Plant and Animal Cells Essays - Cell Biology, Plant Cell, Cell

Plant and Animal Cells Essays - Cell Biology, Plant Cell, Cell Plant and Animal Cells subject = Honors Biology title = PLant and Animal Cells Plant and Animal Cells I. Introduction All organisms in life are composed of at least one or more cells. Cells are the basic units of life. There are three main features of a cell. First, all organisms consist of one or more cells. Second, cells are the smallest units of life and third, cells arise only from preexisting cells. These three facts are referred to as the cell theory. All cells can be categorized into two basic cell types. They are prokaryotic and eukaryotic. To distinguish where cells are placed in the two categories, what is inside the cell must first be looked at. Every cell, either prokaryotic or eukaryotic all contain basic cell parts. They are: a plasma membrane, cytoplasm, DNA (the genetic material), and ribosomes. Prokaryotic cells have a simple structure and they are usually smaller than eukaryotic cells. Also, most prokaryotic cells contain a cell wall. In addition to having the basic cell parts, eukaryotic cells also contain a membrane-bounded nucleus and cell organelles. The membrane surrounding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells, separate the nucleus from the cytoplasm. Most of the cells we used in the experiments held, were multicellular or consisting of more than one cell. A variety of cells were used in completing the experiments. We used union cells, cheek cells, potato cells, and Elodeo cells. We also used Planaria which is a unicellular organism. Many stains and dyes were used in the experiments. They were water, methylene blue, salts, and iodine. In our studies of cells, we conducted three experiments to test the different features of cells. The first two experiments were on how membranes were selectively permeable, diffusion, and osmosis. To test this, we set up two experiments. The first experiment we set up had three cups. In each cup a potato slice and a different liquid was put in. In the first cup was filled with distilled water. The second cup was filled with salt water and the third was left empty. We left these cups sit for twenty- four hours and then we observed them. The second experiment we set up involved dialysis tubing which was acting like a membrane. In the dialysis tubing we put a liquid that was made of starches and sugars. We then put the dialysis tubing into a beaker of water which had a few drops of iodine. We left this over time and observed it. Our third experiment dealt with the different parts of a cell. To complete this we had to make wet-mount slides and observe them under a light microscope. To prepare a wet-mount slide you must first obtain your specimen you are going to look at. You then put the specimen on a clean glass slide in the middle. Next, you take a medicine dropper and place one drop of water on the specimen. After that, you hold a clean coverslip and place the bottom edge of the coverslip in the drop of water. Next, slowly lower the rest of the coverslip so that there are no air bubbles, onto the remaining part of the specimen. By putting specimens into wet-mount slides it saves a lot of time and energy instead of putting them into set slides. Also, a wet-mount slide can be cleaned and re-used. We put onion cells, cheek cells, and Elodeo cells into wet- mount slides. After we made slides for each one we observe them under the microscope. For some of the cells, we had to apply a dye to have make the cell more visible under the microscope. Methylene blue was applied to the cheek cells and iodine to the onion cells. To see the cheek cells, we had to reduce the amount of light coming into the microscope. We had to do this because when we reduced the amount of light, we could see the cells more clear. Elodeo cells were observed as a wet-mount slide and also with salt water. To apply a die to a previously made wet-mount slide, an edge of the coverslip must be lifted just enough to get the dropper under the apply the dye. At first, some of the epidermal cells of the onion were folded. This indicates that the cells were thick and there was more than one layer of cells. II. Discussion In the experiment involving the three cups and the potato slices, we observed the different amounts of turgor pressure. In the cup with the distilled water, the turgor pressure increased. Turgor pressure is the