Science Workbook
Cell Structure Lesson
Day 1
Cells Day 1
Inquiry Lab: Is It Alive?
Sometimes, it is difficult to tell living things from nonliving things. To be considered
alive, something must have all of the characteristics of life.
Procedure
1. With your group, discuss some characteristics you could look for to tell whether
something is living or nonliving.
2. Examine an assortment of objects given to you by your teacher.
3. Make a table that has three columns. In the first column, describe each of the
objects. In the second column, state whether each object is living or nonliving.
4. In the third column, write down the characteristics of life that you observed in
each object.
Analysis
1. Identify characteristics of life that are difficult to see during a brief observation
like this one.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. Identify an object or material (not necessarily among your samples) that
undergoes growth but that has never been alive.
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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Cell Structure Lesson
Introduction to Cells
After reviewing the list of objects you compiled in the Is It Alive? Lab, work with a
partner and make two new lists: those items comprised of cells and those items not
comprised of cells. Give a rationale for each answer.
Cells
No Cells
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Cell Structure Lesson
Reference: Units of length
Reference: Cell size
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Cell Structure Lesson
BIG IDEAS READING
The Discovery of Cells
In 1665, Robert Hooke, an English scientist, used a simple
microscope to look at a thin piece of a cork. His
microscope could only magnify objects 30 times their
normal size. Hooke saw many “little boxes” in the cork.
They reminded him of the small rooms in which monks
lived, so he called them cells. Hooke later discovered cells
in the stems and roots of plants. Ten years later, Anton
van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch scientist, used a more powerful microscope that could magnify objects 300fold. He discovered many living creatures in pond water. He named them animalcules, or “tiny animals.”
Today, we know that they were not animals. They were single-celled organisms.
Cell Theory It took more than 150 years for scientists to fully appreciate the discoveries of Hooke and
Leeuwenhoek. By the 1830s, microscopes were powerful enough to resolve structures only 1 µm apart. In 1838,
Matthias Schleiden, a German botanist, concluded that cells make up every part of a plant. A year later,
Theodor Schwann, a German zoologist, discovered that animals are also made up of cells. In 1858, Rudolph
Virchow, a German physician, proposed that cells come only from the division of existing cells. The
observations of Schleiden, Schwann, and Virchow form the cell theory:
• All living things are made up of one or more cells.
• Cells are the basic units of structure and function in organisms.
• All cells arise from existing cells.
The cell theory has withstood the rigorous examination of cells by scientists equipped with today’s highpowered microscopes. As new tools and techniques are invented, scientists will learn more about the
characteristics of cells.
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Cell Structure Lesson
What they are REALLY saying is ___?
Use the space below to provide a short description of what each of the sections from the Big Ideas
Reading is REALLY saying. Please write these summaries in your own words.
Section #
What they are REALLY saying…in your words
1: The
Discovery
of Cells
2: Cell
Theory
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Cell Structure Lesson
BIG IDEAS READING
Cell Features All cells—from bacteria to those in a berry, bug, or bunny—share common structural features.
All cells have an outer barrier, cell fluid, protein factories, and genetic codes. The outer barrier of a cell acts as
a gateway between the outside environment and the inside of the cell. The fluid inside the cell is full of
dissolved particles. Also suspended in this fluid are structures vital to the functioning of the cell. This includes
protein factories where proteins are made. Proteins are required for the structure, function, and regulation of
cells. How are these proteins made? Cells contain genetic codes that provide instructions for making proteins.
These codes also provide instructions for regulating cellular activities and enabling cells to reproduce.
Features of Simple Cells The bacterium shown in the figure below is an example of an organism made of a
single simple cell. Such cells have a very simple organization. The genetic material looks like a tangled string
and usually lies near the center of the cell. Both the genetic material and protein factories lie in the simple cell’s
fluid.
Image Caption: The internal fluid of a simple cell is made up of everything that is inside the cell barrier, including sites for protein
production and a loop of genetic material.
