Science- Grade 7 Plant and Animal Cells

Cell Theory and Its Development

I. Introductory Concept
A bird perched on a tree, a coral reef teeming with various fish and shellfish, a
flower-filled garden, and a class of Grade 7 students like you are just a few examples
of the vast number of living organisms. What do you have in common with the bird,
the tree, the various marine animals, and the flowers? You are correct if you
answered the cell. Our bodies, like all other living things, are incredible engineering
feats. We are an assembly of functional parts, just like the toys we put together; each
part is essential to life. Cells are the functional parts of the body.
Cells make up all living things. We can see the variety of small living creatures
and their components thanks to the invention of magnifying instruments like the
microscope. We also distinguished the organisms based on structural differences
and the number of cells they contained.
In this packet, you will learn the different parts and functions of animal and plant
cells, the similarities and differences of each cell type and the development of the
cell theory.

II. Learning Competencies

 Differentiate plant and animal cells according to presence or absence of
certain organelles (S7LT-IId-4)
 Explain why the cell is considered the basic structural and functional unit of all
organisms. (S7LT-IIe-5)

At the end of the packet, you should be able to:

 identify the parts and describe the function of each part of animal and plant
cell;
 compare and contrast plant and animal cell;
 trace the discovery of the cell and the development of the cell theory;
 name the scientists and their contributions in the development of the c ell
theory; and
 state the cell theory.

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 III. Activities
HOW DOES A CELL LOOK LIKE?
The cells of animals, plants, and other organisms have three basic structures.
These are:

Cell membrane – the outer boundary of the cell.

Nucleus – controls most of the activities of the cell.
Cytoplasm – the gelatinous liquid between cell boundary and nucleus.

Figure 1: Animal and Plant Cell

Source: Armstrong, W. Comparison of Plant & Animal Cells. 2012.
https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/lmexer1a.htm#p

The cell membrane or plasma membrane surrounds the cell's contents and
separates it from other cells and the environment. It also controls the entry of
materials in and out of the cell. Next to the cell membrane is the cytoplasm or
plasma membrane, a jelly-like structure where the cell's contents, such as
organelles, are embedded. Organelles are the specialized structure that performs
specific functions inside the cell. Mostly found at the center is a large, round,
membrane-bound organelle called the nucleus. As the "control center" of the cell,
the nucleus contains instructions for all of the cell's activities. These instructions are
stored inside the chromosomes. Chromosomes are molecules in the nucleus made
up of DNA and protein. Near the nucleus of an animal cell, we can also find a
cylindrically shaped organelle called centrioles and play a vital role in cell division. A
nuclear membrane covers the nucleus, regulating the passage of materials in and
out of it.

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Organelles of the Cell
As you enter the cytoplasm, you might bump into sausage-shaped bodies
called mitochondria. Commonly called the "powerhouses" of the cell, they turn the
chemicals from food into energy that the cells can use. Within the cytoplasm, we can
find a network of canals called the endoplasmic reticulum. It extends from the
nucleus to the cell membrane, takes up quite a lot of space in some cells, and
produces essential lipids and proteins.
Ribosomes are tiny particles that serve as protein factories found in the
cytoplasm and on the endoplasmic reticulum.
In a manufacturing business, products are packaged and moved to a loading center
to be carried away. Structures called Golgi bodies are the packaging and releasing
centers of the cell.
A structure called lysosome contains chemicals that digest wastes and worn-
out/damaged cell parts. When a cell dies, chemicals in the lysosomes act to quickly
break down the cell, but in a healthy cell, the membrane around the lysosome keeps
it from breaking down the cell itself. Cells of a plant do not have lysosomes.
Vacuoles are storage areas in cells, and they may store water, food, or waste
products. It also helps maintain water balance in plant cells. In animal cells, vacuoles
are small.

Activity
A. Cell and Your House
If you think about it, your house has many parts that allow it to function properly,
just like a cell. Relate the functions of an animal cell’s organelles to parts of your
house that have a similar function. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

Cell parts Function Name a part of your

house that has a similar
function
Cell membrane Regulates materials
Door/gate
entering and leaving cell
Cytoplasm

Nucleus
Mitochondria
Vacuole
Lysosome
Golgi bodies
Endoplasmic reticulum
Ribosomes
Cell wall

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 B. Label Me!
B1. Identify the different parts of the cells illustrated below and answer the guide
questions that follow. Write your answers on your answer sheet. Identify the different
parts of a plant cell. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

B2. Identify the parts of an animal cell. Write your answers on your answer sheet.

