ScienceAges 13-15

Plant & animal cell structures

Compare plant and animal cell organelles, specialised cells, diffusion, osmosis and microscopy. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 13-15

Plant & animal cell structures

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Which tiny structures in the cell assemble amino acids into proteins according to genetic instructions: ribosomes or vacuoles?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
2. Which cellular transport process moves ions or molecules AGAINST a concentration gradient (from low to high concentration) and requires energy from respiration (ATP): active transport or diffusion?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
3. Which thin, selectively permeable layer surrounds both plant and animal cells and controls what substances enter and leave the cell: the cell membrane or the vacuole?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
4. What type of cell division produces two genetically identical daughter cells for growth and tissue repair: mitosis or fertilisation?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
5. In a light microscope, if the eyepiece lens has a magnification of ×10 and the objective lens has a magnification of ×40, what is the total magnification: ×400 or ×50?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
6. Single-celled organisms such as bacteria that lack a membrane-bound nucleus (their DNA floats in the cytoplasm) are called: prokaryotic cells or eukaryotic cells?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
7. How is a nerve cell (neurone) adapted to carry electrical impulses rapidly over long distances in the body: it has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites, or it is spherical?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
8. Which organelle packages and modifies proteins into vesicles for secretion outside the cell: the Golgi apparatus or the cell wall?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
9. Which organelles are the “powerhouses” of the cell where aerobic cellular respiration releases energy (ATP): mitochondria or ribosomes?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
10. What do we call a group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function (such as muscle tissue or xylem tissue): a tissue or an ecosystem?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
11. Why do biologists often add a drop of stain (such as iodine or methylene blue) when preparing a microscope slide of onion or cheek cells: to make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible, or to feed the cells?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
12. What is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high water potential) to a more concentrated solution (low water potential) across a partially permeable membrane: osmosis or respiration?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane

12 questions · Seed 47 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 13-15

Plant & animal cell structures

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Which tiny structures in the cell assemble amino acids into proteins according to genetic instructions: ribosomes or vacuoles?
Ribosomes
Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis (translation) in all living cells.
2. Which cellular transport process moves ions or molecules AGAINST a concentration gradient (from low to high concentration) and requires energy from respiration (ATP): active transport or diffusion?
Active transport
Active transport uses carrier proteins and metabolic energy (ATP) to pump substances uphill against a gradient.
3. Which thin, selectively permeable layer surrounds both plant and animal cells and controls what substances enter and leave the cell: the cell membrane or the vacuole?
Cell membrane
The plasma (cell) membrane regulates the movement of ions, water and nutrients in and out of the cell.
4. What type of cell division produces two genetically identical daughter cells for growth and tissue repair: mitosis or fertilisation?
Mitosis
Mitosis replicates chromosomes and divides once to yield two identical diploid cells.
5. In a light microscope, if the eyepiece lens has a magnification of ×10 and the objective lens has a magnification of ×40, what is the total magnification: ×400 or ×50?
×400
Total magnification = eyepiece magnification × objective magnification = 10 × 40 = ×400.
6. Single-celled organisms such as bacteria that lack a membrane-bound nucleus (their DNA floats in the cytoplasm) are called: prokaryotic cells or eukaryotic cells?
Prokaryotic cells
Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) have no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles.
7. How is a nerve cell (neurone) adapted to carry electrical impulses rapidly over long distances in the body: it has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites, or it is spherical?
It has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites
Dendrites receive signals from other cells and the long axon transmits impulses rapidly.
8. Which organelle packages and modifies proteins into vesicles for secretion outside the cell: the Golgi apparatus or the cell wall?
Golgi apparatus
The Golgi apparatus processes, sorts and packages proteins and lipids for transport.
9. Which organelles are the “powerhouses” of the cell where aerobic cellular respiration releases energy (ATP): mitochondria or ribosomes?
Mitochondria
Mitochondria carry out aerobic respiration, converting glucose and oxygen into usable ATP energy.
10. What do we call a group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function (such as muscle tissue or xylem tissue): a tissue or an ecosystem?
Tissue
A tissue is an assembly of specialised cells with a shared structure and function.
11. Why do biologists often add a drop of stain (such as iodine or methylene blue) when preparing a microscope slide of onion or cheek cells: to make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible, or to feed the cells?
To make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible
Most cell organelles are nearly colourless; stains bind to structures like starch or DNA to create contrast.
12. What is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high water potential) to a more concentrated solution (low water potential) across a partially permeable membrane: osmosis or respiration?
Osmosis
Osmosis is the special case of diffusion involving water across a selectively permeable membrane.

