Virtual Lab – Plant and Animal Cells

Background Information:

Plants and animals are made of cells. Although plant and animal cells have many structures in common, they also have
basic differences in size, shape, and some organelles. Plants have a rigid cell wall, a large central vacuole, and
chloroplasts. Animal cells lack both cell walls and chloroplasts. They contain numerous small lysosomes rather than a
large central vacuole.

You will observe and compare onion cells and epithelial cells from the inside of a human cheek.

Pre Lab Questions:

1. Based on the above background reading, what are three major ways plant and animal cells differ?
a.
b.
c.
2. Briefly describe the function (what they DO) of the following cell parts:
a. Cell wall
b. Plasma Membrane
c. Chloroplasts
d. Cytoplasm
e. Nucleus

Procedure:

Part 1: Plant Cells

Onions are organized tissue that, under appropriate conditions, will give rise to an entire plant. You may not know it,
but they grow underground in the dirt, with their green leafy tops sticking up out of the ground. The curved layers or
pieces that pull apart from a slice of onion are called scales. On the underside of each scale is a thin membrane called
the epidermis.

Access the Virtual Microscope at http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/

Click on the link that says the "virtual scope"

1. Familiarize yourself with the microscope, run the tutorial and examine the parts you will be working with.

2. View the slide onion. Sketch the image at Scanning, Low and High Power. LABEL on high power the CELL MEMBRANE,
CYTOPLASM, and NUCLEUS.

Scanning (4) Low (10) High (100)

QUESTION 1 – What is the general shape of a typical onion cell? _______________

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFsty-XyLZc and view the live Elodea plant under a microscope.

QUESTION 2 – Are the chloroplasts moving or stationary?

QUESTION 3 – In what ways are the cells of onion epidermis and Elodea similar?

Different?

QUESTION 4 – There were many chloroplasts in the Elodea cell, but what about the onion cell? Did you see them?
________ EXPLAIN why or why not.

Part 2: Animal Cells

Epithelial cells from the inside of a person’s cheek are being examined. Epithelium is a type of tissue that covers the
surface of many organs and cavities of the body.

Access the Virtual Microscope at http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/

Click on the link that says "the virtual scope"

1. Familiarize yourself with the microscope, run the tutorial and examine the parts you will be working with.

2. View the slide labeled cheek smear. Sketch the image at Scanning, Low and High Power. LABEL on high power the
CELL MEMBRANE, CYTOPLASM, and NUCLEUS.

High (40)
Scanning (4) Low (10)

QUESTION 5 – How are these animal cells different from the plant cells you observed? Fill in the graphic organizer on
your answer sheet. YOU MAY NEED YOUR NOTES!

QUESTION 6 – What is the relationship between plant cell structure and the ability of plants to stand upright without
bones?

QUESTION 7 - Keeping in mind that the mouth is the first site of chemical digestion in a human.Your saliva starts the
process of breaking down the food you eat.Keeping this in mind, what organelle do you think would be the most
numerous inside the cells of your mouth? (Hint: what organelle is responsible for breaking things down and digesting?)