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 Plants and animal cells share common similarities and differences. Plant cells
have cell walls and chloroplasts that are not found in the cells of an animal. The cell
wall is made of stiff material that forms the outermost part of the plant cell, and it
gives shape and protection to them.
As you recall, plants make their own food. Chloroplasts are important
structure in plant cells because it is where food is made. It contains the green
pigment called chlorophyll, which absorbs energy from the sun to make plants' food.
Vacuoles are both present in plant and animal cells. In plant cells, they
occupy more than half of the cell space, and it plays a role in storing nutrients and
increasing cell size. Some plant vacuoles contain toxic substances. Vacuoles also
store water to provide support for plants to stand upright and to maintain its rigidity.
Animal cells have smaller vacuoles called vesicles. They serve as storage of food
and water and also function in the excretion of waste materials.
Centrioles are only found in animal cells. They have a role in cell reproduction.

Analysis

Plant Cell vs. Animal Cell

Using the different cell parts inside the box, construct a Venn diagram to show
the similarities and differences of plant and animal cell. Write your answer on your
answer sheet.

Cell membrane Only in Plant Only in Animal

Large vacuole cell cell
Golgi bodies
Small vacuole Both in Plant
Ribosome and Animal
Mitochondria cells
Chloroplast
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Cell wall
Centriole
Cytoplasm
Nucleus

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Cell Theory and Its Development
The history of the cell started with the invention of the microscope in the
1600s. Because of the limitations of the human eye, scientists during this period
concentrated on developing tools to examine very small objects.
In 1595, the first compound microscope was created by Zacharias Jansen, a
Dutch spectacle maker. The invention of microscope was a breakthrough in science.
This paved the way in the birth of a branch in science known as Cytology. Cytology
is a special field that focuses on the study of the basic structure and functional unit of
life, the cell. The microscopes have revealed the details of cell structure and gave us
information on how the cell works. The cell was first discovered and named by
Robert Hooke in 1665. He observed empty honeycomb-like boxes. He remarked that
what he saw looked strangely like “cellulae” or small rooms which monks inhabited.
However, what Hooke saw was not living cells but the dead cell walls of plant cells
(cork) as it appeared under the microscope. Plant cell walls are composed of
cellulose and other molecules that are deposited outside each plant cell and remain
even after the cell dies. Hooke’s observation of cells was described in his book
Micrographia. The term cell came from the Latin words cella, meaning ‘a small room’
like monks lived in and cellulae, which meant the six-sided cell of a honeycomb.
Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch naturalist, was another scientist who first
saw living cells. Using a light microscope in 1673, he was the first to observe
bacteria, yeasts and red blood cells. Under his simple microscope, he saw moving
objects in the water from a pond. Leeuwenhoek named these moving objects
animalcules, meaning “little animals”. According to Leeuwenhoek, motility is one
characteristic of being alive.

Prior to Leeuwenhoek’s discovery of living cells, Francesco Redi (1627-1697),

an Italian physician, had already undergone several studies to disprove the idea of
Spontaneous Generation. This mistaken idea stated that living organisms can be
formed from nonliving things. His experiment in 1668 proved that flies did not arise
from the meat. He had demonstrated that life is necessary to produce life. This
statement was expressed in his famous dictum, "Omne vivum ex vivo" ("All life
comes from life").

The development of Cell Theory is not just a working of few scientists but a
contribution of many brilliant biologists from different countries for many centuries.
With the improvement of microscope over the years, much information was
discovered about cells.

From the invention of microscope by Zacharias Jansen, to Robert Hooke,

Francesco Redi, Anton van Leeuwenhoek and many other scientists in the 1800s,
mostly of them were seeking to understand about what makes up plants and
animals. They believed that there was a unifying concept that would describe all
living things.

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 Robert Brown (1773–1858) was a Scottish botanist who in 1831 made the
earliest detailed description of the nucleus of the cell. The nucleus, as we clearly
know now, is the control center of the cell that contains DNA and directs everything
that takes place in the cell.