12 questions · Seed 47 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 13-15

Plant & animal cell structures

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Which tiny structures in the cell assemble amino acids into proteins according to genetic instructions: ribosomes or vacuoles?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
2. Which cellular transport process moves ions or molecules AGAINST a concentration gradient (from low to high concentration) and requires energy from respiration (ATP): active transport or diffusion?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
3. Which thin, selectively permeable layer surrounds both plant and animal cells and controls what substances enter and leave the cell: the cell membrane or the vacuole?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
4. What type of cell division produces two genetically identical daughter cells for growth and tissue repair: mitosis or fertilisation?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
5. In a light microscope, if the eyepiece lens has a magnification of ×10 and the objective lens has a magnification of ×40, what is the total magnification: ×400 or ×50?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
6. Single-celled organisms such as bacteria that lack a membrane-bound nucleus (their DNA floats in the cytoplasm) are called: prokaryotic cells or eukaryotic cells?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
7. How is a nerve cell (neurone) adapted to carry electrical impulses rapidly over long distances in the body: it has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites, or it is spherical?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
8. Which organelle packages and modifies proteins into vesicles for secretion outside the cell: the Golgi apparatus or the cell wall?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
9. Which organelles are the “powerhouses” of the cell where aerobic cellular respiration releases energy (ATP): mitochondria or ribosomes?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
10. What do we call a group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function (such as muscle tissue or xylem tissue): a tissue or an ecosystem?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
11. Why do biologists often add a drop of stain (such as iodine or methylene blue) when preparing a microscope slide of onion or cheek cells: to make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible, or to feed the cells?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane
12. What is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high water potential) to a more concentrated solution (low water potential) across a partially permeable membrane: osmosis or respiration?
Nucleus · Cytoplasm · Membrane

12 questions · Seed 47 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 13-15

Plant & animal cell structures

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Which tiny structures in the cell assemble amino acids into proteins according to genetic instructions: ribosomes or vacuoles?
Ribosomes
Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis (translation) in all living cells.
2. Which cellular transport process moves ions or molecules AGAINST a concentration gradient (from low to high concentration) and requires energy from respiration (ATP): active transport or diffusion?
Active transport
Active transport uses carrier proteins and metabolic energy (ATP) to pump substances uphill against a gradient.
3. Which thin, selectively permeable layer surrounds both plant and animal cells and controls what substances enter and leave the cell: the cell membrane or the vacuole?
Cell membrane
The plasma (cell) membrane regulates the movement of ions, water and nutrients in and out of the cell.
4. What type of cell division produces two genetically identical daughter cells for growth and tissue repair: mitosis or fertilisation?
Mitosis
Mitosis replicates chromosomes and divides once to yield two identical diploid cells.
5. In a light microscope, if the eyepiece lens has a magnification of ×10 and the objective lens has a magnification of ×40, what is the total magnification: ×400 or ×50?
×400
Total magnification = eyepiece magnification × objective magnification = 10 × 40 = ×400.
6. Single-celled organisms such as bacteria that lack a membrane-bound nucleus (their DNA floats in the cytoplasm) are called: prokaryotic cells or eukaryotic cells?
Prokaryotic cells
Prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) have no nucleus or membrane-bound organelles.
7. How is a nerve cell (neurone) adapted to carry electrical impulses rapidly over long distances in the body: it has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites, or it is spherical?
It has a long insulated axon and branched dendrites
Dendrites receive signals from other cells and the long axon transmits impulses rapidly.
8. Which organelle packages and modifies proteins into vesicles for secretion outside the cell: the Golgi apparatus or the cell wall?
Golgi apparatus
The Golgi apparatus processes, sorts and packages proteins and lipids for transport.
9. Which organelles are the “powerhouses” of the cell where aerobic cellular respiration releases energy (ATP): mitochondria or ribosomes?
Mitochondria
Mitochondria carry out aerobic respiration, converting glucose and oxygen into usable ATP energy.
10. What do we call a group of similar cells that work together to perform a specific function (such as muscle tissue or xylem tissue): a tissue or an ecosystem?
Tissue
A tissue is an assembly of specialised cells with a shared structure and function.
11. Why do biologists often add a drop of stain (such as iodine or methylene blue) when preparing a microscope slide of onion or cheek cells: to make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible, or to feed the cells?
To make transparent cell structures such as the nucleus clearly visible
Most cell organelles are nearly colourless; stains bind to structures like starch or DNA to create contrast.
12. What is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high water potential) to a more concentrated solution (low water potential) across a partially permeable membrane: osmosis or respiration?
Osmosis
Osmosis is the special case of diffusion involving water across a selectively permeable membrane.

12 questions · Seed 47 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification