Download Hydroelectric dam Small shops Townhall Special carts Post office

Name: ___________________
Period: _______
Cell as a City
In a faraway city called Cugarzrule, the main product and export is the steel widget. Everyone in
the town has something to do with steel widget-making, and the entire town is designed to build and
export widgets. The town hall has the instructions for widget-making, widgets come in all shapes
and sizes, and any citizen of Cugarzrule can get the instructions to make widgets. Widgets are
generally produced in small shops around the city.
After the widgets are constructed, they are placed on special carts that can deliver the widgets anywhere in the city.
In order for widgets to be exported, the carts take the widgets to the post office, where the widgets are packaged
and labeled for export. Sometimes widgets don't turn out right, and the "rejects" are sent to the scrap yard where
they are broken down for parts or destroyed altogether. The town powers the widget shops and carts from a
hydroelectric dam that is in the city. The entire city is surrounded by a flexible fence with several gates. Only the
postal trucks and citizens with proper passports are allowed outside the city.
Because of the clean air and water that flow throughout the city, the citizens of Cugarzrule enjoy great health and
happiness. The only flaw with living in this paradise is living with the constant fear of being attacked by the
horseback-riding neighbors from Wildcat Town. These Wildcat Town bandits frequently charge into the city on
horses to raid the grocery stores in search of food and water. Luckily, wise Mayor Sullivan recently constructed a
strong defensive structure, an alligator-infested moat, to surround and protect the city. The alligators had their
first meal the other day when three bandits slipped into the dangerous moat.
Match the parts of the city (underlined) with the parts of the cell.
1. mitochondria
Hydroelectric dam
___________________________________
2. ribosomes
___________________________________
3. nucleus
Townhall
___________________________________
4. endoplasmic reticulum
Special carts
___________________________________
5. Golgi bodies
___________________________________
6. proteins
Widget
___________________________________
7. lysosome
Scrap yard
___________________________________
8. vacuole
Grocery store
___________________________________
9. cell membrane
Small shops
Post office
___________________________________
Flexible fence
10. cell wall
Alligator infested moat
___________________________________
11. cytoplasm
___________________________________
12. DNA
Instructions
___________________________________
Clean air and water
2012
Cell Analogy Key
CELL PART
1. Mitochondria provide
energy for the cell
2. Ribosomes are sites
where proteins are
assembled
3. The nucleus is the
control center
ANALOGY TO CITY
just as
just as
just as
Town hall has the instructions for making widgets
4. The endoplasmic
reticulum transports
materials in the cell
5. Golgi bodies are centers
of manufacturing and
shipping within the cell
6. Proteins are building
blocks for the cell for
growth, repair, and control
7. Lysosomes recycle and
break down waste in the
cell
8. Vacuoles store useful
materials – water, food -
just as
9. The cell membrane
regulates the passage of
materials into and out of
the cell
10. The cell wall is the
rigid outer layer of a plant
cell providing support and
protection
just as
11. Cytoplasm is the cell
fluid
12. DNA is a molecule
containing the instructions
for building and maintaining
the organism
The hydroelectric dam provides power for the
widget shops and carts
The small shops assemble widgets
Special carts transport the widgets
just as
Post office is the place widgets are packaged and
labeled for shipping
just as
The widgets are the basis for everything
happening in the city
just as
The scrap yard breaks down rejected widget
just as
just as
just as
just as
Grocery stores are where people find food and
water
The flexible fence lets some things in and out
but not all things
The alligator-infested moat is a strong defense
against invaders
Clean air and water surround the citizens
The widget instructions tell the citizens how to
make all kinds of widgets
2012