Schools Division Office – City of Mandaluyong

City of Mandaluyong Science High School

E. Pantaleon St., Hulo, Mandaluyong City
Senior High School Department

Cells : The Basic Unit of Life

Adriano, Ezechiel John F.1, Orallo, Andrian L.2
1Student, City of Mandaluyong Science High School
2Faculty, City of Mandaluyong Science High School

ABSTRACT

Cells are the basic unit of life, which performs a variety of process on the body. It can come in
different structures. The main types are animal and plant cells, which are differentiated through
their cell structures. Certain organelles can be specifically found on only one of each. While plant
cells have cell walls, chloroplasts and plastids, only animal cells have centrioles. Having their
respective distinct organelles, this can also have different effects on certain processes such as
osmosis. By having specimens of both types of cells, with the use of microscopes to observe them, it
can identify their distinctive features in different aspects – from cell structures to their behavior on
varying processes.

Keywords: cell wall, chloroplasts, plastids, centriole, osmosis

INTRODUCTION enters or exits the cell. Materials move

through the cytoplasm, the watery cell
The cell is the basic structural, functional,
fluid that transports materials from one
and biological unit of all known living
place to another, largely by diffusion. A
organisms. A cell is the smallest unit of
cytoskeleton maintains cell shape and
life. Cells are often called the "building
provides movement (Feher 2012). Cell
blocks of life". Cells consist of cytoplasm
structures differs from every type of cell.
enclosed within a membrane, which
For animal cells and plant cells, some
contains many biomolecules such as
organelles may not be present in each.
proteins and nucleic acids (Alberts n.d.).
While cell wall, chloroplasts, and plastids
Organsims can be classified as unicellular
are only present in plant cells, centrioles
(e.g bacteria) or multicellular (e.g plant
are also only present in animals cells.
and animal cells). Each cell consists of a
Observing different specimens under the
number of organelles, so named because
microscope can help differentiate
they contribute to overall cell function in
distinctive organelles between animal
as much the same way as the organs
cells and plant cells and see how their
contribute to bodily function. The cell
structures vary. Which is important,
membrane determines the inside and
because each structure consist of a
outside of a cell. This is the customs
officer of the cell, determining what
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specific function that has an effect on the and salt solution and were observed in
organisms’ body processes. the microscope and the results are
documented.
METHODOLOGY
Flowchart
Plant Cells

For the first specimen, a thin skin of the Gathering of Materials

Allium cepa bulb was peeled off using a
scalpel or a blade. The second specimen Plant Cell Experiment
is from a Solanum lycopersicum fruit from
which thin slices was cutted using the Animal Cell Experiment
scalpel. For the third specimen, a
Tradescantia spathacea leaf was used. A Documentation
part of its bottom was cutted using a
scalpel. The fourth specimen was a S. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
tuberosum tuber, a 2-3 cell thick portions
of it was cutted with a scalpel. All of the
specimens were mounted in glass slides
and were viewed on a compound
microscope, the results were documented
after. Next, leaves of Hydrilla sp. were
mounted on three glass slides with NSS,
distilled water and salt solution. The
specimens were observed in a microscope
and the results were also documented
after.
FIGURE 1.1 : Allium cepa under HPO
Animal Cells

For the first specimen, a toothpick was

used in order to scrape off fragments
inside the mouth in order to gather inner
cheek cells. These were mounted on a
glass slide with NSS and were observed
on a microscope. The results were
documented after. The second specimen
requires blood samples, which were FIGURE 1.2 : Solanum lycopersicum
collected using a lancet to prick the finger under HPO
in order to collect blood. Two drops of the
blood samples were mounted on three
different slides with NSS, distilled water
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FIGURE 1.3 : Tradescantia spathacea
under HPO
FIGURE 1.7 : Hydrilla sp. with distilled
water under HPO

