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Biology journal Cambridge IGCSE 0610

Pupil sheet · Cells under the microscope

Plant and animal cells — questions

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Try every question before you use a nudge. Write in full sentences where you are asked to explain.

1. state

Which part of a cell controls which substances enter and leave it?

Circle one answer.

  • The cell wall
  • The nucleus
  • The cell membrane
  • The vacuole

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Think of the layer around the cytoplasm of every cell, plant or animal. The cell wall is outside it.

2. state / describe

Match each cell structure to what it does.

Write the number of the matching option.

  1. Contains the genetic material that controls the cell
  2. Photosynthesis
  3. Aerobic respiration: releases energy
  4. Makes proteins
  5. Stores cell sap; keeps the cell firm
  • Nucleus: ______
  • Chloroplast: ______
  • Mitochondrion: ______
  • Ribosome: ______
  • Large vacuole: ______

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Start with the two found only in plant cells: the chloroplast and the large vacuole.

3. state / describe

Match each part of a bacterial cell to what it does.

Write the number of the matching option.

  1. Keeps the cell’s shape and stops it bursting
  2. Controls what enters and leaves
  3. Carries the genes that control the cell
  4. Carries a few extra genes, such as one for surviving an antibiotic
  5. Makes proteins
  • Cell wall: ______
  • Cell membrane: ______
  • Circular DNA: ______
  • Plasmid: ______
  • Ribosome: ______

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Three of these do the same job as in a plant cell. The two that are new are the big loop of DNA and the small rings.

4. identify

This drawn view shows cheek cells at ×400. Which structures can you see in it? Choose all that you can see.

Drawn view of methylene-blue-stained cheek cells at ×400: flat, irregular cells, each with a thin outline, one dark blue nucleus and pale cytoplasm; there are gaps between the cells.

Tick every correct statement.

  • Cell membrane
  • Cell wall
  • Nucleus
  • Cytoplasm
  • Large vacuole
  • Chloroplasts

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Go round one cell from the outside in. Is its edge a firm wall, or only the thin outline of the cell itself? Then: what is the dark body, and what fills the rest?

5. compare

Compare the structure of a plant cell and an animal cell.

(a) Structures in both plant and animal cells

(b) Structures only in plant cells

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Make two lists: structures both cells have, and structures only plant cells have.

6. describe

Which statement about a bacterial cell is correct?

Circle one answer.

  • It has a nucleus containing circular DNA.
  • It has circular DNA in the cytoplasm and no nucleus.
  • It has no cell wall and no cell membrane.
  • It has chloroplasts but no ribosomes.

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Where is a bacterium’s DNA? Look at the labelled bacterial cell.

7. identify / explain

A student found three unknown cells. Cell X is 80 µm long, with a cell wall, a large vacuole and a nucleus, but no chloroplasts. Cell Y is 20 µm across, with a nucleus and a cell membrane but no cell wall. Cell Z is 2 µm long, with a cell wall and ribosomes but no nucleus. Decide whether each is a plant cell, an animal cell or a bacterium, and give one piece of evidence for each.

Cell X: kind of cell and evidence

Cell Y: kind of cell and evidence

Cell Z: kind of cell and evidence

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Start with the nucleus: which kind of cell has none? Then look for the features only plant cells have.