Download Cells Alive Worksheet

Cell Biology Basics via www.cellsalive.com
Objective: Use the website to learn the structures and functions of cells and their components.
Navigating the site: Use the navigation bar to the left of the screen. From here you will access
the links “How big is a ….”, the animal cell model, the plant cell model, and the bacteria cell
model.
Part A: “How big is a…”
Use the navigation bar to click on the “How big is a...” animation. Here you will look at the
objects as they would appear on the head of a pin. Your job is to sketch each object and estimate
the length of each in nanometers, micrometers, or millimeters. The line at the bottom right
corner of the screen will help you estimate. Sketch each object and estimate its length.
Object
Sketch
Size (in nm, ųm or mm)
Human hair
Dust mite
Red blood cells
E. coli
Staphlylococcus
Ebola virus
Rhinovirus
Part B: Animal Cell Model
Return to the “Cell Models” link and click on “Take me to the animations” and then click on
“Animal Cell”. For Part B, you will need to click on the different parts of the cell. Sketch the
cell organelle and answer the following questions are found there. Complete sentence answers
are not required.
Mitochondria
1. What do mitochondria do?
2. How big are mitochondria?
Golgi apparatus
3. What is the function of the Golgi apparatus?
4. What is the difference between smooth ER and rough ER?
Rough ER
5. What is the function of the nucleus?
6. What is the function of the nucleolus?
Nucleus
7. What is the function of the cytoskeleton?
8. What is another name for “cytosol”, and what
is its function?
Part C: Plant Cell Model
Return to the “Cell Biology” link or hit the “back” button to access this page. For this model,
you will need to click on the various parts of the cell and go to a screen that tells you about the
parts. Answers to the following questions are found there. Complete sentence answers are not
required.
1. What makes a plant cell green?
Chloroplast
2. In plant cells, what does the vacuole do?
3. What is the function of the cell wall?
4. What are two organelles that are found in plant cells but not found in animal cells?
Part E: Overview
Using the chart below, place a check in the box if the cell has that particular organelle.
Organelle
Chloroplast
Vacuole
Ribosome
Mitochondria
DNA
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Cell Wall
Golgi apparatus
Plant
Animal
Bacteria