Virtual Cell Tours, Inc.
How to set up your notebook: You will use pages 30 and 31 in your science notebook. Divide each page into 6 squares. 1 square for each slide. Be sure to use a ruler! The assignment title is in the first square Tour of cell organelles
Welcome to Virtual Cell Tours As you travel through the cell, please record the following information for each organelle ____________________ (slide title) Job title: Job Description: Appearance:
FIRST STOP: CELL MEMBRANE Job Title: Gatekeeper Job Description: Protects the cell by controlling the movement of materials in and out of the cell. Appearance: A thin layer surrounding the cell.
Jellyville: THE CYTOPLASM Job Description: Holds the cell organelles and also contains the chemicals needed by the cell. Appearance: Gel-like fluid that fills up most of the cell.
Command Central: THE NUCLEUS Job Title: “The Brain” of the cell. Job Description: Controls all the life processes that go on in the cell. Appearance: Contains hereditary material (DNA). Is near the center of the cell.
The Powerplant: MITOCHONDRIA Job Title: The powerhouse of the cell. Job Description: Produces the power or energy needed by burning the food obtained or made by the cell. Appearance: Sausage-shaped pod with an inner membrane.
The Subway: ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER for short) Job Title: Delivery network. Job Description: Serves as the internal delivery system for the cell. Appearance: Tube-like network
Time to Eat: THE RIBOSOMES Job Title: Food Producer Job Description: Make the proteins needed by the cell for growth. Appearance: Small, round structures, sometimes located near the ER
The Post Office: GOLGI BODIES Job Title: Packager Job Description: Wraps or packages the protein for delivery throughout the cell. Can also store protein if needed. Appearance: Stacks of protein-filled sacs.
The Warehouse: VACUOLES Job Title: Storage Bins Job Description: Stores water, food, and waste for the cell. Appearance: Liquid-filled spaces in the cell. Many in animals, one large in plant cells.
Recycling Center: LYSOSOMES Job Title: Waste Buster Job Description: Breaks down nutrients into more usable molecules; digests the cell’s waste products. Appearance: Small, round discs found throughout the cell. They break off of the golgi bodies as needed (vesicles).
ONLY IN PLANT CELLS
The Support System: CELL WALL Job Title: Structural Support. Job Description: Provides extra support for the cell Appearance: Surrounds the cell membrane. Made of cellulose.
The Sweets Factory: CHLOROPLASTS Job Title: Sugar producer Job Description: Contains chlorophyll that captures the sun’s energy and uses it to make the plant food: glucose (sugar). Appearance: Contains green pigment.