Parts of Plant and Animal Cells
Describe the functions of the main components of plant and animal cells: cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, mitochondria, ribosomes, and chloroplasts
What a learner can do afterwards
- Names the main organelles in plant and animal cells
- Explains the function of each organelle in their own words
- Links organelle function to the needs of the whole cell (e.g. mitochondria produce energy for cell activities)
The lesson
You've already looked at cells under a microscope. Now zoom in further. Every cell is packed with tiny parts called organelles, and each one has its own job to do.
Every cell, plant or animal, has a cell membrane. It's a thin skin around the cell that controls what moves in and out, like food and waste. Plant cells have something extra outside the membrane: a stiff cell wall, which gives the cell a fixed shape and protects it.
Inside the membrane is the cytoplasm, a jelly-like liquid that fills the cell and holds the other parts in place. Tiny ribosomes float in the cytoplasm, building proteins the cell needs.
Zara compares a plant cell and an animal cell. Both have a nucleus, which holds the instructions for the whole cell, like a control room. Both also have mitochondria, which break down food to release energy for the cell's work. Only the plant cell has green chloroplasts, which trap sunlight to make food, and a large vacuole, a bag of water that keeps the cell firm.
Quick way to remember: the cell wall and chloroplasts belong only to plant cells. The membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, ribosomes, mitochondria, and vacuole show up in both.
Every organelle has one job, and together they keep the whole cell running.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.