What are the different parts of a cell and what do they do? Cell City What are the different parts of a cell and what do they do?

Every kind of cell is unique and specific Every cell in the body has a specific function that is distinct from every other cell type. Nerve cells transmit messages around the body. Epithelial cells form the skin and organ lining. Muscle cells contract and use energy to allow the body to move and work. There are hundreds of different cell types within the body that each perform their own individual task.

How DO they do it?? How is it that each and every cell individually carries out its task and maintains its function all on its own? The answer is that each cell has an entire system within it to help it carry out all of its activities, much the same way the human body is filled with organs! Uhhhhh……

Another way to look at it…. We can picture a single cell as if it were a city. Cell City is the number one manufacturer of widgets! They produce hundreds every day and ship them worldwide!! Lets take a stroll down the streets of Cell City and see how every part of the town is designed to build and export widgets! Cell City!

What is a widget? Cells don’t REALLY make widgets, do they? No, cells make proteins! Every cell is designed to manufacture proteins and send them throughout the body. Proteins are useful materials that help the body perform many functions, the same way our cities make useful things for people to use everyday. So, in Cell City, we make widget proteins!!

Nucleus: Town Hall The nucleus is the town hall of Cell City, and it holds all of the instructions for widget making. It is also the governing body of Cell City and it ensures that everything runs smoothly.

Chromosomes: Blueprints Inside the town hall, we can find the blueprints for widgets, called chromosomes. There are 46 in total, and they contain all the info that we need to make widget proteins.

Ribosomes: Factories The ribosomes are the factories of Cell City and it is here that widgets are manufactured. The information from the blueprints are brought to these factories and followed closely to ensure proper widget production.

Nucleolus: Carpenter’s Union In Cell City, we have a nucleolus, which is our carpenter’s union. We hire them to build our factories for us when we need more of them to make widgets. Their headquarters are inside the town hall, (nucleus).

Mitochondria: Power Plant The mitochondria are the cities power plants, taking in raw material and generating energy. They provide power and energy to all of Cell City so they can run their factories and produce widgets.

Endoplasmic Reticulum: Highway Once our widgets are made, we need to be able to transport them around the city! The endoplasmic reticulum is Cell Cities super highway, allowing us to take our widgets anywhere we need them to go!

Golgi Apparatus: Post Office When we want to export a widget, we take it to the Golgi Apparatus, Cell Cities post office. Here, items to be exported are packaged and shipped, and incoming items are processed and sorted.

Lysosomes: Scrap Yard Sometimes widgets are defective and need to be desposed of. The lysosomes are Cell Cities scrap yard, where ‘reject’ widgets and other materials go to be broken down for parts or destroyed.

Cell Membrane: City Wall All of Cell City is enclosed by a large wall called the cell membrane. Only the transportation trucks carrying widgets, or authorized persons with passports, are allowed to cross through the wall. This maintains the safety of Cell City, ensuring that no foreign people or materials come in.

The Sum of the Parts! It takes the combined effort of all of these places to ensure the success of Cell City! In the same way, each and every cell in our bodies is dependant on all of these systems, called organelles, working together to ensure their proper function. Without them, we would not be able to live the way that we do!! I had NO idea!!!!!!