- The volume refers to the total internal volume of the organism (total amount of space inside the organism)
- As the surface area and volume of an organism increase (and therefore the overall "size" of the organism increases), the surface area : volume ratio decreases
- This is because volume increases much more rapidly than surface area as size increases
Importance of a High Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio
- Having a high surface area-to-volume ratio increases the ability of a biological system to perform the following important functions
- Obtaining necessary resources eg, oxygen, glucose, amino acids
- Eliminating waste products eg, carbon dioxide, urea
- Acquiring or dissipating thermal energy (heat)
- Otherwise exchanging chemicals and energy with the surroundings eg, absorbing hormones at the cell surface in the hormone's target organ
How Surface Area-to-Volume Ratio Changes With Size Diagram
As size increases, the surface area : volume ratio decreases
Calculating Surface Area-to-Volume Ratios Table
Sphere | Cube | Rectangular Solid | Cylinder | |
Surface Area | 6s2 | 2lh + 2lw + 2wh | ||
Volume | s3 | l × w × h | ||
Example |
If r = 1 cm V = 4/3 πr3 ∴ SA:V ratio = 4:4/3 |
If s = 1 cm V = s3 = 13 =1cm3 |
If l = 4cm, w = 2cm, h = 1cm, then V = 4 × 2 × 1 ∴ SA:V ratio = 28:8 |
If r = 2 cm and h = 6cm, then V = π(2)2 × 6 = 24π cm2 ∴ SA : V ratio |
The surface area:volume ratio calculation differs for different shapes (these shapes can reflect different cells or organisms)
Worked example
Calculate the surface area-to-volume ratios of the two following microorganisms:
- A bacterial cell from the species Staphylococcus aureus; these are spherical cells with a diameter of 800 nm (8 × 10-7 m)
- A bacterial cell from the species Bacillus subtilis; these are rod-shaped cells which you can assume to be cylindrical in shape. They are 5 µm long and 1 µm in diameter
Comment on your calculated answers.
Solution
For the spherical cell: diameter = 800 nm, therefore radius = 400 nm
For comparison, convert this value into µm by dividing by 1000
Surface area = {formula from the formula sheet} = 4πr2
= 4 × π × 0.42
= 2.01 µm2
Volume = {formula from the formula sheet} =
= 0.268 µm3
A ratio is one number divided by another, so
___________
For the cylindrical cell: diameter = 0.5 µm (half of diameter 1µm)
Surface area = {formula from the formula sheet} = 2πrh + 2πr2
= (2π × 0.5 × 5) + (2π × 0.52)
= 15.708 + 1.571 µm2
= 17.278 µm2
Volume: formula is πr2h
= π × 0.52 × 5
= 3.927 µm3
The spherical cell of Staphylococcus aureus has a surface area-to-volume ratio of 7.5 : 1
The cylindrical cell of Bacillus subtilis aureus has a surface area-to-volume ratio of 4.4 : 1
The spherical cell has the largest surface area-to-volume ratio of all shapes of cells for a given radius/diameter. This allows efficient diffusion into / out of the cell. Think of how long it might take to diffuse out of cell if a molecule starts its diffusion pathway right in the center of the cell; the shortest distance to the edge will always be found in a sphere. In a long cylinder, a molecule may travel parallel to the straight sides and so will have travel further to diffuse out. So the larger the surface area-to-volume ratio, the better adapted to simple diffusion that organism is.
Exam Tip
You will be able to use a formula sheet in your AP Exam, although you will be expected to be able to calculate the SA:V ratio for a sphere, cube, rectangular solid or cylinder from these formulae, and explain how the increasing size of an organism affects the SA:V ratio.