Paramecium has parallel rows of cilia all aligned so that they will beat in the same direction. Look at the pictures on the exhibit to help you identify the different types. Protozoa is a type of organism, neither plant nor animal, made up of only one cell. Protozoa have adapted special ways of moving through water. Moving through water is much more difficult than moving through air because the viscosity of water is 70 times greater than the viscosity of air.
Viscosity is the degree to which a fluid resists flow under an applied force.
Water is more viscous than air. Protozoa have evolved ways to deal with the difficulty of moving through water. Protozoa have cilia, flagella, or pseudopods that help them move. Cilia are thousands of tiny hair-like projections that cover the surface of a cell. Cilia wave in a coordinated way to move the protozoa in one direction.