Question 1: Where are genes located?

Answer: Genes are located on chromosomes.

Question 2: What is the basic living unit of an organism?

Answer: Cell is the basic living unit of an organism.

Question 3: What do chloroplasts contain?

Answer: Chloroplasts contain chlorophyll.

Question 4: Name the instrument used to study cells.

Answer: Microscope is used to study cells.

Question 5: Do animal cells have a cell wall?

Answer: No, animal cells do not have a cell wall.

Question 6: What is a nucleolus?

Answer: A smaller spherical body in the nucleus is called the

nucleolus.

Question 7: Name the scientist who coined the term cell.

Answer: Robert Hooke coined the term ‘cell’.

Question 8: Name one cell in human body which is spherical in

shape.
Or
Give an example of spherical cell.

Answer: Spherical red blood cells

Question 9: Which part of a cell controls all the activities of the
cell?

Answer: Nucleus acts as control centre of the activities of the

cell.

Question 10: Name the outermost layer of an animal cell.

Answer: Cell membrane is the outermost layer of an animal

cell.

Question 11: What are the units of inheritance in living

organisms?

Answer: Chromosomes are the units of inheritance in living

organisms.

Question 12: What is nucleus?

Answer: The central dense round body in the centre is called

the nucleus.

Question 13: Which is the largest floating body generally in the

centre of a cell?

Answer: Nucleus is the largest floating body generally in the

centre of a cell.

Question 14: What is vacuole?

Answer: Any blank-looking structure in the cytoplasm is called

vacuole.

Question 15: What is tissue?

Answer: A tissue is a group of similar cells performing a specific
function.

Question 16: Which cell receives and transfers messages?

Answer: The nerve cell (or a neuron) receives and transfers

messages.

Question 17: Name the spindle shaped cells present in the

human body.

Answer: Spindle shaped muscle cells

Question 18: What is the basic similarity among all the living
organisms (plants and animals)?

Answer: All the living things (plants and animals) are made
from cells.

Question 19: What are prokaryotic cells?

Answer: Cells without well organised nucleus, i.e. lacking

nuclear membrane, are called prokaryotic cells.

Question 20: What is the layer outside the cell membrane of a

plant cell called?

Answer: In addition to the cell membrane, there is an outer

thick layer in cells of plants called cell wall.

Question 21: Name the organelle of a plant cell where

photosynthesis takes place.

Answer: In plants, photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts,

which contain the chlorophyll.
Question 22: How are the vacuoles in animal and plant cells
different?

Answer: Plant cell has a big central vacuole unlike a number of

small vacuoles in animal cells.

Question 23: What is the function of nucleus in a cell?

Answer: Nucleus, in addition to its role in inheritance, acts as

control centre of the activities of the cell.

Question 24: Name the animal cell which is long and has
thread like branches.

Answer: Nerve cell (a neuron) is the only animal cell which is

long and has thread like branches.

Question 25: A hen’s egg can be seen easily. Is it a cell or a

group of cells?

Answer: The egg of a hen represents a single cell and is big

enough to be seen by the unaided eye.

Question 26: Name one cell which can be seen by unaided eye.

Answer: Some cells are big enough to be seen with the unaided
eye. Hen’s egg is an example.

Question 27: Name a single cell present in the human body

which can change its shape.

Answer: A white blood cell (WBC) in human blood is another

example of a single cell which can change its shape.

Question 28: Name one organism which has no definite shape,

and keeps on changing its shape.
Or
Which unicellular organism has no definite shape?
Or
Name an organism that changes its shape frequently.

Answer: Amoeba has no definite shape, unlike other organisms.

It keeps on changing its shape.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1: What is an organ?

Answer: An organ is a collection of different tissues which work

together to perform a particular function in the body of an
organism.

Question 2: Why nerve cells are long and have branches?

Answer: Nerve cells are long and have branches so that it can
receive and transfer messages.

Question 3: What regulates the movement of substances into

and out of the cell?

Answer: The plasma membrane is porous and allows the

movement of substances or materials both inward and outward.

