All About Cells

Cell Basics All living things are made up of cells There are millions of cells in your body New cells are constantly growing to replace old cells Cells in our body have many different jobs, but they all contain similar parts called organelles Animal and plant cells are similar, but contain a few different parts

Parts of a Cell We are going to focus on a few major parts of a cell Cell membrane Surrounds the cell and allows only certain materials to move into or out of the cell Cytoplasm Gel-like material inside the cell that contains water and nutrients Nucleus Contains chromosomes with the DNA and directs cell activity Nuclear membrane Separates the nucleus from the cytoplasm

Parts of a Cell Endoplasmic Reticulum Moves materials around in the cell Rough ER is covered with ribosomes, smooth ER is not Ribosomes Make protein for the cell Golgi Bodies Used for packaging and secreting of energy Mitochondria Break down food and release energy to the cell Lysosomes Contain chemicals used to digest waste Vacuoles Storage areas for the cell

Unique Parts of a Plant Cell Plant cells contain a few organelles that are not found in animal cells Cell Wall A rigid membrane that surrounds a plant cell and provides structure Chloroplasts Contain chlorophyll that makes food for the plant cell through photosynthesis

Abnormal Cells Your cells are constantly growing and dividing Sometimes, something goes wrong with growing cells and a mutation will occur Cancer cells are simply normal cells that have stopped listening to your body For example, they might start to divide too fast or fail to die when they should Cancer cells can get in the way of healthy cells and prevent them from doing their job There are many different types of cancer Skin, lung, blood cell cancer, and more

Edible Cells Today, you are going to create a model of a cell…that you can eat! You can choose to make an animal cell or a plant cell