CELLS

What is a cell?
In 1665 Robert Hooke used a microscope to examine cork from an oak tree.
He saw tiny boxes similar to a monk’s cell (which is a small room) so he
named the structures ‘cells’.
All living things are made up of these cells but what is inside them?
• An organism is made up of cells.
• It is really like a house made of different components such as bricks ,wood and glass.
• Each small component is arranged in a special way ,and carries out a particular job,so
that the house becomes a complete functioning unit.
• All the cells have the same overall structure that allows them to carry out the basic
life processes but some are changed to carry out special functions .
• All cells have the following structures.
Cell membrane
• Surrounds the cell.
• It is very thin and cannot be seen using a light microscope.
• It holds the substances in the cell and acts as a gatekeeper to control
the chemicals that can enter or leave.
• The membrane is flexible and will fold or bend but if too much strain
is put onto it the membrane will break and the cell dies.

Cytoplasm
• Inside the cell membrane is a soup of chemicals and complex
structures which carry out all of the activities of the cell.
• It is called the cytoplasm and is usually seen under the light
microscope to have granules in it.
• These are organelles ,specialised areas of the cell where particular jobs
are carried out.
• The granules can also be small vesicles which store food reserves or
break down unwanted substances.
• The cytoplasm is colourless but the consistency can vary from a thick
gel to runny.
• In some cells, like the pond organism Amoeba ,different region s of the
cytoplasm have different consistencies.
Who discovered the cell?

Anton Leeuwenhoek

Robert Hooke

Robert Brown
Nucleus
• Each cell have a nucleus, to control the activities of the cell.
• It stores all the information in coded form in molecules of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
found in the chromosomes.
• Relevant parts of the code are copied and then sent to the cytoplasm.
• There it is decoded so that the required action is carried out.
• For e.g , milk must made in the mammary gland cell so the codes for milk production
are sent to the cytoplasm to make it.
 Animal and Plant Cell

Name of the description Where found function

part
Cytoplasm Jelly –like,with Enclosed by the cell Contains the cell
particles and membrane organelles, e.g
organelles in mitochondria, nucleus
Site of chemical
reaction
Cell membrane A partially permeable Around the Prevents cell contents
layer that forms a cytoplasm from escaping controls
boundary around the what substances enter
cytoplasm and leave the cell
Nucleus A circular or oval Inside the Controls cell division
structure containing cytoplasm Controls development
DNA in the form of Control cell activities
chromosomes
 Plant Cells only

Name of part Description Where found function

Cell wall A tough, non-living Around the outside Prevent s plant cells from
layer made of cellulose of plant cells bursting, allows water and
surrounding the cell salts to pass through
membrane (freely permeable)
vacuole A fluid –filled space Inside the Contains salts and sugars ,
surrounded by a cytoplasm of plant Helps to keep plant cells
membrane cells firm
chloroplast An organelle Inside the Traps light energy for
containing chlorophyll cytoplasm some photosynthesis
plant cells
Plant cells
• The cell wall is made by the plant cell from a special chemical called
cellulose.
• This chemical has long fibres and is very strong.
• It forms a wall on the outside of the cell membrane to support the cell and
stop the contents bursting when it is full of water.
• It is thick and can easily be seen through a light microscope.
• The plant cells appear to be separated from each other .
• The cell wall allows substances to pass between the fibres so that they can
enter or leave the cell freely.

Vacuole
• The permanent vacuole is a big like structure containing a dilute solution.
• It is seen in the middle of the cytoplasm.
• Its functions include the storage of waste substances ,or giving colour to
the cells e.g the red of beetroot.
• It will also take in water from the surroundings of the cell to create a
pressure against the cell wall.
• This is like a football when it is blown up or fizzy drink bottle when it is
shaken.
• The cell becomes very firm and is able to support the plant without a hard
skeleton.
The permanent vacuole is separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane similar
to the one surrounding the cell.

Chloroplast
• chloroplast are the structures that contain the green pigment
chlorophyll.
• They are not found in every plant cell but there are many in leaf cells.
• They are seen as small green dots in the cytoplasm of the cells.
• They trap light energy to make food for the plant..
• They are separated from the cytoplasm by a membrane but chemicals can
move between the two very easily.
Similarities and differences between plant and animal cells.