Question 4: Name the smallest and largest cell in the world.

Answer: The smallest cell is 0.1 to 0.5 micrometre in bacteria.

The largest cell measuring 170 mm ×130 mm, is the egg of an
ostrich.

Question 5: What is cell wall? What is its function?

Answer: Cell wall is an additional covering over the cell
membrane in plant cells. It gives shape and rigidity to these
cells.

Question 6: What advantage does Amoeba derive by changing

shape?

Answer: The change in shape is due to formation of

pseudopodia which facilitates movement and help in capturing
food.

Question 7: How do scientists observe and study the living

cells?

Answer: They use microscopes which magnify objects. Stains

(dyes) are used to colour parts of the cell to study the detailed
structure.

Question 8: What is plastid? What is the name of green plastids

present in plant cells?

Answer: Coloured bodies called plastids are found in the plant

cells only. Green plastids containing chlorophyll are called
chloroplasts.

Question 9: What are the three main parts of the cell?

Answer: The cell has three main parts, (i) the cell membrane,
(ii) cytoplasm which contains smaller components called
organelles, and (iii) the nucleus.

Question 10: Name two plant organs.

Answer: Roots – They help in the absorption of water and

minerals.
Leaves – They are responsible for synthesis of food.
Question 11: What are unicellular organisms? Give two
examples.

Answer: The single-celled organisms are called unicellular (uni :

one; cellular : cell). Example: amoeba and paramecium.

Question 13: What are pseudopodia in amoeba? What are the

functions of pseudopodia?

Answer: Pseudopodia is a temporary arm-like projection.

Pseudopodia facilitate movement and help in capturing food.

Question 14: What is a gene? What is its function?

Answer: Gene is a unit of inheritance in living organisms. It

controls the transfer of a hereditary characteristic from parents
to offspring.

Question 15: What is protoplasm?

Answer: The entire content of a living cell is known as

protoplasm. It includes the cytoplasm and the nucleus.
Protoplasm is called the living substance of the cell.

Question 16: What are multicellular organisms? Give two

examples.

Answer: Organisms made of more than one cell are called

multicellular (multi: many; cellular: cell) organisms. Most of the
plants and animals around us are multicellular organisms.
Example: a mango tree, a deer, etc.

Question 17: Why are plant and animal specimens usually

stained with dyes before observing them through a microscope?
Name one stain used for this purpose.
Answer: Stains (dyes) are used to colour parts of the cell to
study the detailed structure. Methylene blue solution stain is
used in the study of structure of cell.

Question 18: Which part of the cell contains organelles?

Answer: Cytoplasm is a part of the cell that contains organelles

such as mitochondria, golgi bodies, ribosomes, etc. It is the jelly-
like substance present between the cell membrane and the
nucleus.

Question 19: Where are chromosomes found in a cell? State

their function.

Answer: Nucleus contains thread-like structures called

chromosomes. These carry genes and help in inheritance or
transfer of characters from the parents to the offspring.

Question 20: What is nuclear membrane? State its function.

Answer: Nucleus is separated from the cytoplasm by a

membrane called the nuclear membrane. This membrane is also
porous and allows the movement of materials between the
cytoplasm and the inside of the nucleus.

Question 21: What are the different shapes of cells?

Answer: Generally, cells are round, spherical or elongated.

Some cells are long and pointed at both ends. They exhibit
spindle shape. Cells sometimes are quite long. Some are
branched like the nerve cell or a neuron.

Question 22: Are the cells in an elephant larger than the cells
in a rat?
Answer: The size of the cells has no relation with the size of the
body of the animal or plant. It is not necessary that the cells in
the elephant be much bigger than those in a rat. The size of the
cell is related to its function.

Question 23: Explain why chloroplasts are found only in plant

cells?

Answer: Green coloured plastids are called chloroplasts. They

provide green colour to the leaves. Chlorophyll in the
chloroplasts of leaves is essential for photosynthesis. As only
plants can perform photosynthesis, so chloroplasts are found
only in plant cells.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1: What is the difference between amoeba and white

blood cell?

