Biology
Animal & plant cells
Two cells compared: why a plant stands firm and an animal cell stays round.
What you need first
A leaf feels firm, your skin feels soft. Both are made of cells, yet the cells are not built the same way. Animals have animal cells, and since we humans are animals too, that goes for us as well. Plants have plant cells. Both share the basic equipment, but the plant cell has a few extras that give it special abilities.
What both have in common
Both the animal cell and the plant cell have a nucleus as the control center, a cell membrane as the border, and as power plants. You already know these three parts from the first cell. They are so important that neither of these cells can do without them.
Both share nucleus, membrane and mitochondria. Only the plant cell adds the parts marked in green.
Plant only: Zellwand, Chloroplast, VakuoleThe extras of the plant cell
The plant cell has three additional parts. The cell wall lies outside the membrane and acts like a firm scaffold that gives the cell support. The chloroplasts are green and do : they capture sunlight and make food from it. The large vacuole is a water-filled store in the middle that keeps the cell plump. Animal cells need no chloroplasts, because animals take in ready-made food instead of building it themselves. Because the cell wall is stiff, plant cells often look angular, while animal cells tend to stay round.
Exercises
0 of 6 solvedTime to try it yourself. You can't break anything, every attempt counts.
Which part does only the plant cell have, not the animal cell?
What are the chloroplasts in the plant cell responsible for?
How many extra parts does the plant cell have compared to the animal cell: cell wall, chloroplasts, and vacuole?
Match each part to its description.
Three parts are shared by animal and plant cells: nucleus, membrane, and mitochondria. How many shared parts is that?
Because the cell wall is stiff, plant cells often look …, while animal cells tend to stay round.
Where this leads