OBSERVING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS September 2014 Plant and Animal Cells How are they alike? Both are eukaryotes. They contain a nucleus and membrane bound organelles. Both have a nucleus containing DNA, cytoplasm, cell membrane and other organelles. Plant and Animal Cells How are they different? Plant and animal cells have different functions. Therefore, they contain different structures depending on the particular task they perform. Structure is what something looks like, function is what does. Plant and Animal Cells Plant cells contain chloroplasts. Plant and Animal Cells Plant cells contain a cell wall. Plant and Animal Cells Plant cells have a large vacuole. Plant and Animal Cells Plant cells lack centrioles. Centrioles are important in cell division for producing the spindle fibers that chromosomes use to move to opposite ends of the cell. Plant cells have spindle fibers but they are not formed by centrioles. Plant and Animal Cells SPINDLE FIBERS Plant and Animal Cells Not distinguished on the basis of size. Not distinguished on the basis of color. Not distinguished on the basis of shape. Do not say that plant cells are square and animal cells are round. Many cells in the human body are square. Plant and Animal Cells Elodea cells Human cheek cells Chloroplasts in close-upfeature=player_detailpagefeature=player_detailpage VideoVideo of onion and cheek lab Do plants undergo Cellular Respiration? Of course they do... Remember that plant cells also contain a or mitochondrion. Photosynthesis requires ATP to start the reaction for Glucose production. So plants go through cellular respiration to produce ATP. Remember that plants during the winter lose there leaves, andphotosynthesis occurs in the leaves. Where does the energy come from to keep the plant alive during the winter? The answer would be cellular respiration. Plants use photosynthesis to produce energy, not to use energy. Energy from photosynthesis is used as a means of storage. Like fat in humans. However when the energy levels are low then stored energy is used. So plants go through cellular respiration. C 6 H 12 +O6 - 6CO 2 + 6H 2 O 6CO 2 + 6H 2 O C 6 H 12 O6 +6O