Cells

Microscopy

To see cells clearly, you need to use a microscope. The kind of

microscope used in a school laboratory is called a light microscope. This is because it shines
light through the piece of animal or plant you are looking at.
It uses glass lenses to magnify and focus the image. A very good light
microscope can magnify about 1500 times, so that all the structures in the cell can be seen.
Specialized cells

Multicellular organisms, such as humans or plants, may contain many millions of cells. Not
all of these cells are alike. For example, in a human body almost all of our cells have the
same features that are found in most animal cells – a cell membrane, cytoplasm,
mitochondria, ribosomes, and a nucleus. But most of our cells have a particular function to
perform, and their structure is modified to help them to carry out that function effectively.
They are said to be specialised. The same is true in a flowering plant, where all the cells have
the basic characteristics of plant cells, but then have slightly different structures that relate
to their specific functions.

Xylem and phloem

Water comes from further away. Plants absorb water through their roots, and this water
must be transported up to the leaves. The transport system that does this is made up of a
tissue called xylem. Mineral ions are also transported in xylem.
Plants also have a second transport system, made up of a tissue called phloem. Phloem
transports sucrose and amino acids from the leaves where they are made, to other parts of
the plant such as its roots and flowers.
Xylem
A xylem vessel is like a long drainpipe. It is made of many hollow, dead cells, joined end to
end. The end walls of the cells have disappeared, so a long, open tube is formed. Xylem
vessels run from the roots of the plant, right up through the stem. They branch out into
every leaf.

Movement into and out of cells

Diffusion