← Back to the activity

Grade 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 organization 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.

123456
  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.Why do cells in a multicellular body take on specialized jobs rather than each doing everything?

    • a) A cell can carry out one process and no more
    • b) Specialized cells need no nucleus
    • c) Cells of the same shape cannot sit next to one another
    • d) Specializing and then cooperating improves the organism's chance of survival

  2. 2.Put the levels of organization in a living body in order, from the smallest upwards.

    • Tissue
    • Organ
    • Organism
    • Organ system
    • Cell

  3. 3.Which part is present in an onion peel cell but absent from a human cheek cell?

    • a) The cell wall
    • b) The nucleus
    • c) The cell membrane
    • d) The cytoplasm

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

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

  5. 5.Match each level of organization to what it is built from.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    • Muscle cell
    • Cheek cell
    • Nerve cell

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

  1. 1. d) Specializing and then cooperating improves the organism's chance of survival
  2. 2. 1. Cell 2. Tissue 3. Organ 4. Organ system 5. Organism
  3. 3. a) The cell wall
  4. 4. 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
  5. 5. Tissue → a group of similar cells; Organ → different tissues working together; Organ system → several organs carrying out one major body function
  6. 6. b) The plant cell has one large vacuole; an animal cell's are usually absent or small
  7. 7. d) The egg
  8. 8. Muscle cell → Spindle-shaped; Nerve cell → Long and branched; Cheek cell → Thin and flat