Cells: Plant Cells vs Animal Cells

Animal Cells vs. Plant Cells

Cells are the basic building blocks of life. They form tissues that form organs, that form systems, that eventually form our body itself. Hence, they are very important to our lives and bodies. Living things all have cells. Animals, plants, fungi and bacteria all have cells/a cell.

I will be mainly, in this post, discussing about plant cells and animal cells.

Animal cells and plant cells both have a common area in which they will both form tissues that form organs. However, the cell parts, organelles, have a significant difference. For an instance, animal cells to do not have the cell wall. The two different types of cells do have some common organelles though.

Animal cells and plant cells both have common organelles. These include the nucleus, the cell membrane, the cytoplasm and the vacuole. The nuclues functions as the 'brain'of the cell and controls cellular activities. The nucleus also contains the chromosomes. The cell membrane functions as the 'gate' of the cell; it controls movement of substances coming in and going out of the cell. The cytoplasm is the substance in which the organelles and substances move in. The cytoplasm acts like a medium for movement and reactions to take place.

The vacuole, however, is rather subjective. In animal cells, the vacuole might sometimes not be present. The vacuole of the animal cell, if present, is small compared to the vacuole of the plant cell. The vacuole of the plant cell is always present. The vacuole of the plant cell is also large and takes up a lot of space in the cell. The main function of the vacuole is to store water, waste and food substances inside the cell.

The plant cell is significantly different from the animal cell. The plant cell has chhloroplasts, a cell wall. The plant cell has the cell wall in order to keep its shape and also, to prevent over-expansion of the cell when water enters the cell. The cell wall also supports the cell.

The plant cell also has the chloroplast that contains chlorophyll. These chloroplast help to capture light energy and store free energy. The chloroplast is very important in the process of photosynthesis in which the plant makes food.

In conclusion, the animal cell and plant cell are different in their organelles. The vacuole is different in animal cells and plant cells. Plants have different organelles like the Cell Wall and the Chloroplast.

Reflection

I chose to do upon this topic as we have learnt about this in class. It is topic we have learnt in primary school and in secondary 1, we learn more about this and extend our knowledge about cells.

Cells are the basic building blocks of matter. The are the simplest living things in our body. Hence they hold a lot of importance, and also a lot of knowledge to be drawn from them.

I did upon this topic to keep track and revise on the things I have learnt in class. This will also serve as a review of what I have learnt. This way I can check and examine my learning progress, and at the same time, do a revision.