Simple cells have a cell wall that surrounds the cell barrier and that provides structure and support. Some simple
cell walls are surrounded by a structure that enables simple cells to cling to surfaces, including teeth, skin, and
food. Scientists think that the first simple cells may have lived 3.5 billion years ago or more. For millions of
years, simple cells were the only organisms on Earth. They were very simple and small (1 to 2 µm in diameter).
Like their ancestors, modern simple cells are also very small (1 to 15 µm), and they live in a wide range of
habitats. Simple cells make up a very large and diverse group of cells.
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Cell Structure Lesson
Features of Complex Cells All multicellular organisms are made up of complex cells. Because of their
complex organization, complex cells can carry out more specialized functions than simple cells
can.
Primitive complex cells first appeared about 1.5 billion years ago. As shown in the animal cell in the
figure below, a complex cell contains compartments that are separated by barriers. The cell’s genetic
material is housed in a central internal compartment.
Image Caption: The inner fluid of a complex cell is made up of many different structures that are surrounded by barriers.
In addition to having a barrier, cell fluid, protein factories, and a central internal compartment, all
complex cells have barrier-bound parts. These parts to the cell carry out specific activities inside the cell.
The animal cell in the figure above shows many of the cell parts found in complex cells. Each cell part
performs distinct functions. Many cell parts are surrounded by a barrier. Some of the barriers are
connected by channels that help move substances within the cell.
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Cell Structure Lesson
What they are REALLY saying is ___?
Use the space below to provide a short description of what each of the sections from the Big Ideas
Reading is REALLY saying. Please write these summaries in your own words.
Section #
What they are REALLY saying…in your words
1: Cell
Features
2: Features
of
Prokaryotic
Cells
3: Features
of
Eukaryotic
Cells
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Cell Structure Lesson
BIG IDEAS LECTURE
As the teacher lectures, use the space below to take notes. Pay careful attention to the new
scientific terms that are used by scientists to communicate the BIG IDEAS you just read about.
Questions
(write down any questions you may
have here)
Notes
(Place your notes here)
CELL MEMBRANE (barrier) =
CYTOPLASM (cell fluid) =
RIBOSOME (protein factory) =
PROKARYOTE (organism made of a simple cell) =
EUKARYOTE (organism made of complex cells) =
NUCLEUS (central internal compartment) =
ORGANELLE (cell part) =
DNA (genetic material) =
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Cell Structure Lesson
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Cell Structure Lesson
Day 1 Review
Using what you have written in your notebook today, answer the following review questions in
the space provided…
1. List the three parts of cell theory.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2. Describe the importance of a cell’s surface area-to-volume ratio.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. Compare the structure of a eukaryotic (complex) cell with that of a prokaryotic (cell) cell. Try to
use all of the scientific terms introduced in the BIG IDEAS Lecture.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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Cell Structure Lesson
Cells Day 1
Homework
Section: Introduction to Cells
In the space provided, write the letter of the description that best matches
each term.
_____ 1. cell membrane
_____ 2. cytoplasm
_____ 3. nucleus
_____ 4. ribosome
a. cell structure with its own membrane that
stores the cell’s genetic material
b. cell structure where proteins are made
c. layer that forms the boundary between the
inside and outside of a cell
d. the fluid inside a cell and all of the structures
within the fluid
Write ct next to all of the statements that are part of the cell theory. Leave the other statements blank.
_____ 5. Cells come in many different sizes.
_____ 6. All cells arise from existing cells.
_____ 7. A cell’s shape reflects its function.
_____ 8. All living things are made up of one or more cells.
_____ 9. Cells are the basic units of structure and function in organisms.
In the space provided, write the letter of the phrase that best answers each question.
_____ 10. Who first discovered cells?
a. scientists who wanted to confirm the cell theory
b. scientists looking at skin cells through microscopes
c. scientists looking at living plants through microscopes
d. scientists looking at cork and pond water through microscopes
_____ 11. Why can eukaryotes carry out more specialized functions than prokaryotes can?
a. Eukaryotes have more organelles.
b. Prokaryotes have more organelles.
c. Eukaryotes are bigger.
d. Prokaryotes are bigger.
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