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Plant cells can vary in shape, size, and function but they all have features in common. With a microsope these are the things you could see: Cell Wall – the only one on this list that animal cells don´t have. Cell Membrane Cytoplasm Nucleus Most plant cells differ from animal cells in their ability to make light into energy, photosynthesis. This is one way plants make food. Not all plant cells have the green colored chlorophyll to trap sunlight, for example the pollen cells do not.

Things you could see with a regular microscope. The cell wall keeps the cell´s shape and provides strength. Without this, plants would collapse under their own weight. The cell wall allows free passage of water and dissolved substances. Cells do not expand of distort under pressure because of their cell wall. This is the one major difference between plant and animal cells. The cell membrane holds the cell together. It holds the contents of the cell inside and allows some things in and keeps others out. The nucleus is the control center of the cell and responsible for all the processes that the cell does. The cytoplasm is the jelly-like substance where the organelles are.

ORGANELLES – cannot be seen with a regular microscope. Chloroplasts are full of the green chlorophyll responsable for the green color of the plants and for turning the sun´s heat energy into chemical energy as sugar. They only appear in the parts of the plant that receive sunlight, like leaves. This is the only major organelle that animal cells do not have, but remember not all plant cells have them either. Mitochondria convert the sugar from the cholorplasts into usable energy by cellular respiration. Yes, the cell breathes! Ribosomes produce protein. The endoplasmic reticulum transports proteins. Golgi bodies packages the protein to be released and also stores carbohydrates. The vacuole is a watery, fluid filled sac. It stores water and some food particles and some of the cell´s waste. It is very big in plant cells and when full it pushes against the cell walls helping to support the plant.