Felix Dujardin (1801-1860) was a French biologist. In 1835, he noted that living
things contain a jelly like-substance which he called “sarcode” at that time. In 1839,
Johannes Purkinje (1787-1869) coined the term “protoplasm” to refer to the living
matter of the cell that includes the cytoplasm and the nucleus.
Matthias Schleiden (1804-1881) was a German botanist who in 1838 wrote,
“Contribution to Phytogenesis” in which he stated that the different parts of the plants
are composed of cells. He declared that the cell is the basic building block of all
plants. Thus, Schleiden was the first to formulate one principle of Biology, the Cell
Theory.
Theodor Schwann (1810-1882) was a German physicist and physiologist. In 1839
his significant work, “Microscopical Research into the Accordance in the Structure
and Growth of Animals and Plants”, was published. There, he demonstrated the
facts for animal’s tissues. He stated that along with plants, animals are composed of
cells. This was a very important development in the field of biology because little was
known about animal structures. His conclusion laid the foundations for the cell theory
that all living things are made up of cells: plants are made up of cells and so with
animals.
Rudolf Virchow was a German pathologist whose most widely known scientific
contribution was his cell theory which was built on the work of Theodor Schwann. He
was one of the first to accept the work of Robert Remak, who showed the origins of
cell. In1855, he stated the third tenet to the cell theory. His famous line in Latin
states “Omnis cellula e cellula”. According to him, cells are derived from preexisting
cells, and therefore, the continuity exists between past and present living things. The
idea of spontaneous generation was finally proven to be wrong. This concept that life
begets life is known as biogenesis.

Consequently, the puzzle was identified and therefore the three principles of the
Cell Theory were formulated.
The Principles of the Cell Theory are as follow:
1. All living things are structurally made up of one or more cells.
2. The cell is the basic unit of structure and function of all organisms.
3. Cells come from the division of pre-existing cells.

The discovery of the cell had given us the fundamental understanding about
living organisms. The principles of the Cell Theory led us to understand how we and
other organisms grow, do different functions, reproduce and eventually die. Our
knowledge about cells made us more inquisitive to search for answer on how to

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improve life. One positive finding is the advancement in medical technology and
treatment for certain diseases.
Abstraction:
A. Out of the significant information you learned, do the following
activities.
a. Construct a timeline showing the development of the cell theory.
b. Identify/name the scientists who contributed in the development of the cell
theory;
c. Cite their contributions in its development.
(Write your answers on your answer sheet.)

Significant
Date Name of Scientist Contribution

B. Enumerate the three principles of the Cell Theory.

Cell Theory states that… (Write your answers on your answer sheet.)

C. Based on the timeline you have just done, who were the three major
contributors in the development of the Cell Theory? (Write your answers on your
answer sheet.)

IV. Evaluation
Direction: Write the letter of the correct answer on your Worksheet.
1. A cell with relatively few energy needs will probably have a relatively small number
of ___.
a. chromosomes b. lysosomes c. mitochondria d. ribosomes
2. In which of the following items would you expect to find cells?
a. strawberry b. eyeglasses c. silver dollar d. plastic flower

3.Which of the following statements is always true?

a. All cells have a cell wall.
b. All cells contain a nucleus.

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 c. All cells contain a chloroplast.
d. All cells have a cell membrane.
4.Which of the following is found in plant cells, but not in animal cells?
a. mitochondria. b. chloroplast c. nucleus d. cell membrane

5. Which of the following lists of structures can be found in both plant and animal
cells?
a. vacuole, lysosome, centriole, cell wall, cell membrane
b. mitochondria, cytoplasm, cell wall, vacuole, cell membrane
c. cell membrane, nucleus, ribosomes, Golgi bodies, cytoplasm
d. cell wall, mitochondria, cytoplasm, chloroplast, cell membrane

6. The cell was first discovered when:

a. Zacharias Jansen invented his optical telescope and saw cells.
b. Anton van Leeuwenhoek saw his live specimens moving under the microscope.
c. Robert Brown visited a monastery and observed that the monks’ rooms looked
like small boxes or honeycombs.
d. Robert Hooke examined thin slices of cork from the bark of an oak tree using
his crude compound microscope and observed empty boxes like the monk’s
rooms.

7. Who stated the third tenet to the Cell Theory, “Omnis cellula e cellula.”?
a. Francesco Redi c. Rudolf Virchow
b. Matthias Schleiden d. Theodore Schwann

8. Who coined the term “cell”?

a. Anton van Leeuwenhoek c. Rudolf Virchow
b. Robert Hooke d. Zacharias Jansen

9. What did Schleiden and Schwann both discover separately?

a. Life is necessary to produce life.
b. Cells come from the division of pre-existing cells.
c. All living things are composed of one or more cells.
d. All cells are separated by cell wall into several compartments.

