Name:________________

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: 4 Glass slides, 4 cover slips, 1 pipette, water,

microscope, 4 toothpicks, onion, Elodea plant, fish, liver,
methylene blue, iodine solution, paper towel

Procedure:
Part 1: Plant Cells

Onions are organized tissue that, under appropriate conditions, will give rise to an entire plant.
You may not know it, but they grow underground in the dirt, with their green leafy tops sticking
up out of the ground.

The curved layers or pieces that pull apart from a slice of onion are called scales. On the
underside of each scale is a thin membrane called the epidermis.

A. Obtain a piece of onion and remove one of the scales from it. Use forceps (tweezers) to pull
away the thin 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 cover slip and carefully place it over the sample, lowering it at an angle to
the slide.

B Examine the onion 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.
2 points
 ______________________ _______________________

QUESTION 1 – How many layers thick does the onion epidermis appear to be? (use your fine
adjustment knob for looking for the layers) ___________________________

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

C. To stain your specimen, remove your slide from the microscope. Gently lift the coverslip
off of the onion cell specimen and carefully blot the water from the specimen with a paper
towel. Place two drops of iodine solution on the onion cells and replace the coverslip. Allow
the iodine to soak into the onion for two minutes before observing the cell under the
microscope. Draw the cells again as you did before.

_____________________________ ___________________________

QUESTION 3 – Label the following structures in the cell drawings above: nucleus, cell
wall, and cytoplasm.

D. Obtain a single leaf of Elodea (from the young leaves at the tip) and prepare a wet mount as
you did before but without iodine. Again, draw the specimens under low and high power. Also,
take notice of the way it looks under medium power as well.
 _____________________________ _______________________________

QUESTION 4 – Are the chloroplasts moving or stationary?

QUESTION 5 – In what ways are the cells of onion epidermis and Elodea similar?
Different?

QUESTION 6 – There were many chloroplasts in the Elodea cell, but what about the onion
cell? Did you see them?________ EXPLAIN why or why not.

Part 2: Animal Cells

E. Prepare a slide of liver cells from the provided sample given to you. 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 the fish 3 or 4 times. Do not GOUGE. Cells fall off on the inside of
your fish all the time, and that is what you’re after. They are microscopic so you won’t
necessarily see them on the toothpick. 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.

F. 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. 2 points

_________________________ __________________________.
QUESTION 7 – Label the cell membrane, nucleus, and cytoplasm in the cells you
drew above.

QUESTION 8 – Inside the fish, these cells are joined together in a sheet. Why are they
scattered here?

QUESTION 9 – How are these animal cells different from the plant cells you observed? Fill in
the graphic organizer on your answer sheet. YOU MAY NEED YOUR NOTES!

QUESTION 10 – What is the relationship between plant cell structure and the ability of plants
to stand upright without bones?

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