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4 - Cheek and Onion Cell Lab

1. The document describes a lab procedure to observe cheek cells and onion cells under a light microscope. Students scrape their cheek, stain the cells with methylene blue, and view the stained cells under low, medium, and high power to observe the cell membrane, nucleus, and cytoplasm. 2. For onion cells, students stain a single layer of onion epidermal cells with iodine and view the cells under medium and high power to observe additional structures like the cell wall and vacuoles. 3. The student is asked questions about why staining is necessary, which cell parts are visible in cheek cells, and an organelle that should be present but is not visible.

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Brian Neises
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611 views2 pages

4 - Cheek and Onion Cell Lab

1. The document describes a lab procedure to observe cheek cells and onion cells under a light microscope. Students scrape their cheek, stain the cells with methylene blue, and view the stained cells under low, medium, and high power to observe the cell membrane, nucleus, and cytoplasm. 2. For onion cells, students stain a single layer of onion epidermal cells with iodine and view the cells under medium and high power to observe additional structures like the cell wall and vacuoles. 3. The student is asked questions about why staining is necessary, which cell parts are visible in cheek cells, and an organelle that should be present but is not visible.

Uploaded by

Brian Neises
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic Cell Parts Lab: Cheek Cells

Procedure:
1.Put a drop of methylene blue on a slide. Caution: methylene blue will stain clothes and skin. 2. Gently scrape the inside of your cheek with the at side of a toothpick. Scrape lightly. 3. Stir the end of the toothpick into the stain and throw the toothpick away. 4. Place a coverslip onto the slide. 5. Use the LOW POWER objective to focus. Cells should be visible, but they will be small and look like nearly clear purplish blobs.

L OW P OW E R
nucleus cytoplasm

cell membrane

IF YOU ARE LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT IS A VERY DARK PURPLE AND LOOKS LARGE, IT IS PROBABLY NOT A CELL!
6. Once you think you have located a cell, switch to medium power and refocus. (Remember, do NOT use the coarse adjustment knob at this point) 7. Once you have located the cell at medium power, switch to high power and observe. ---Sketch the cell at low and high power. Label the nucleus, cytoplasm, and cell membrane. Draw your cells to scale.

X_ __ _ _ MEDIUM POWER
nucleus cytoplasm

cell membrane

X_ __ _ _

QU E S T I O N S
1.WHY IS METHYLENE BLUE NECESSARY?

2.THE LIGHT MICROSCOPE USED IN THE LAB IS NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH TO VIEW ALL THE ORGANELLES IN THE CHEEK CELL. WHAT PARTS OF THE CELL WERE VISIBLE?

3. WHAT IS ONE ORGANELLE THAT WAS NOT VISIBLE, BUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE CHEEK CELL?

Basic Cell Parts Lab: Onion Cells


Procedure:
1) Obtain a section of a scale leaf from an onion bulb. 2) Remove the single layer of epidermal cells from the inner (concave) side of the scale leaf. 3) Place the single layer of onion cell epithelium on a glass slide. Make sure that you do not fold it over or wrinkle it. 4) Place a drop of iodine stain on your onion tissue. 5) Put the coverslip on the stained tissue and gently tap out any air bubbles. 6) Observe the cells under Low power. 7) Now observe the cells under Medium power with the diaphragm wide open. Slowly reduce the light intensity by closing the diaphragm, and observe the image.

MEDIUM POWER

X_ __ _ _ H I G H P OW E R
nucleus cytoplasm cell membrane cell wall vacuole

COULD YOU SEE THE STRUCTURES BETTER WITH MORE OR LESS LIGHT?
8) In the space provide below, draw a group of 10 neighboring cells at Medium power. 9) Switch to high power. Can you see a whole cell? If you can, draw one cell and label it. If no, go back to medium power and draw one cell and label it.

X_ __ _ _

CELL PARTS
Write a short description of each of the following: --cell membrane --cytoplasm --nucleus --cell wall --vacuole

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