FIGURE 1.4 : S. tuberosum under HPO

FIGURE 2.1 : Cheek cell with NSS under

HPO

FIGURE 1.5 : Hydrilla sp. with NSS

under HPO

FIGURE 2.2 : Cheek cell with Salt

Solution under HPO

FIGURE 1.6 : Hydrilla sp. with Salt

Solution under HPO
FIGURE 2.3 : Cheek cell with distilled
water under HPO
FIGURE 2.4 : Blood smear with NSS
under HPO
FIGURE 2.5 : Blood smear with Salt
Solution under HPO
FIGURE 2.6 : Blood smear with distilled
water under HPO
As seen in Figure 1.1, the specimen Allium
cepa which uses the HPO objective can be
seen as crystals. These crystals are the
plant’s cell wall, with dots on their
middles, which is the nucleus of the cell.
Since the bulb part of the plant was taken,
chloroplasts of the cell were not seen
because of its presence on the leafy part
of the plant only. On the Solanum
lycopersicumi which is seen in Figure 1.2,
several spots are visible in the cell of the
tomato. These are plastids, classified as
chromoplasts, which are colored plastids
– specifically rhodoplasts, which has
phycoerythrin, that gives off red pigments
explaining the color of tomato. For Figure
!.4, the S. tuberosum as viewed on the
microscope, the present leucoplasts in the
cell can be seen. Specifically, these
amyloplasts, as classified, contains starch
grains that aren’t visible on the
microscope, unless subjected to iodine.
The iodine drops that were added in the
slide can help highlight the starch grains
on the amyloplasts to make it visible. In
Figures 1.5 and 1.6, it can be seen that the
Hydrilla sp, with the administration of
both NSS and Salt solution respectively.
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the specimen has a shrunken vacuole and
the cytoplasm is completely pulled away
from the cell wall of the plant. This is
caused by osmosis. Cell walls are semi-
permeable, from which molecules can
enter in it. In the experiment, both NSS
and Salt solution were administered. NSS
is a hypertonic solution, from which they
have lower water concentrations, as a
result, water molecules from the cell –
specifically in the cytoplasm pulls away
from the cell wall. The loss of water
causes the cell to reduce volume as well,
resulting to shrinkage of organelles in the
cell. The salt solution has a higher
concentration of salt which is isotonic to
the cell, meaning the size is still the same.
Compared to Figure 1.7, it can be seen
that the Hydrilla sp. with distilled water
which is a hypotonic solution, the
structure of the cell significantly
increased in size.
For the cheek cells, as seen in Figures 2.1,
2.2 and 2.3, specific parts of the cell are
only recognized which are the nucleus,
cytoplasm and the cell membrane. For the
blood smears, in Figure 2.4, NSS was used
as a stain for the specimen. NSS is a
hypertonic solution which leads to the
cell becoming smaller as the water moves
out to the cell. In Figure 2.5, Salt solution
was used as a stain for the blood smear.
Since it is isotonic to the cell, the size will
not change. Lastly, in Figure 2.6, the stain
used was distilled water, and since it is a
hypotonic solution, the water will then
diffuse inside the cell which gives it a
bloated look, enlarging until it ruptures
the cells.
CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
It can be seen in the observations on the
microscope the differences between plant
cells and animal cells. Cell structures of
plant cells are different from animal cells,
having cell walls and vacuoles that can
prevent the cell from rupturing, as seen in
Figure 2.6, where the blood smear with
distilled water ruptures the cell due to its
absence of the cell wall and the vacuole.
Their behavior on certain process differ
as well. On osmotic processes, plant cells
are less likely to be ruptured than animal
cells, because of certain organelles
present on plant cells than in animal cells.
Recommendations
When preparing the specimens, always
make sure that the stain is adequate
enough to take effect on the specimen and
use thin slices of each in order to
accurately see the cells of the specimen.
REFERENCES
Alberts, Bruce. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th
edition. n.d.
Feher, Joseph. Quantitative Human Physiology.
Academic Press, 2012.
.