10. What technology greatly helped in the development of the Cell Theory?
a. hand lens b. microscope c. stethoscope d. telescope

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 V. Answer Key
Activity A:
Name a part of your
Cell parts Function house that has a similar
function
Cell membrane Regulates materials entering and Door / gate
leaving cell
Cytoplasm Contains the organelles; site of Ground/soil of the house
most cell activity
Nucleus Control center of the cell Parents/guardians room
Mitochondria Converts chemical energy in food Kitchen/electrical
into useable compounds appliances/Battery
Vacuole a storage of fluids inside the cell. Water or food container
Lysosome Break down and recycle materials Garbage Bin
Golgi bodies Sort and package proteins and Storage room (for food
lipids for storage or transport and other important
materials)
Endoplasmic plays a major role in the Hallway in the house
reticulum production, processing, and
transport of proteins
Ribosomes Build protein Kitchen
Cell wall Provide support and protection Cabinet/ organizer/wall

Activity B.

Parts of a Plant Parts of an

Cell Animal Cell
1. Vacuole 1. Lysosome
2. Cytoplasm 2. Nucleolus
3. Cell 3. Nucleus
membrane
4. Cell wall 4. Golgi
apparatus
5. Rough ER 5. Smooth ER
6. Ribosomes 6. Cell
membrane
7. Nucleus 7. Centriole
8. Mitochondrion 8. Ribosome
9. Nucleolus 9. Cytoplasm
10. Chloroplast 10. Mitochondria
11. Golgi
apparatus

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Analysis

Plant Cell Both Plant Animal cell

and Animal
Cells

 Cell
membrane  Centrioles
 Cell wall  Small
 Endoplasmic
 Chloroplast vacuoles
reticulum
 Large
 Mitochondria
vacuoles
 Nucleus
 Golgi bodies
 Ribosomes
 Cytoplasm

Abstraction:
A.
Date Scientist Significant Contribution
1595 Zacharias Jansen Invented the microscope
1665 Robert Hooke Discovered and coined the term “cell”
1668 Francesco Redi Disproved the idea of spontaneous
generation
1673 Anton van Leeuwenhoek First to see living cells and called them as
animalcules
1831 Robert Brown Discovered the nucleus of the cell
1835 Felix Dujardin Named the jelly-like substance inside the
cell as sarcode
1838 Matthias Schleiden Stated that plants are made up of cells
1839 Theodor Schwann Stated that aside from plants, animals
also are made up of cells
1839 Johannes Purkinje Coined the term protoplasm to refer to the
living matter of the cell
1855 Rudolf Virchow Stated that cells come from the division of
pre-existing cells

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B: The Cell Theory
1. All living things are structurally made up of cells.
2. The cell is the basic unit of structure and function of all organisms.
3. Cells come from the division of pre-existing cells.

C: Major Contributors of the Cell Theory

1. Matthias Schleiden
2. Theodor Schwann
3. Rudolf Virchow

IV- Evaluation:
1. C 6. D
2. A 7. C
3. D 8. B
4. B 9. C
5. C 10. B

VI. Reflection
This time share to the class your final insights by completing the following
sentence prompts.

I have learned that …

_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
I wish to ask my teacher about …
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

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 V. References

Armstrong, W. Comparison Of Plant & Animal Cells. 2012. Accessed from

https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/lmexer1a.htm#p

Bangate, Celeste D. Grade 7 Science Module: The Cell Theory and Its
Development. Department of Education Region V
BIOLOGY, MODULE I, Nature of Biology, PROJECT EASE, pp. 12-15
DepEd. LR Portal. 2010, October 12. Accessed July 21, 2020 from
https://lrmds.deped.gov.ph/detail/940
Nasol, Joseph Roland M. Grade 7 Science Module. Plant and Animal Cells.
Department of Education Region V
Science Learner’s Module Grade 7 Quarter 2

SDO Ligao City Development Team

Writer:
CELESTE D. BANGATE, Ligao National High School

Language Editors:
MARYLOU V. ARGAMOSA, Palapas Elementary School

Content Editors:
SARAH JANE MABINI, Ligao National High School
MARISSA O. CO, Ligao National High School
JOCELYN P. NAVERA, Education Program Supervisor

Layout Artist:
KENNETH M. DE LA FUENTE, Deogracias P. Princesa Memorial High School

QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM (VALIDATORS)

MANUEL LUIS F. TEODORO, EPS I SDO Masbate Province
MARNEL M. BULLO, CNHS

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