Download Organelle Name: Nucleus - Fall River Public Schools

Organelle Name: Nucleus
Nucleus
Whoa, what’s that huge ball in the middle of the cell? It’s pretty
big, so it must be important. This organelle is called the nucleus
(new-klee-us), and it’s the cell’s control center. It directs all of the
cell’s activities by giving orders to the other cell parts.
How does the nucleus know how to direct the cell? It contains the
cell’s DNA – the genetic material that explains how to build and run
every organism. Your DNA is like your blueprint. It has the
instructions for everything from how to breathe to what color your
eyes will be.
You can think of the nucleus as the “brain” of the cell, or like the
central office of a factory. Just like the central office directs the
activities of the whole factory, the nucleus determines everything
the cell does!
Organelle Name: Cell Membrane
Cell
Membrane
Before you even start your journey, you have to make it inside the cell.
And that’s easier said than done – you have to get through the cell
membrane! The cell membrane is the boundary that separates the cell
from the outside environment. It controls what substances come into
and out of a cell.
Everything the cell needs, such as food and oxygen, comes in through
the cell membrane. Items the cell has to send out, such as waste and
proteins for the rest of the body, leave through the cell membrane.
Harmful materials that could hurt our bodies can’t make it through.
You can think of the cell membrane as like the door and security guard
of a factory. Just like the door and security guard determine what gets
in and what gets out, the cell membrane determines what enters and
exits a cell.
Organelle Name: Mitochondria
Mitochondria
See those rod-shaped structures ahead of you? Those organelles
are mitochondria (my-toe-kahn-dree-uh), the powerhouses of the
cell. They convert energy in food to energy the cell can use to carry
out its tasks.
The mitochondria are important because cells need energy to do
everything. Need to reproduce? Need to break down food? Need to
get rid of waste? You’d better have some mitochondria producing
energy, or none of that stuff can happen!
You can think of the mitochondria as like the power generator of a
factory. Just like the power generator produces the energy the
factory needs to make chocolate, the mitochondria produce the
energy the cells need to do all of its jobs.
Organelle Name: Endoplasmic Reticulum
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Uh-oh, did we get lost? It looks like we’re in a big maze. We must be in
the endoplasmic reticulum (en-dough-plaz-mik rih-tik-yuh-lum). This
organelle is a series of passageways that carry materials from one part
of the cell to another.
For example, when the cell’s ribosomes make proteins, the
endoplasmic reticulum (or ER, for short) carries them to other parts of
the cell. The ER makes sure everything moves quickly through the cell
to where it needs to go!
You can think of the endoplasmic reticulum as just like the conveyor
belt in a factory (and remember, a conveyor belt is like the thing in a
grocery store that moves your groceries from the cashier to the
bagger). Just like the conveyor belt carries materials around a factory,
or the thing at the grocery store moves your groceries, the
endoplasmic reticulum moves materials around a cell.
Organelle Name: Ribosomes
Ribosomes
As we’re making our way through the cell, we’re noticing small
round objects all over. These are ribosomes, small factories in the
cell that make proteins. Proteins are very important chemicals
because they are one of the main building materials for new cells.
Ribosomes are found in two places in the cell. Some float free in
the cell’s cytoplasm. Others are attached to the endoplasmic
reticulum. Either way, these ribosomes make proteins the cell
needs to build new parts!
You can think of the ribosomes as like the chocolate-making
machines in Mr. Wonka’s factory. Just like the chocolate-making
machines make chocolate, a cell’s ribosomes make proteins.
Organelle Name: Golgi Body
Golgi Body
What the heck are those? It looks like a whole bunch of flattened
tubes and bags. Must be the Golgi Body (pronounced gole-gee).
The Golgi Body takes materials the cell makes, packages them, and
sends them to other parts of the cell or outside the cell.
The most common materials the Golgi Body deals with are
proteins. Proteins are an important building material for new cells.
They are made by ribosomes, but it’s the Golgi Body’s job to send
them where they need to go!
You can think of the Golgi Body as like the packaging and shipping
center in a factory. Just like the packaging and shipping center
takes the chocolate the factory makes it and sends it on to stores,
the Golgi Body packages what the cell makes to send it various
places.
Organelle Name: Vacuoles
Vacuole
All over the cell, we’re finding lots of round containers filled with
stuff. These must be vacuoles (vak-you-ohl). The vacuoles are large
sacs within a cell that are used to store food, water and other
important substances.
Vacuoles often store raw materials the cell needs to live, like food
(which the cell needs to make energy) and water (which we need to
perform many of our body’s functions). Other vacuoles store waste
products until the cell can get rid of them. While animal cells often
have many vacuoles, plant cells have just one big one!
You can think of the vacuoles as like the storage area in a factory.
Just like the storage area holds finished chocolate and raw
materials like sugar, the vacuoles store important materials, too.
Organelle Name: Lysosomes
Lysosome
Wait, what was that? It looked like one of those vacuole storage
tanks, but much smaller. Must be a lysosome (lie-suh-sohm)! The
lysosomes are small, round tanks that contain chemicals that break
down materials in the cell.
Some lysosomes break down food into smaller pieces. Others break
down old cell parts and release what they were made of so they
can be used again. Lysosomes do this by using chemicals called
enzymes, which can break down any part of the cell!
You can think of the lysosomes as like the recycling center in a
factory. Just like the recycling center breaks down old factory parts
so they can be re-used, the lysosomes break down old cell parts.
Cell Part: Cytoplasm
Cytoplasm
As soon as we enter the cell, it feels like we’re moving through jello.
This must be the cytoplasm (sigh-toe-plah-zim). Cytoplasm is the
thick, jello-like fluid that fills a cell. The cytoplasm flows around the
cell carrying the cell’s parts – all of the organelles.
The cytoplasm is about 80 percent water and 20 percent chemicals.
Because it’s mostly water, the cytoplasm is usually clear. And since
the cytoplasm contains the organelles, it’s where most of the cell’s
activities take place!
You could say cytoplasm is like air, because it fills the whole factory.
Another way you could think of cytoplasm is that it’s like a fruit jello
cup. The jello itself is the cytoplasm, and the fruit it holds in it are
all of the cell’s organelles.