Plant, animal and microbe cells
Your body is built from tens of millions of millions of cells, and so is every leaf. Plant and animal cells share most of their parts, but plant cells have three extras. Learn those three and most cell questions fall into place.
By the end of this page you can
- Compare a plant cell, an animal cell, a bacterium and Amoeba
- Say what the nucleus, membrane, mitochondrion, chloroplast, vacuole and wall do
- Tell a cell wall from a cell membrane in exam questions
- Answer exam questions on cell structure
Goals tick themselves off as you try the activities below.
Photo: Mnolf, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped.
Leaf skin cells of Rhoeo (oyster plant). Pink sap fills each cell’s large vacuole, and the thin lines between the cells are cell walls.
How often it shows up in past papers
Paper 1 counts come from our past-paper bank of CSEC Biology Paper 1s. Paper 2 is not included yet.
Cells are not all the same
Every living thing is made of cells. Here are four real ones down a microscope. Tap each card to see what makes it different.
Six parts, six jobs
Each part has one job. Tap a part to see it, and which cells have it.
What does each part do?
Three parts are found only in plant cells. Can you spot them?
In every cell, jelly-like cytoplasm, where many reactions happen, fills the space between.
Seven terms to know cold
Say what each term means before you flip the card. The last three are the parts of a bacterium the syllabus names.
Six quick questions, then a real one
Pick an answer to see why it’s right or wrong.
Which structure is found ONLY in plant cells?
Which structures are found in BOTH plant and animal cells?
Which statement about the cell wall and the cell membrane is INCORRECT?
Which statement BEST describes the nucleus?
Compared with a cheek cell, a muscle cell contains more
How is a bacterium different from an animal cell?
exam style · 3 marks
State THREE structural differences between a plant cell and an animal cell.
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Practice questions are written by My V.I.P. Academy. They are not official CXC papers.