Answer: The difference between amoeba and white blood cell is

that while amoeba cell is a full-fledged organism capable of
independent existence, white blood cell is merely a cell of
human blood which is not a full-fledged organism and hence
cannot exist independently.

Question 2: Which part of the cell gives it shape?

Answer: Components of the cell are enclosed in a membrane.

This membrane provides shape to the cells of plants and
animals. Cell wall is an additional covering over the cell
membrane in plant cells. It gives shape and rigidity to these
cells. Bacterial cell also has a cell wall.

Question 3: ‘Cells are the basic structural units of living

organisms’. Explain.
Answer: Both, bricks in a building and cells in the living
organisms, are basic structural units. The buildings, though built
of similar bricks, have different designs, shapes and sizes.
Similarly, in the living world, organisms differ from one another
but all are made up of cells. Cells in the living organisms are
complex living structures unlike non-living bricks.

Question 4: Does the number of cells in an organism affect its

functioning? Explain.

Answer: The number of cells being less in smaller organisms

does not, in any way, affect the functioning of the organisms. A
single-celled organism performs all the necessary functions that
multicellular organisms perform. An organism with billions of
cells begins life as a single cell which is the fertilized egg. The
fertilised egg cell multiplies and the number of cells increases as
development proceeds.

Question 5: Why plant cells need cell walls?

Or
What is the function of cell wall in a plant cell?

Answer: Cell membrane gives shape to the cell. In addition to

the cell membrane, there is an outer thick layer in cells of plants
called cell wall. This additional layer surrounding the cell
membrane is required by the plants for protection. Plant cells
need protection against variations in temperature, high wind
speed, atmospheric moisture, etc. They are exposed to these
variations because they cannot move.

Question 6: What are the functions of the cell membrane?

Answer: Functions of the cell membrane are as follows

 The cytoplasm and nucleus are enclosed within the cell

membrane, also called the plasma membrane.
 The membrane separates cells from one another and also the
cell from the surrounding medium.
 The plasma membrane is porous and allows the movement of
substances or materials both inward and outward.
Question 7: State the difference between eukaryotes and
prokaryotes.

Answer:

Eukaryotes Prokaryotes

1. The cells, like onion cells and cheek cells having well 1. The cells having nuclear material without
organised nucleus with a nuclear membrane are designated nuclear membrane are termed prokaryotic
as eukaryotic cells. All organisms other than bacteria and cells. The organisms with these kinds of cells
blue green algae are called eukaryotes. are called prokaryotes.

2. Examples are plant and animal cells. 2. Examples are bacteria and blue green algae
Question 8: Make a sketch of the human nerve cell. What
function do nerve cells perform?

Answer:

The nerve cell receives and transfers messages, thereby helping

to control and coordinate the working of different parts of the
body.
Question 9: Write short notes on the following:
(a) Cytoplasm
(b) Nucleus of a cell

Answer: (a) Cytoplasm: It is the jelly-like substance present

between the cell membrane and the nucleus. Various other
components, or organelles, of cells are present in the cytoplasm.
These are mitochondria, golgi bodies, ribosomes, etc.

(b) Nucleus of a cell – It is generally spherical and located in

the centre of the cell. It is composed of the following
components:

 Nuclear membrane – Nucleus is separated from the

cytoplasm by a membrane called the nuclear membrane. This
membrane is also porous and allows the movement of
materials between the cytoplasm and the inside of the
nucleus.
 Nucleolus – A smaller spherical body in the nucleus is called
the nucleolus.
 Chromosomes – nucleus contains thread-like structures
called chromosomes. These carry genes and help in
inheritance or transfer of characters from the parents to the
offspring. The chromosomes can be seen only when the cell
divides.
Question 10: Make sketches of animal and plant cells. State
three differences between them.

Answer: Figure (a) – Plant Cell

Figure (b) – Animal Cell
Animal Cell Plant Cell

1. They are generally small in size. 1. They are usually larger than animal cells.

2. Cell wall is absent. 2. Cell wall is present.

3. Vacuoles are smaller in size. 3. Vacuoles are larger in size.