The Cell

Today's lesson will cover the basics of cells and cell types. This will cover California's Science Content Standard Biology/Life Sciences 1a and 1c:

• 1a:  Students know cells are enclosed within semipermeable membranes that regulate their interaction with their surroundings.

• 1c: Students know how prokaryotic cells, eukaryotic cells (including those from plants and animals), and viruses differ in complexity and general structure.

Introduction

The cell is the most basic unit of life. These microscopic building blocks are what all living organisms are composed of. You, me, plants, animals: all are made up of millions upon millions of cells. Your body alone is composed of up to 100 trillion cells. That's quite a big number. Before we start our lesson, look at the interactive tool below to get a feel for how big (or small) cells really are.

click here to go the interactive module

Task

For this lesson you will create two Venn diagrams. The first diagram will compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The second diagram will compare the eukaryotic cells of plants and animals. (You won't be required to include it in your diagrams, but keep in mind where you think viruses would belong in your diagrams. We will be discussing viruses on a later date.)

Resources

Watch the two videos below for a brief introduction to prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

Now that you've been introduced to the different cell types, spend some additional time learning about the specifics of each. View and read the two interactive modules below to gain more specific knowledge about cells.

• Prokaryotic Cells

• Eukaryotic Cells - Plants and Animal cells

Process

With your new knowledge about the different types of cells you are now ready to complete the lesson of creating two Venn Diagrams. First, watch the video below for a quick review of what a Venn diagram is.

Ok, now that we're all caught up, let's create two Venn diagrams as described above under the "Task" heading.

Click here to visit the Class Tools website to create your Venn diagram. Choose "2-Circle" and now you're ready to start. Be sure to write in your name and title for each diagram accordingly. At the bottom of the screen you will see two boxes "factor 1" and "factor 2". This is where you would write "eukaryotic" and "prokaryotic" for the first diagram and "plant" and "animal" in the second. Just click inside the circles to write what you need to to complete the diagrams.

Once you're complete, you will need to save your diagram so you can submit it for grading. At the bottom right of the screen you will see a floppy disk that says "Save as Web Page" when you hover over it. Click this when you are ready to save. This is save your diagram as a webpage. To submit your two diagrams, comment on this post with the URL to your diagrams.

You will be submitting two separate diagrams. Please review the "Task" heading if you're confused.

Grading

You will be graded on the accurateness of your Venn diagrams. Be sure to include structural differences and list out organelles. This assignment is worth a total of 15 points.

Conclusion

This brief lesson is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the discussion of cells. Entire classes are devoted to the cell and you've only learned the basics of what there is to know. But, you should know the key differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. You should also know the differences between plants and animals cells as well. Knowing these basics of cell structure will make learning more complex issues of cell biology even easier in the future.

As with any assignment, be sure to email me if you  any questions or concerns regarding this lesson.