Cells Alive!

Webquest Name:_________________________________
Go to this website: www.cellsalive.com
Objectives: Understand the relative sizes of objects, including the cell, sketch and identify the
function of cell structures; compare eukaryote to prokaryote cells; compare plant and animals cells

Part A: "HOW BIG IS A...."

Click on the HowBig? link on the left side of the webpage.
Instructions: Look at the objects that can be found on the head of a pin. Zoom in and out to determine
which object is the smallest, then slowly zoom out so you can see how other objects compare.

1. If you zoom all the way in, what is the smallest object on the head of the pin? _______________

2. Zoom out a little farther, what is the hook shaped object you see? ____________________________

3. Compare each of the following objects on the pin, circle the one that is larger for each pair.
a) baker's yeast or e. coli
b) lymphocyte or ragweed
c) red blood cell or staphylococcus
d) ragweed or dust mite

4. In the photo below, there is a line that says 200 nanometers. This is used to help you determine
how big an object is. It works similar to the way a map works. The line represents 200
nanometers, but the object itself is bigger.

How big is it? _____________

Part B Bacteria Cell Model

Click on the Cell Models link on the left side of the webpage.
Locate the image of a bacterial cell model and label the image below.
Part C Animal Cell Model
Locate the image of the animal cell model and click through each of the parts and
read their descriptions.
Use the information to answer the questions and make sketches of the cell organelles.

1. Rough ER 3. Centrosome

2. Mitochondrion 4. Microtubules

5. What do the mitochondrion do? ______________________________________________________

6. How big are the mitochondrion? ______________________________________________________

7. What is the function of the golgi apparatus? __________________________________________

8. What structure is found on the rough ER that is not on the smooth ER? ______________________

9. Where is the nucleolus found? __________________________________________________________

10. What is the function of the nucleolus? __________________________________________________

11. What is the function of the cytoskeleton? _______________________________________________

12. What is inside nucleus that is responsible for providing the cell with its characteristics? ______

Part D Plant Cell M odel

Locate the im age of the plant cell m odel and click through each of the parts and read
their descriptions. Use the information to answer the questions.

13. What structure takes up the majority of the center space within the plant cell? ______________

14. What is its primary function of the structure? ____________________________________________

14. What part of the plant cell gives it is green color? _______________________________________

15. How many of these structures are visible on the plant diagram? ___________________________
Part E Plant vs. Animal Cell
Compare/contrast the plant and animal cell by filling in the following graphic organizer. Use the characteristics
listed in the table below. Write the appropriate characteristics in the correct section of graphic organizer. Please
bullet the characteristics so they are easily distinguishable.
Nucleus Chloroplast Cell Membrane Cell Wall Cytoplasm
Mitochondria Ribosomes DNA Large central vacuole Eukaryotic cells
Can perform Can NOT More circular in shape Can perform cellular More square/rectangular
photosynthesis photosynthesize respiration in shape

Part F - Comparing Cells

Use what you know about each type of cell (reference pictures if needed), and place a check in the box if
the cell has that characteristic or structure.
Bacteria Plant Animal
Cell Wall
Cell Membrane
Nucleus
Cytosol
Central Vacuole
Chloroplast
Mitochondria
 Part G Cells Reading
(Annotate the text. Remember to circle and define unknown words and underline important concepts.)
On our planet Earth, life comes in a variety of forms. We have identified about 2 million
species of animals (such as elephants), 270,000 types of plants (such as sunflowers), 5,000
kinds of bacteria (such E. coli), 80,000 different protists (such as algae), and 72,000 assorted
fungi (such as mushrooms). What do all these organisms or living things have in common?
They are made of the same thing - the cell. Some like animals and plants consist of many or
even billions of cells, while others, like protists and bacteria, are unicellular.
Robert Hooke was the first scientist to solve this great mystery of life. When he observed
a thin slice of cork under a microscope in 1663, he noted that the cork looked like hundreds of
tiny boxes or a honeycomb. Hooke called these tiny boxes "cells", which means "little rooms" in
Latin. What Hooke did not realize at the time is that he was actually looking at the walls or
outer layers of cells, not inside cells themselves. Nearly two hundred years had elapsed before
any scientist made any new, significant break-through. The hard work put in by several
scientists of the 19th century derived the Cell Theory:
All living things are made of Cells are the basic units of life. All cells come from existing
one or more cells. cells.
Today, we know that a thin sheet, called a cell membrane, separates one cell from
another. We also know that there are two types of cells: prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells.
Two important factors set these two groups of cells apart. The first is the existence of a
nucleus, and the second is an organelle surrounded by a membrane. A nucleus is a special
membrane-covered organelle inside a cell where the cell's DNA or genetic material resides, and
an organelle is a structure inside a cell that enables the cell to grow, live, and reproduce. Some
organelles have membranes around them, but others do not.
A prokaryotic cell has neither a nucleus nor any membrane-covered organelle. In other
words, its DNA and organelles have no individual membranes surrounding them. Of all the living
things, only bacteria are prokaryotic cells. A eukaryotic cell, on the contrary, has a nucleus to
protect its DNA. Furthermore, all the organelles inside a eukaryotic cell are enclosed by their
own membranes. Animals, plants, protists, and fungi are eukaryotic cells.

Use your annotated text to answer the following questions:
1. How many types of organisms are there on Earth? c. a nucleus is a membrane-covered organelle
a. Five inside a eukaryotic cell where its DNA resides.
b. over two million d. a nucleus is also know as a cell membrane.
c. two hundred thousand 6. All organelles have membranes around them.
d. approximately four thousand a. true
2. Robert Hooke discovered cells in the 18th century. b. false
a. true 7. Which of the following organisms are prokaryotes?
b. false a. portabella mushroom
3. Which of the following is not considered a living thing? b. rose
a. soil c. butterfly
b. oak trees d. e. coli
c. sharks 8. What does the word cell mean in Latin?
d. pandas a. a membrane
4. Which of the following about the cell theory is correct? b. a honeycomb
a. the cell theory asserts that all cells come from c. a little room
existing cells. d. a nucleus
b. the cell theory states that all cells contain a 9. Which of the following best describes a eukaryotic
nucleus. cell?
c. the cell theory was established in 1665 by a. it can be found in our bodies
Robert Hooke. b. it does not have a nucleus
d. the cell theory says that a cell membrane c. it does not have a membrane-covered
separates one cell from another. organelle
5. Which of the following about a nucleus is true? d. it does not have DNA
a. a nucleus is the cells DNA/ 10. Cells are the basics units of life.
b. a nucleus is a membrane-covered organelle a. true
inside a prokaryotic cell when its DNA resides. b. false