By Madison Berke

 A main purpose of a cell is to organize. Cells hold a variety of pieces and each cell has a different set of functions. It’s way easier for a organism to grow and survive if cells are present. If you were only made of one cell, you would only be able to grow to a certain size. If you were only one cell you couldn't have a nervous system or any muscles for movement.

 All cells have some parts in common, the cell membrane, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm. All cell parts, except the nucleus, are located in the cytoplasm.

 While active transport requires energy and work, passive transport does not.  Active transport describes what happens when a cell uses energy to transport something.

 Very small organelles. The number of mitochondria depends on what the cell needs to do. If the purpose of the cell is to transmit nerve impulses, there will be fewer mitochondria. If the cells feel they aren’t getting enough energy to live, more mitochondria will be created.

 Ribosomes are found in many places around a cell. You can even find them floating in the cytoplasm. Other ribosomes are found in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Endoplasmic reticulum with attached ribosomes is called rough.

 The fluid that fills a cell. The cytoplasm has many different molecules dissolved in solutions.

 Not all cells have a nucleus. Biology separates cell types into eukaryotic (those with a defined nucleus) and prokaryotic (those without a defined nucleus). You don’t need nucleus to have a DNA. Without a defined nucleus, your DNA is probably floating around the cell in a region call the nucleoid. A defined nucleus that holds the genetic code is an advanced feature in a cell.

 Chromosomes are the things that make an organism what they are. They hold all of the information used to help a cell expand, thrive, and reproduce. Chromosomes are made up of DNA. Segments of DNA in certain patterns are called genes.

 A centriole is a small set of microtubules arranged in a specific way.  There are 9 groups of microtubules.  The centrioles are found in pairs and move towards the poles (opposite ends) of the nucleus when it is to for cell division.

 The cell membrane is not one solid piece.  Compounds called proteins and phospholipids make up most of the cell membrane.  The proteins are found in the holes and help move molecules in and out of the cell.

 Cell walls made of cellulose are only found in plant cells. Cell walls also help a plant keep its shape. There are very small holes in the wall that let in nutrients, waste, and ions pass through.

 While the function of the nucleus is to act as the cell brain, the ER functions as a packaging system. It doesn’t work alone, it works closely to the Golgi Apparatus.

 Found in most cells. It’s another packaging organelle just like the Endoplasmic Reticulum. The Golgi Complex gathers simple molecules and combines them to make molecules that are more complex. Then, it takes the bigger molecules, packages them, and either stores them for later, or send them off to secretory vesicles.

 Vacuoles are storage bubbles found in cells. They are found in both animal and plan cells but are much bigger in the plants. Vacuoles can store food or any variety of nutrients a cell would need to survive.

 A lysosome is basically a special vesicle that holds a variety of enzymes. The enzyme proteins are first created in the rough Endoplasmic Reticulum. The proteins are packaged in a vesicle and sent to the Golgi Apparatus. Then, the Golgi does its final work to make the digestive enzymes and takes off a small, specific vesicle.