Session One (1.2.1): Cells and Cell Structure

Introduction

The first and most important part of this topic teaches you the structures and functions of both plant and animal cells. You need to be able to identify these in both animal and plant cells. Pay close attention to the fact that plant cells have structures that are not found in animal cells (cell wall, chloroplasts and vacuole). 

You must learn how the shape and structure of cells relates to their specific function: e.g., ciliated epithelial cell (in the respiratory tract) has hairs (known as cilia, that beat regularly to move mucus). This introduces the idea of cell specialisation and how living organisms are organised.

Reading

Read through and make notes on page 3 and pages 5-10, stopping once you have read the section on ‘Organs’.

Tasks

Add the keywords and their meanings to your keyword glossary file and or the Quizlett App.

Make pencil drawings of the plant and animal cells shown on page 4. Label each structure. Make your diagrams as large as practical to enable the different structures found within the cells to be drawn.

Complete the in-text questions and check your answers. Answers to your coursebook exercises can be found in the digital version or in General Resources on Canvas.

Links

Now work through the following resources: 

EXPLORE - Plant vs Animal Cells (Twig) [Not available with sample course]

WATCH - Different Types of Cell (Twig) [Not available with sample course]

WATCH - Intro To Cells: Animals & Plants FuseSchool (YouTube) Links to an external site.

WATCH - Biology: Cell Structure I Nucleus Medical Media (YouTube) Links to an external site.

Download

READ - Cells (PowerPoint) Download READ - Cells (PowerPoint)

Review

Re-read the keywords and their meanings in the glossary file and or make use of the activities that the Quizlett App can create and check your understanding.