PLANTS CELL VS ANIMAL CELL

plant cell vs animal cell 

If you recall Activities 8.3 and 8.4,

Activity 8.3:  (Observing onion peel under microscope)

*   In order to observe the basic components of the cell, take an onion bulb.

*   Remove the dry pink coverings (peels).

*   You can easily separate these from the fleshy white layers of the bulb with the help of forceps or even with your hand.

*   You can also break the onion bulb and separate out thin layers.

*   Place a small piece of the thin onion peel in a drop of water on a glass slide.

*   The thin layer can be cut into smaller pieces with the help of a blade or forceps.

*   Add a drop of methylene blue solution to the layer and place a coverslip on it.

*   While placing the coverslip ensure that there are no air bubbles under the coverslip.

*   Observe the slide under the microscope. Draw and label.

*   You may compare it with Fig. 8.5.

Figure 8.5: Cells observed in an onion peel

Activity 8.4:

*   Take a clean toothpick, or a matchstick with the tip broken.

*   Scrape inside of your cheek without hurting it.

*   Place it in a drop of water on a glass slide.

*   Add a drop of iodine and place a coverslip over it.

*   Alternatively, add 1-2 drops of methylene blue solution.

*   Observe it under the microscope.

*   You may notice several cells in the scraped material (Fig. 8.6).

*   You can identify the cell membrane, the cytoplasm, and the nucleus.

*   A cell wall is absent in animal cells.

Figure 8.6:  Human cheek cells

you should be able to compare plant and animal cells. Observe the plant and animal cells carefully in Fig. 8.7 (a), (b). Let us tabulate the similarities and distinguishing features of plant and animal cells. Only a few features are mentioned. You may add more in

Figure 8.7: (a) Plant cell (b) Animal cell

Table 8.1: Comparison of Plant Cell and Animal Cell

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK