Cell Structure SE
Cell Structure SE
Cell Structure SE
Vocabulary: cell membrane, cell wall, capsule, centriole, chloroplast, cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, endoplasmic
reticulum, flagellum, Golgi apparatus, lysosome, mitochondria, nucleoid, nuclear membrane, nucleolus,
nucleus, organelle, pilus, plasmid, plastid, ribosome, vacuole, vesicle
1. What are some of the structures inside a cell that help it to live and perform its role in an organism?
2. How do you think plant cells differ from animal cells? (Hint: What can plants do that animals cannot?)
● In a plant cell there’s a cell wall but in an animal cell there is only a cell membrane
● Animals can’t produce food, while a plant can
● Plant cells have one large central vacuole while an animal cell has small vacuoles
Gizmo Warm-up
The Cell Structure Gizmo allows you to look at typical animal, plant,
and bacterial cells under a microscope. On the ANIMAL CELL tab,
click Sample to take a sample of an animal cell. On the dropdown
menu, select Centriole.
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The centrioles are responsible for organizing the movement of chromosomes during
cell division.
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Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A:
● Check that an Animal cell is mounted on the
Animal cells
microscope.
Question: Organelles are specialized structures that perform various functions in the cell. What are the
functions of the organelles in an animal cell?
2. Match: Read about each organelle. Then match each organelle to its function/description.
I Nucleolus N. Tubules and filaments that give the cell its shape.
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3. Investigate: Select the Cell membrane. Turn on Show closeup. Read the description, watch the animation,
and answer the following questions below.
A. What kind of molecules diffuse (go through) the cell membrane directly?
B. How can some large molecules and charged ions get through the cell membrane?
4. Investigate: Select the Nuclear membrane closeup. How is the nuclear membrane similar to the cell
membrane?
● They are the entrance and exit of the molecules and ions
● Small molecules can enter
5. Investigate: Select the Mitochondrion closeup. What happens inside the mitochondrion?
● Small molecules and oxygen converted into carbon dioxide and a form of energy
the cell can use
6. Investigate: Select the Ribosome closeup. How does the cell make proteins inside the ribosome?
7. Investigate: Select the Vesicle closeup. How do vesicles move through the cell?
● They pulled along by a protein called the Kinesin, which walks along the
microtubules
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Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:
Plant cells ● Select the PLANT CELL tab, and click Sample.
1. Label: Locate each organelle in the plant cell. Label the organelles in the diagram below. (Double-click on
each box, then add the text to the box and click Save and Close.)
2. Compare: What structures are present in an animal cell, but not in a plant cell?
What structures are present in a plant cell, but not in an animal cell?
3. Fill in: Name the organelle or organelles that perform each of the following functions.
Cytoskeleton support the plant cell and help it to maintain its shape.
D. Mitochondrion convert food into energy. They are found in plant and animal
cells.
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Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity C:
● Select the BACTERIAL CELL tab and click
Bacterial cells
Sample.
Question: Organelles are specialized structures that perform various functions in the cell. What are the
functions of the organelles in an animal cell?
2. Match: Read about each organelle. Then match each organelle to its function/description.
C Nucleoid B. Hair-like structure that attaches the cell to a surface and can transfer
genetic material from one cell to another.
E Plasmid C. Region inside the cell that contains genetic material but is not
surrounded by a nuclear membrane.
3. Compare: What structures are present in a bacterial cell, but not in a plant or animal cell?
What structures are present in plant and animal cells, but not in a bacterial cell?
What structures inside plant and animal cells look like Ribosomes look like bacteria because
bacteria? they are small and there are many of
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them.
Chloroplasts and mitochondria have their own DNA. Long ago, these structures may have originated as
bacteria that were engulfed (eaten) by larger cells.
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