Onion Cell

An onion is a multicellular (consisting of many cells) plant organism.As in all plant cells,

the cell of an onion peel consists of a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus and
a large vacuole. The nucleus is present at the periphery of the cytoplasm. The vacuole is
prominent and present at the centre of the cell. It is surrounded by cytoplasm. The
presence of a cell wall and a large vacuole are indicators that help identify plant cells, such
as seen in the onion peel.

Human Cheek Cell

As in all animal cells, the cells of the human cheek do not possess a cell wall. A cell
membrane that is semi-permeable surrounds the cytoplasm. Unlike plant cells, the
cytoplasm in an animal cell is denser, granular and occupies a larger space. The vacuole in
an an animal cell is smaller in size, or absent. The nucleus is present at the centre of the
cytoplasm.The absence of a cell wall and a prominent vacuole are indicators that help
identify animal cells, such as cells seen in the human cheek.
http://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?brch=15&cnt=1&sim=125&sub=79
A vacuole is a membrane-bound organelle that stores solid and liquid contents.
Vacuoles are found in both animal and plant cells, but are much larger in plant cells.
Vacuoles are formed by the fusion of multiple membrane vesicles and are effectively just
larger forms of these. The organelle has no basic shape or size; its structure varies
according to the needs of the cell.

Cell Wall: Protective Coat in Plant Cells

The presence of a cell wall is what provides the most significant difference between plant
and animal cells, as it is present only in plant cells and covers the cell membrane.The cell
wall is rigid and is composed of cellulose fibre, polysaccharides, and proteins. Despite the
rigidity of the cell wall, chemical signals and cellular excretions are allowed to pass between
cells.

Cell Membrane: Protective Coat in Animal Cells

The cell membrane is found in both plants and animals, and it is the outer most layer in the
animal cell, that separates the contents of the cell from the outside world. It consists of
both lipids and proteins and is selectively permeable, which means it permits only
some molecules to pass through it.

http://amrita.olabs.edu.in/?brch=15&cnt=1&sim=125&sub=79

When observing the onion skin cell, we noticed that the cells took on a brick-like
structure and within the cells, small dots (the nuclei) can be seen. When we first
looked into the microscope, the microscope’s total magnification was 40X so there
were about a hundred rows of rectangular
cells (see diagram provided), but as we changed magnifications, the number of cells
in the field of view decreased.
When we viewed the onion skin cells at 400X total magnification, we noticed the
nuclei of the cells looked clearer and larger and we were able to study the cell with
more understanding than when we used the first magnification.
The organelles that we were able to see in this type of cell were the nucleus, the
cytoplasm, and the cell wall. Unlike the onion skin cells, the cheek cells were more
spread out from each other and they all had a round shape. When we viewed the
cheek cells at 40X total magnification, we noticed that the cells were secluded and
spread out (see diagram provided). At 400X total magnification, we were only able to
view one cell at a time, due to the fact that the cells were separated from each other.
The organelles that were visible in this type of cell were the nucleus, the cytoplasm
and the cell membrane. Aside from the actual cells, we were able to see air bubbles
within both the onion skin cell slide and the cheek cell slide.
the plant cells were together in a large group. The animal cells, however, were secluded
both: The important organelles that can be seen are the cell wall (for the plant cells), the cell
membrane, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm. Those organelles could be seen due to the fact
that they are the largest organelles in the cell and also due to the dye which brought them
out.

The cheek cell, an example of an animal cell, generally has a circular, oval shape.
Due to the fact that the cheek cell was not in groups or clumps, the arrangement of
this type of cell is unknown. From previous labs, the cells were pushed together
completely; each cell fitted beside another cell perfectly, and so on.
The animal cell structure is the most prominent in human cheek cells. The onion skin
cell, an example of a plant cell, generally has a rigid, rectangular shape. The onion
skin cells were positioned beside each other (length touching length, width touching
width) and formed a checkered pattern.
Also, like the cheek cell, the onion skin cells were pushed together so that no spaces
were in between. Two differences between a cheek cell and an onion skin cell are
that the onion skin cells has the chloroplast and cell wall organelles while the cheek
cell doesn’t and the general shape of the onion skin cell is a rectangle and the
general shape of the cheek cell is an oval.