Download Organelle Name: Cell Wall - Fall River Public Schools

Organelle Name: Cell Wall
Cell Wall
You know, I remember it being much easier to get into an
animal cell. This must be the cell wall, which is something
an animal cell does not have. The cell wall is a rigid (not
flexible) layer of material that surrounds plant cells.
In animal cells, the cell membrane is the outside of the
cell. Plant cells also have a cell membrane, but the cell wall
is outside of it. If the cell membrane is the door and
security guard, controlling what comes in and out of the
cell, then the cell wall is like a gate surrounding the
factory.
A plant’s cell wall helps to protect and support the cell. A
plant’s cell wall is made of a strong material called
cellulose. While the cell wall is tough, important materials
such as water and oxygen can still pass through.
Why don’t animal cells have cell walls? The answer is that
animal bodies need to be able to bend. If we had cell
walls, we could snap like a twig whenever we moved!
Organelle Name: Chloroplast
Chloroplasts
Interesting … I don’t remember seeing those green ovals
in an animal cell. Those must be chloroplasts! Chloroplasts
capture energy from sunlight and use it to produce food
for the cell.
Animal cells don’t have chloroplasts. That makes sense, of
course, because animals need to eat to live! Animals can’t
make their own food, so they eat to survive. However,
plants can use their chloroplasts to make their own food!
Ever wonder why plants are green? It’s because their cells
have chloroplasts. The chloroplasts are filled with a green
chemical called chlorophyll (klor-o-fill) that absorbs
sunlight. That chemical is green, which makes the entire
plant green!
While only plant cells have chloroplasts, both plant and
animal cells have mitochondria. In animal cells, the
mitochondria break down food animals eat to make
energy. In plant cells, the mitochondria break down the
food the plant makes itself to produce energy.