What is a Cell

Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______

What is a cell?
All living things are made up of _________________. Each cell is a sort of bag made from a
sort of skin called a _________________________. The inside of the cell is ________________
and jelly-like. You cant see them just using you eyes. You need a _______________________.
A cell can be considered the smallest part of an ________________________ that can
___________________ on its own. Some organisms have only ___________ cell, while more
complicated organisms are made out of lots of cells. All cells have a ___________________,
which separates them from the outside world. The membrane ____________________ the cell
and allows the cell to be selective about what is allowed __________.
Are all cells the same?
Plant cells are _____________________ than animal cells. Plant cells in a ____________ are
different to those in the stem or in the ___________. Animal cells, including the cells in our
bodies, are all sorts of different ______________ and sizes. Different cells _____________
different things.
Give examples of two different types of cells and their jobs below.
1.
2.
Despite all the differences between types of cells, there are also ________________________.
All cells have _______________________. All cells contain __________ for storing
information and ___________ for building proteins. (Click next at bottom of web page.)
Where do new cells come from?
When the time is right, an animal cell or a plant cell _________________ into two, forming new
cells called __________________ cells. The two new cells are _________________ the same as
the original cell. This process is called ____________ ___________________.

What is a Cell
Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______
Although a cell is small, it is not stupid before it _____________________ it makes an extra
copy of everything in the ____________________. This means the two daughter cells have a
__________________ nucleus. This is important because the nucleus contains the
_______________ (DNA) which is used to tell the cell what to do. They do share the
_______________________ but they can make more of that and end up the same size as their
______________________ cell.
What is a single-celled animal?
A single-celled animal is an animal cell that lives on its ______________, without other cells. It
can move around. It can get its own _______________. It gets rid of __________________. It
divides to make more cells. It can tell something about what is happening around it. The single
cells of a _______________________ animal could not do this. They need to live
________________________ by lots of other cells. (Click next at bottom of web page.)
What is a single-celled plant?
A single-celled plant, such as an ____________________, is a plant cell that lives on its
__________. It does not need to be a part of a larger plant ______________________. Algae
always live in ________________.

Levels of Organization
Cells: Level One
Within a multicellular organism there is a __________________ _____ __________________.
Division of labor means that the work of keeping the organism alive is divided among the
different parts of the body. Each part has a ______________________ job to do.
The arrangement of specialized parts within a living this is sometimes referred to as
_________________ _____ _______________________. Cells of course, are the
_______________ level of organization.

What is a Cell
Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______
Tissues: Level Two
In any multicellular organism, ____________ rarely work alone. Cells that are
___________________ in structure and function are usually joined together to form
_________________. Tissues are the _________________ level of organization.
Bone cells in your body form bone tissue. Blood cells in your body form blood tissue.
Organs: Level Three
Tissues are further organized into __________________, the ____________ level of
organization in living things. Organs are groups of different tissues that work together. Your
heart, for example, is made up of _________________ tissue, __________________ tissue, and
________________ tissue. You are probably familiar with the names of many of the body
organs. The brain, ____________________, kidneys, and ________________ are some
examples.
Organ Systems: Level Four
Like cells and tissues, organs seldom work _______________. They cooperate with one
another and form specific _________________ __________________. Organ systems are the
________________ level of organization in living things. An organ system is a
________________ of organs working together to perform a specific function for the organism.
An example would be your digestive system. It is made up of several organs such as your
esophagus, stomach, and intestines.
Organisms: Level Five
__________ are an organism. Dogs, trees and buttercups are also organisms. Even a unicellular
(one celled) bacterium is an organism. An organism is an entire ________________
________________ that carries out all the basic life functions. The organism is the
_____________ level of organization.
____________ tissues organs __________ _____________ _________________ -each level of organization interacts with every other level. The smooth functioning of a complex
___________________ is the result of all its various parts __________________ together.

