Cell diameter500 millionths m
1 billionthsLake Michigan lengths
102 millionthsCanoes
50 millionthsFire engine lengths
Amoeba proteus, about 0.5 mm
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Amoeba
A shape-shifting single cell visible to the naked eye/Microscopic Life
Amoebae are single-celled organisms that move by extending temporary projections called pseudopods, literally "false feet." Some species like Amoeba proteus are large enough to see without a microscope. They engulf food by surrounding it completely in a process called phagocytosis. Despite having no brain, no organs, and no fixed shape, they can solve simple mazes.
Measurements
Cell mass1 billionths kg
167 sextillionthsGreat Pyramid masses
2Paramecia
About 1 microgram
Movement speed5 millionths m/s
250 millionthsTyping fingers
746 billionthsCyclists
About 5 micrometers per second
Division time86,400 s
48"Be right back"s
16Soccer matches
480Commercial breaks
About 24 hours
Pseudopod length300 millionths m
1 hundredthsBottle caps
35.3 millionthsLimousine lengths
328 millionthsTennis nets
About 300 micrometers
Optimal temperature298 K
8.8 tenthsLaptop surfaces
2 tenthsLava flows
1.2 hundredthsPlasma torch arcs
About 25 C
Genome size290 million bytes
3,933Apollo computers
19.3TikTok videos
9.7 hundredthsNetflix movies
About 290 million base pairs; some amoebae have genomes 200x larger than humans