Plant and animal cells Venn diagram illustrates the differences and similarities between plant and animal cells.
What is a Cell?
A cell is a functional and structural unit of life. All functions vital for life to sustain take place inside a cell. Moreover, cells make tissues and tissues combine to make a whole organism.
A cell consists of a cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. The cell membrane covers the cellular content and severs as a gate by controlling the movement of substances in and out of the cell. Cytoplasm, a jelly-like fluid containing organelles, is the main site of all the metabolic reactions. The nucleus contains chromatin material and controls and regulates the activities of a cell.
The presence and absence of some organelles in a cell divides it into two major types i.e., prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells are further divided into Animal and plant cells.
What is Animal Cell?
An animal cell is the basic unit of life in the organisms of the kingdom Animalia. The size of an animal cell ranges from 10-30 micrometers. It lacks a cell wall and the plasma membrane makes the outermost covering of the cell. A large portion of the cell is cytoplasm in which all organelles are present. It contains a true nucleus that resides in the center of the cell.
Animal cells utilize centrioles during cell division to divide an appropriate number of chromosomes into each daughter cell. Animal cells performing similar functions combine to form tissues and help in the functioning. Some types of tissues formed by animal cells are nervous, connective, epithelial, and muscle tissues.
What is Plant Cell?
A plant cell is the basic unit of life in the organisms of the kingdom Plantae. Plant cell ranges from 10-100 micrometers in size. It contains a cell wall that surrounds the cell membrane and other organelles of a cell. A large portion of the cell is covered by a large central vacuole pushing cytoplasm to the sides of the cell. A true nucleus in a plant cell is also present on one side of the cell.
As plant cells are responsible for the synthesis of food, chloroplasts are present in the cytoplasm that are responsible for the process of photosynthesis. Plant cell lacks centrioles. Plant cells combine to form several types of tissues that help the plant to perform its function. Some types of tissues in a plant cell are parenchyma, collenchyma, sclerenchyma, xylem, and phloem tissues.
Video Lesson on Plant and Animal Cells
Plant and Animal Cells Venn Diagram
Below is a Venn diagram to help you understand this topic in easy way.
Download Plant and animal cells Venn diagram in pdf below.
Some questions and answers
1. What are 5 similarities between plant and animal cells?
A. Both cells have a cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus.
2. Which cell organelles are absent in animal cells and present in a plant cell?
A. Plant cell contains cell wall, chloroplasts, specialized plastids, and a large central vacuole, which are absent in an animal cell.
3. Is centriole present in an animal cell?
A. Yes, centrioles are only found in animal cells. They are absent in plant cells.
4. Is chloroplast found in an animal cell?
A. No, the chloroplast is only found in plant cells where they are involved in the process of photosynthesis.
More articles
- Read plant and animal cell differences in detail here.
- Download animal and plant cells worksheet here.
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