Animal cell Plant cells

Nucleus present Nucleus present
Cell membrane Cell membrane
Cytoplasm Cytoplasm
No chloroplast Chloroplast often present
No cell wall Cell wall made of cellulose
Only temporary vacuoles Permanent sap vacuole
Variety of shapes Regular boxes in appearance
Usually smaller Usually larger
Food stored mainly as glycogen Food stored mainly as starch
Eukaryotic cells
Eukaryotic cells contain their genetic material (DNA) enclosed in a nucleus.
Prokaryotic cells
In prokaryotic cells, the genetic material (DNA)is not enclosed in a nucleus.
• Prokaryotic cells are much smaller than eukaryotic cells.

Human cheek cells

(flattened
Epithelial cells) stained
and magnified 200 times
to make them clearer.
Light blue colour nucleus,
granular cytoplasm and
folded edges.
They are very thin cells.
Several layers of the cells
make up the inside of the
cheek surface.
Why are plant and animal cells different?
• An animal needs to move from place to place to catch its food so it needs to be
light.
• Some of the cells must also bend (muscle cells get shorter and fatter) so that the
organism can move.
• The animal must have some sort of ragid skeleton to attach its muscles to and
give it the required shape but individual cells do not need support which would
be heavy.
• Therefore the cells are very weak because they do not have a cell wall.
• They have a simple basic plan but can be modified to carry out specialised
functions.
• Animal cells need to absorb simple but ready made chemicals as their food.

• A plant needs only to stay still and have a large surface area to trap sunlight
energy .
• It has cells that are supported by the cell wall so a skeleton is not needed.
• As long as there is enough water in the cells the plant stands upright.
• The chloroplasts trap the light energy and the cells can use the stored energy
directly.
Carbohydrate
carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen ,and oxygen.
Carbohydrates are classified into four major groups.
(1)Monosaccharides e.g glucose ,fructose
(2)Oligosaccharides 2 to 10 monosaccharides
(3)Disaccharides –two molecules of monosaccharides
(4)polysaccharides- more than 10 molecules of monosaccharides e.g starch, glycogen,
cellulose ,etc.
Eukaryotic cytoplasm
Cytoplasm +nucleoplasm=protoplasm
Cell membrane +cytoplasm +nucleus=protoplast
Nucleoplasm=distance between nuclear membrane and nucleolus
Unicellular organisms
• Animals and plants are made up of many cells.
• They are multicellular.
• However they are not the only types of organisms.
• Others are single celled (unicellular).
• Some unicellular organisms have a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear membrane
(like the nucleus in an animal or plant cell).
• There are also organisms with a very simple structure.
• These include bacteria.
• They are different because the DNA is in the cytoplasm and not in separate
nucleus.
• Scientists think that they were the first types of cells to evolve.
Bacteria
• They are very small (less than 0.002 mm long).
• They do not have a nucleus but there is a single circular chromosome which
controls the activities of the cell.
• Some of them have fine hairs sticking out called flagella which help the cells to
move.
• They divide into two to reproduce.
• This can be done as often every 20 minutes so the numbers increase very quickly.
 Bacterial cells Animal and plant cells
No separate nucleus Have a distinct nucleus
surrounded by a nuclear
membrane
Single chromosome made only Several chromosomes made of
of DNA DNA and other chemicals
No organelles bound by Separate organelles in the
membranes cytoplasm
Usually smaller than 0.002mm Usually larger than 0.010 mm

Differences between bacteria and animal and plant cells

Most bacteria are not harmful to humans, but during the Great Plague of 1665
(which was caused by bacteria carried by fleas) 68965 people died from plague in
London alone.
Summary
• Organisms are made up of cells.
• The cell membrane controls which chemicals enter or leave the cell.
• The nucleus contains the coded information to control the cell.
• It contains chromosomes of DNA.
• The cytoplasm is where reactions take place in the cell.
• Animal cells do not have cell walls, permanent vacuoles or chloroplasts but
plant cells do.
• Bacteria do not have a nucleus but the information is in a circular
chromosome of DNA.
Prokaryotic cell Eukaryotic cell

Average diameter is 0.1- 5 to 10 um Average diameter is 10- 100 um

Single copy DNA present and it is Multiple copies DNA present

circular and contains only nucleic They are linear and made up of nucleic acid
acid with no proteins and proteins
DNA is located in the cytoplasm DNA is located in the nucleus, chloroplasts
and mitochondria
Nucleus absent Nucleus present

Ribosomes are about 20 nm in size Ribosome are about 25 nm in size

No membrane bound organelles Membrane bound organelles present

Cell wall present which is made up Cell wall present in plant and fungi only
of murein, a peptidoglycan In plants, it is made up of cellulose or lignin
while in fungi, it is made up of chitin.
Cell wall absent in animal cell.