Journey Into the Cell Created by LaTonya Evans

The Functional Unit of Life Cells are the smallest functioning units in all plants and animals

What is a functional unit? A functional unit is the smallest part of a group of people or things that is capable of carrying out the function of the whole group alone. Example: A group of people paint a house together, but one person can paint the house alone. Can you give me some other examples?

Things to Remember A functional unit does the same job as the group it is a part of, but it does less work. A functional unit has different parts that have different functions. Ex.: Although the painter is the functional unit, he/she has to have a brain to reason, hands and arms to paint, etc.

The Painter and the Cell PainterCell GroupPainting CrewOrgan JobPaint a House Job of the Organ Amount of work < Painting Crew < Organ

…but how?… A painter paints a house with his/her hands and the use of a few other body parts. …but how does a cell do it’s job?