Observing Animal and Plant Cells Activity 3 What are the similarities and differences of animal and plant cells?

Dot? Or not? Similarities All of the cells we observed had a dot in the middle. This means that both Animal Cells and Plant Cells have a Nucleus (more to come on this). Prokaryote – An organism that DOES NOT have a nucleus in the cell(s). (“Pro means NO!”) Eukaryote – An organism that DOES have a nucleus in the cell(s). (“Eu means True!”)

Differences The Human Cheek Cells were kind of circular with soft looking edges. The Onion Skin and Elodea Cells were more rectangular and had very solid looking edges.

A Closer Look at Animal and Plant Cells Activity 4 What are the parts of cells and what do they do?

Organelles Cells are made of smaller structures called organelles. Organelles each have their own function (job). The cell has organelles like a human body has organs. Many organelles are found in both plant and animal cells.

Animal and Plant Organelles Here are a few examples of the functions (jobs) of organelles: The cell membrane lets good things go in and out of the cell but tries to keep bad things out. The cytoplasm is the jelly-like “cell material” that holds the other organelles and gives the cell its shape. The nucleus is the “dot” in the middle of the cell and holds the DNA (genetic material), is responsible for the cells activities and controls reproduction. The mitochondria uses oxygen and nutrients to create energy. All of these organelles are shared by both animal and plant cells.

Plant Organelles Remember how the edges of the cell walls were solid? That’s because plant cells have cell walls. The cell wall is a solid outer edge that gives the cell support. And plants are green right? That is because plants have a chemical called chlorophyll that is found in organelles called chloroplast. The chloroplasts hold the chlorophyll and this is where photosynthesis (plants making their own food in the form of sugar) takes place. These organelles are found in plant cells but not animal cells.

How do we know? Scientists know about the different organelles and their functions by observing cells through a microscope. Dutch Scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek is considered the “Father of Microbiology”. He improved the microscope and made some of the first sketches of cells and nuclei. Now we can use electron microscopes to study objects many times smaller than Leeuwenhoek and his contemporaries.