Comparing Animal and Plant Cell Microscope Lab

Lab Procedures Procedures for observing plant cells Onion cells and elodea leaf cells 1. Obtain a small piece of onion and a green leaf from your teacher. Please send one lab person to retrieve 2. Place the elodea leaf on the microscope slide and add drop of water. Cover with cover slip. 3. Use forceps to peel a thin, clear piece of tissue from the inside section of an onion. 4. Place the onion tissue on the microscope slide. Try to avoid having any wrinkles in the tissue. 5. Add a drop of staining solution to the onion tissue and cover with a cover slip (stain helps to better reveal the clear tissue’s individual cells) 6. View the onion and elodea under the microscope. Use lower-power (40x) objectives for magnification. Then, taking care not to damage the lens or break the slide, view under high power (400x). 7. Many small cells should be observed. 8. Draw what you observed in the circles of view below.

Procedures (continued) Procedures for observing animal cells Cheek Cell: 1. Add a drop staining solution to the center of a clean slide. 2. With the end of a clean tooth pick, gently scrape the inside lining of your cheek. Stir the tooth pick in the staining solution. (Note: You will not see anything without the staining solution) 3. Place a cover slip over the drop of staining solution. View under low and then, with care, under high - power. 4. Many small cells should be observed. The cells will be more round in appearance than plant cells. 5. Draw what you observed in the circles of view below.

Clean-up When your finished, you’ll need to Be sure the low-power objective Turn off light Remove your slide (if it is wet-mount slide, you will clean it at this time) Throw away toothpick Cover the microscope

Review Comparing Animal and Plant Cell Lab

Onion Cells onion cells on low power (40x) onion cell high power (400x)

Elodea leaf cells Elodea leaf cell on low power (40x) Elodea leaf cell on high power (400x)

Cheek Cell Cheek Cell on high power (400x)