What is a Cell
Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______

Cell Organelles
Both in animal and in plant cells:
1. Mitochondrion is the _______________________ of the cell. It is the site of
_______________________. It has a ____________________ membrane. The inner membrane is
where most _______________ respiration occurs. The inner membranes is __________ with a very
large surface area. These ruffles are called ___________. Mitochondria have their own ________
and manufacture some of their own _______________.
2. Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) is a series of double membranes that ________ back and forth
between the cell membrane and the _______________. These membranes fill the
____________________ but you cannot see them because they are very ___________________. The
rough E.R. has __________________________ attached to it. This gives it its texture. These
ribosomes manufacture __________________________ for the cell. The ribosomes are the
______________________________ which manufacture proteins.
3. Smooth E.R. ____________ ribosomes. It acts as a __________________________ throughout the
cytoplasm. It runs from the cell membrane to the nuclear ________________ and throughout the rest
of the cell. It also produces ___________________ for the cell.
4. Cell Membrane performs a number of critical functions for the ________. It regulates all that
_____________ and leaves the cell; in multicellular organisms it allows _________ recognition
5. Golgi Body is responsible for packaging _________________________ for the cell. Once the
proteins are produced by the ______________ E.R., they pass into the _______________ like
cisternae that are the main part of the Golgi body. These proteins are then squeezed off into the little
_________________ which drift off into the cytoplasm.
6. Nucleus is called the ______________________ of the cell. It is a large __________ spot in
eukaryotic cells. It _________________ all cell activity. The nuclear membrane has many
____________________. The thick ropy strands are the _____________________________. The
large solid spot is the _____________________. The nucleolus is a __________________
chromatin. It manufactures __________________________. The chromatin is _______________ in

What is a Cell
Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______
its active form. It is a __________________________________ of DNA and histone proteins. It
stores the information needed for the manufacture of ____________________.
7. *Cytoplasm is the _________ - ___________ material inside the cell membrane and outside the
nucleus. Cytoplasm contains a large amount of _______________ and many chemicals and structures
that carry out the life ______________________ in the cell. These structures that the cytoplasm
contains are called _____________________. Unlike a gelatin dessert, however, cytoplasm
constantly _________________ or streams.
8. *Vacuole: They are sort of like a ___________________ bubble in the cytoplasm. Vacuoles in
animal cells are considerably ________________ than those in plant cells. In animal cells, vacuoles
may store food that needs to be ____________________. Vacuoles can also store the indigestible
__________________ until they can ________________ with the cell membrane and squirt the
wastes outside. The cell sap vacuole in plants is much _________________ than animals. In addition
to storing important substances, it also helps __________________ the plant. The
____________________of water filling the cell sap vacuole pushes out against the cell wall. This
gives the wall enough strength to hold up fairly large green (non-woody) plants.
Animal cells only:
9. Lysosomes are called ______________________ sacks. They are produced by the
________________ body. They consist of a single membrane surrounding powerful
_______________ enzymes. Those lumpy brown structures are digestive _____________. They help
protect you by __________________ the bacteria that your white blood cells engulf.
_______________ act as a clean up crew for the cell.
10. Centrioles are only found in __________________ cells. They function in cell
_____________________. They have _____ groups of _____ arrangement of the protein fibers.
Plant cells only:
11. *Cell wall: Since plants don't have ______________, they need a little something extra to ____________________ them. The cell wall is made of a tough fiber called _______________which
does this job. When you combine the stiff cell wall with the outward _____________________of a
full cell sap vacuole, you get enough ___________________ to hold up large plants. Tree cell walls
contain other tough materials such as __________________, which make them even stronger.
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What is a Cell
Name ________________________________Date ________ Period _________ Score ______

12. *Chloroplast: Located in plant cells are large irregular shaped green structures called chloroplasts.
They are _________________ because they contain a green pigment called
________________________. Chlorophyll ______________________ the energy of sunlight which
can be used to help ______________________ food for the plant cell. This process is called
______________________________.
**Some of this was adapted from the worksheet 2 on the Virtual Cell webpage
http://personal.tmlp.com/Jimr57/