Comparing Plant and Animal Cells Lab

Objectives: In this lab you will observe cell structures, compare and contrast animal and plant
cells and relate the structure of a cell to its function.

Materials: glass slides, coverslips, pipette, water, microscope, toothpick, onion, Elodea plant
in water, methylene blue, iodine solution, papertowel

Procedure:

Part 1: Plant Cells

Onion bulbs are organized tissue that, under appropriate conditions, will give rise to an entire
plant. The curved pieces that flake away from an slice of onion are called scales. On the
underside of each scale is a thin membrane called the epidermis.

1. Obtain a piece of onion and remove one of the scales from it. Use forceps (tweezers) to pull
away the epidermis from the inner surface. Be careful not to wrinkle the membrane. Place a
drop of water on the center of a microscope slide and cut a very small square piece of onion
membrane. Using a toothpick to straighten out any wrinkles, place the membrane sample in the
drop of water. Take a coverslip and carefully place it over the sample, lowering it at an angle to
the slide.

2 Examine the epidermis under low and high power. Unstained specimens are often seen with
less light so try turning down the amount of light using your diaphragm. Draw (TO SCALE)
what you see under low and high power. Be sure to label the magnification of each drawing.

______________________ _______________________
 Question 1 – How many layers thick does the onion epidermis appear to be?

Question 2 – What is the general shape of a typical cell?

3. To stain your specimen, remove your slide from the microscope. Place a drop of iodine on
the side of the coverslip so that the drop is just touching the edge of the coverslip. Draw the
water from underneath the cover slip with a piece of paper towel placed edge to the opposite
side of the coverslip from the iodine drop. The stain will be drawn under the coverslip to
replace the water and stain the cells. Draw the cells again as you did before.

_____________________________ _______________________________

QUESTION 3 – Within an individual cell, where are the cytoplasm and nucleus found?

QUESTION 4 – Label the following structures in the cell drawings above: nucleus, cell
Wall, central vacuole, cytoplasm

5. Obtain a single leaf of Elodea (from the young leaves at the tip) and prepare a wet mount as
you did before. Again, draw the specimens under low and high power. Also, take notice of the
way it looks under medium power as well.
_____________________________ _______________________________

QUESTION 5 – Draw a single chloroplast using color!

QUESTION 6 – Are the chloroplasts moving or stationary?

QUESTION 7 – In what ways are the cells of onion epidermis and Elodea similar?
Different?

QUESTION 8 – What observable characteristics can be used as evidence for classifying

a specimen as a plant? Use information from your textbook to help you
with this question.
 Part 2: Animal Cells

6. Prepare a slide of epithelial cells from your oral cavity, by the following procedure. Place a
drop of methylene blue on a glass slide. Take a flat toothpick ( a NEW one ) and using the
large end, gently scrape the inside of your cheek 3 or 4 times. Gently mix the end of the
toothpick with the methylene blue dye. Take a coverslip and carefully place it over the sample,
lowering it at an angle to the slide.

7. Examine and draw the cells under low and high power. Be sure to draw the cells to scale as
you see them in the microscope’s field of view.

_________________________ __________________________.

QUESTION 9 – Inside the mouth, these cells are joined together in a sheet. Why are
they scattered here?

QUESTION 10 – How are these animal cells different from the plant cells you
observed?

QUESTION 11 – Label the cell membrane, nucleus, and cytoplasm in the cells you drew
above.
 QUESTION 12 – What is the relationship between plant cell structure and the ability of
plants to stand upright?

8. Wash and DRY your microscope slide and place it back in the box. Return coverslips and
any staining solutions. Your microscope should be put away properly and your lab table
should be wiped down even if it does not look dirty!