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Year 8 Science — The cell, the basic unit of life

Name the parts of a cell and what each does, tell a plant cell from an animal cell, and put the levels of organisation in order.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

Six parts of a plant cell are marked out here. Take them one at a time, and each will name itself.

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  1. 1. Cell wall
  2. 2. Cell membrane
  3. 3. Cytoplasm
  4. 4. Vacuole
  5. 5. Chloroplast
  6. 6. Nucleus

The cell wall and the chloroplasts are the two parts you would not find if this were an animal cell.

  1. 1.Match each part of a cell to the job it does.

    • Cell membrane
    • Cytoplasm
    • Nucleus
    • Cell wall
    • regulates what the cell does and how it grows
    • the place where most life processes happen
    • an extra outer layer that stiffens the cell
    • separates one cell from the next and lets material in and out

  2. 2.Who made better lenses in the 1660s, was the first to see and describe bacteria and blood cells, and is called the Father of Microbiology?

    • a) Acharya Kanad
    • b) Robert Hooke
    • c) Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty
    • d) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

  3. 3.A bacterial cell differs from a plant, animal or fungal cell in one striking way. Which?

    • a) It has no cytoplasm
    • b) It has two nuclei rather than one
    • c) It has no well-defined nucleus, carrying a nucleoid instead
    • d) It has no cell membrane

  4. 4.The life of a complex organism begins with a single cell. Which one?

    • a) A cheek cell
    • b) The egg
    • c) A nerve cell
    • d) A muscle cell

  5. 5.How does the vacuole in a plant cell differ from those in an animal cell?

    • a) The plant cell has one large vacuole; an animal cell's are usually absent or small
    • b) Vacuoles are found in animal cells and not in plant cells
    • c) The vacuole in a plant cell is filled with chlorophyll
    • d) The plant cell has many tiny vacuoles; an animal cell has one large one

  6. 6.Robert Hooke looked at a thin slice of cork and saw rows of small empty compartments. What did he call each one, and why does it matter?

    • a) A tissue — the first use of the word in science
    • b) A microbe — the first use of the word in science
    • c) A cell — the first use of the word in science
    • d) A nucleus — the first use of the word in science

  7. 7.Match each level of organisation to what it is built from.

    • Tissue
    • Organ
    • Organ system
    • a group of similar cells
    • several organs carrying out one major body function
    • different tissues working together

  8. 8.Three kinds of human cell, sorted by their shape under the microscope.

    Groups: Spindle-shaped · Long and branched · Thin and flat

    • Cheek cell
    • Muscle cell
    • Nerve cell

Answer key — Year 8 Science — The cell, the basic unit of life

  1. 1. Cell membrane → separates one cell from the next and lets material in and out; Cytoplasm → the place where most life processes happen; Nucleus → regulates what the cell does and how it grows; Cell wall → an extra outer layer that stiffens the cell
  2. 2. d) Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
  3. 3. c) It has no well-defined nucleus, carrying a nucleoid instead
  4. 4. b) The egg
  5. 5. a) The plant cell has one large vacuole; an animal cell's are usually absent or small
  6. 6. c) A cell — the first use of the word in science
  7. 7. Tissue → a group of similar cells; Organ → different tissues working together; Organ system → several organs carrying out one major body function
  8. 8. Muscle cell → Spindle-shaped; Nerve cell → Long and branched; Cheek cell → Thin and flat