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Exploring the
Cell
Structure and Function
Background Question
 What is an organelle?
 A specialized structure that performs important
cellular functions within a eukaryotic cell.
Plant Cell
Animal Cell
Structures Found in
Both Eukaryotic Plant
and Animal Cells
Cell Membrane
 Regulates what
enters and leaves
the cell (food in waste out)
 Made of a flexible
lipid bilayer.
 Aids in protection
and support.
Nucleus and Nuclear Envelope

Only in eukaryotes

Information center of the cell (contains DNA).

Directs all activities of the cell.

Contains nuclear envelope (layer of two membranes
that surrounds the nucleus), nucleolus (small, dense
region in the nucleus where the assembly of proteins
begins), and chromosomes.
Cytoplasm
 Material inside the cell membrane
 Works with nucleus on the “business of life”
Mitochondria
 Change chemical energy from food into compounds
cells can use.
 Often called the “powerhouse” of the cell.
Ribosomes
 Assembles proteins
 Small particles of
RNA and protein
Endoplasmic Reticulum

Makes lipids for cell membranes.

Modifies some proteins

2 types:

Rough (has attached ribosomes)

Smooth (no attached ribosomes)
Golgi Apparatus
 Modifies, sorts, and packages, proteins from the
endoplasmic reticulum.
Chromosomes
 Distinct threadlike
structures
 Contain the DNA
(genetic information) for
the cell.
 Passed from one
generation to the next
 Chromatin: DNA
bound to protein
Structures Found in
Only Eukaryotic Plant
Cells
Cell Wall
 Provides support and
protection
 Present in plants, algae,
fungi, many prokaryotes
 Outside of cell
membrane
 Made of carbohydrates
and proteins
Chloroplast
 Traps sunlight and convert it to
chemical energy.
 Only in plant cells and algae.
Structures That
Appear/Function
Differently in Plant and
Animal Cells
Vacuoles

Saclike structures that store water, salts, proteins, and
carbohydrates.

In plants, provides support and quick growth.

Animal cells have more than one small vacuole while plant cells
have one large one.