Paramecium+-+AR

=Introduction= toc

Did you know that if paramecium lived in perfect conditions, there would be so many of them and no room left on Earth for us? Paramecium can multiply very quickly. They are very unique creatures and they are only one cell. The paramecium can swim fast in the water because they have cilia which beats 60 times a second. The cilia is very important because without it, the paramecium can’t move. The cilia goes back and forth and keeps the paramecium moving until it #|finds something negative and moves around it. Paramecium are found in #|ponds, buckets of water, and streams. They keep the water clean because they eat the bacteria. The paramecium is very small, it is only 0.2 inches long! The paramecium looks like a foot with tiny #|hair around it.

=Paramecium Structure=

The paramecium is about .02 inches long. It is oval shaped, rounded on top and pointy at the bottom. Around the paramecium are little tiny hairs that are #|called cilia, which helps the paramecium move easily through the water. The cilia move just like a flag waving on a windy day. Some other important parts of the paramecium are the oral groove, food vacuole, gullet, anol pore, and cell mouth. These structures are important for the paramecium to get its food.



= = =Paramecium and Reproduction=

A paramecium reproduces asexually by a process called **binary fission**. That means that it divides in two across the middle. However, the parameciums that #|reproduce this way only needs one #|parent. The parent copies its genetic material (DNA) and makes two separate cells that are exactly the same. Genetic material is all the traits that offspring receive from a parent, for instance, eye color or hair color.

A paramecium can reproduce over and over again if the conditions are good. For example, they need to have plenty of food and the right temperature in order to multiply. If the conditions are good then the number of paramecium keeps increasing. However, Paramecia don’t always get the perfect conditions and that’s a good thing. If they did, they would take up all the space on Earth and there would be no room for the rest of us!

=How does a Paramecium Move?=

The reason why a paramecium even moves is because of tiny #|hair structures #|called cilia. Cilia beats up to 60 times a second. Usually the paramecium will move in a straight line until it bumps into something negative, and then moves around it. Paramecium cannot see, hear, touch, or taste. That is why the cilia is so important because it gives the paramecium the sense of movement.

=How Does a Paramecium Obtain and Digest Food?= Paramecium feed on bacteria. They can eat up to 5,000 bacteria a day. By them eating bacteria, pond water gets cleaner. Paramecium use their cilia to sweep the food with some water into the cell mouth after it falls into the oral groove. Then the food goes into the gullet. It forms a food vacuole that travels through the cell. Enzymes from the cytoplasm enter the vacuole and digest the food. The digested food goes into the cytoplasm and the vacuole gets smaller. After that, the vacuole goes to the anal pore and is removed as waste.


 * Conclusion **

Now that you have learned about the paramecium, you #|understand how important paramecium are. They do a lot for us on Earth. Ponds, lakes, and streams wouldn’t be as clean without them. We know how they get their food, but it would be interesting to find out if paramecium get eaten, and who would they be eaten by.

=References=