Can anyone answer this question for me, I don’t know where I would find any sort of comparisons if I tried to do the research on the net.

I’m confused about the make up of tiny things and what is smaller or bigger than what:

For instance-

Is an atom bigger than a molecule, protons, neutrons, photons? And how would they compare to something like a single cell?
Would atoms make up a single cell
Is a germ or virus a bunch of cells?
What is a microbe?
How does an atom compare to the string theory - size wise?
How do these things compare to chromosomes and DNA?

What is smaller than what or what is made up of what?

I sometimes try to picture a virus or a germ floating around in the air -I don’t even know if a germ and a virus are the same thing.

I think I have an idea of how they’re made up, but I wonder if anyone could set it out in layman’s terms so that I can picture it in my mind..

Is anyone in the mood to answer these questions for me?

Cheers
Teri :confused:

okkkk
smallest out of that list is photon. neutron and proton = roughly same size.
atoms are composed of protons, electrons and neutrons.
molecules are multiple atoms bonded together, so are the biggest out of those.
everything is made up of atoms.
but even a single cell would contain gaddom loads.
a germ... not sure... i think a germ is sort of a general description of bacteria, and maybe virus. its a bit of a vague term.
microbe = its another name for a microorganism
the strings are tiny, i believe they are much smaller than atoms.
DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell, which is only part of a cell.
DNA is made up of many molecules and in terms of atoms is 'gi-normous'
it is still quitew small though to the eye. (actually make that really small)
hows that?

Is a germ or virus a bunch of cells?

A germ usually means a bacterium, but people use the term "germ" to mean anything that can make you sick.

A bacterium is a single cell. Bacteria make you sick by eating you, basically, although there are some that also produce poison as a defense mechanism.

A virus is much smaller than a cell. Viruses have some genetic material (DNA/RNA) and a protein shell, and not much else. They get inside a cell and program the cell to produce more of the same virus. Eventually the cell will die from producing so many viruses, or (in the case of humans) be killed by the immune system. The cell death is what makes you sick when you catch a virus.

If cells are made up of a lot of molecules made up of atoms made up of protons and neutrons, and a virus is much smaller than a cell, what is the comparison of a virus to a molecule? I'm going by the two answers given Bigbluehead and LogicallyUnsound. Then when does (or where) does atoms or molecules become living matter? I don't understand the DNA/RNA part or the protein shell. What's the protein shell made of? And what is a quark? Do you see how confused I've become? Can this sort of thing be shown on like a scale going from the very smallest item to bigger things?

Still confused
Teri

Teri: Scale with molecules doesn't necessarily work very well, because of certain types of molecules called polymers.

Polymers are long chains of identical molecular units. Nylon is a polymer - a single nylon fibre is actually a single molecule, large enough to see with your eye. Molecular scale ranges from very very small to large enough to see, so it's difficult to create a hierarchical scale of what is bigger and what is smaller.

Now, a virus is a collection of DNA or RNA with a protein coat - I'll try to generate a decent metaphor for you.

You are in your apartment. A letter comes for you in an envelope marked "Please read - Very Urgent".

You open the letter and it says "This is a chain letter. Please send a copy of this letter to everyone in the phone book."

Now, you always do what chain letters say, so you make copies of the letter and start at A in the phone book, mailing them to each person. Eventually, your apartment fills up with letters, you can't do any of the other things you're supposed to do, and you bankrupt yourself paying for postage and envelopes.

Now, if we change your apartment to "a cell", you to "the cell's nucleus", and the chain letter to "a virus", you have a pretty good idea of what it is that viruses do. The composition of the protein coat isn't really the important part, although the virus does need to have a proper coat to be able to get into the cell.

I'm not a virologist, so I'm giving the best explanation I can here... sorry if it's not too helpful.

It must be frustrating trying to answer these questions, sorry. But the compostion of the protien coat is the important part for me. I'm not trying to find out what any of these things do per se, I want to know the 'make up' of things. I guess this covers a few different areas of science.

Still, thanks for your answers, everything helps.

Cheers
Teri

My knowledge of microbiology does not run deep in viruses.

If you wish to look them up yourself, the protein coat of a virus is technically called a capsid, and it is made up of protein subunits called capsomeres.