Chapter 2 : Cells
All orgnisms are made of cells. Cells are smallest units of life. All cells are
made from existing cells. New cells are fromed when a fully grown cell
divides into two or more parts. There are two types of organisms :
Multicellur : Made of more than one cell. Example : Animals, plants and
insects.
Unicellur : Made of only one cell. Example : Bacteria, yeast etc.
Cells : The smallest units from which all orgnasims are made.
List two differences between the two types of organisms.
Multicellur Unicellur
Made of more than one cell Made of only one cell
Example : Humans, Fishes, Mango Example : Bacteria, Yeast
trees
Microscopes :
To see cells cearly, we need to use a miocroscope. Microscopes are devices
that can help us to spectate cells using lenses to magnify nad focus the
sample of the image. There are two types of microscopes :
1) Light microscope :
Used to see cells by shining light
through specimens.
Can magnify up to 1500 times
Main parts of a light microscope:
o Eyepiece: Where you look
through
o Focusing knob: Adjusts clarity
o Objective lenses: Magnify the image
o Stage: Where the slide is placed
o Mirror: Reflects light through the specimen
Photomicrographs (light microscope images)
o Images taken with a light microscope
o Animal cells (trachea): show nucleus, cytoplasm, and
membrane
o Plant cells (moss): cell membranes visible clearly
2) Electron microscope :
Uses a beam of electrons instead of light
Magnifies up to 500,000x
Can see much smaller structures than light microscopes
Pls don’t share.
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
Don’t provide images that show colours.
Image produced: electron micrograph
Example: maize leaf cells
Light microscope : Microscope that use to see cells by shining light
through specimens. The images taken an light micrscope is called
photomicrographs.
Electron microscope : Microscope that use a beam of electrons instead
of light to see specimen. The images taken by an Electron microscope is
called elecron micrograph.
Differences between Light microscope and electron microscope :
Light Micrscope Electron Microscope
1. Makes cells visble by shining 1. Makes cells visible by
light shooting beams of electrons
2. Can magnify upto 1500 times 2. Can magnify upto 500,000
times
3. The images taken are known 3. The images taken are
as photomicrograph known as
electronmicrograph
4. Produce colourful pictures 4. Doesn’t provide colourful
pictures.
5. Ribosmes can’t be seen 5. Ribosmes can be seen
Images taken by an light microscope :
Different parts of Animal and plant cells :
Cell membrane :
Defination : A very thin layer surrounding the cytoplasm of every cell; it
controls what enters and leaves the cell
Functions :
o A very thin layer of protein and fat.
2|Page
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
o Very important to the cell as it controls the movement in and out of
cells.
o It is partially permeable; allows some molecules and ions to pass
through, but not others.
o Both plant and animal cells contin cell membrane.
o It is really hard to see cell membrane in a plant cell.
Composition : Made of a thin bilayer of protein and lipids
Cell Wall :
Defination : A tough layer outside the cell membrane; found in the cells
of plants, fungi and bacteria
Functions :
o Made mainly of cellulose.
o Helps to protect and support the cell.
o If the cell absorbs a lot of water and swells, the cell wall stops it
from bursting.
o Known as fully permeable membrane as there are many spaces
between fibres.
o Fully permeable means it allows all molecules and ions to pass
through it
o Only present in plant cells.
Composition :
o Cellulose belongs to a group of substnaces called polysaccharides.
o Has a criss cross and rigid structure
Cytoplasm :
Defination : The jelly-like material that fills a cell
Functions :
o Clear, jelly-like-sustance that feels the inside a cell.
o About 70% of it is water.
o Made of proteins and many dissolved substances.
o Many metabolic reaction (reactions of life) takes place in the
cytoplasm.
Vacuole :
Defination : a fluid-filled space inside a cell, separated from the
cytoplasm by a membrane.
Functions :
o Has its own membrane.
o Plants cells have very large vacuoles but animal cells have small
vacuoles called vesicles.
o Helps keep cell firm.
o Maintaines pressure in cells
o Contain a soloution of sugars and other subsrances in plants.
Nucleus (plu : nuclei) :
Defination : a structure containing DNA in the form of chromosomes.
Functions :
o Contains genetic material of an organism
o The information is kept in the chromosomes.
o The chromosomes are made of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
o The DNA determins the kinds of protein in a cell.
3|Page
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
Chloroplasts :
Defination : Small green structures found in plant cells.
Functions :
o Contain a green pigment caled chlorophyll that reponsibe for
catching light.
o Contain starch grains which are the excessive sugar stored by
plants by photosyntehesis process.
Mitochondria (sing : Mitochondion) :
Defination : a small structure in a cell, where aerobic respiration releases
energy from glucose
Functions :
o Can’t be seen by microscope.
o Aerobic respiration happens here.
o Aerobic repiration is the main way in which cels get the enrgy that
they need to stray alive
o The more the energy a plant needs, the more the mitochodrion it
has.
o Example : Muscle cells
Ribosomes :
Defination : very small structures in a cell that use information on DNA to
make protein molecules
Functions :
o Tiny structures found in all animal and plant cells.
o Made of mainly protein.
o They use info from DNA to make protein.
o Can only be seen by electron microscope
Bacterial cells :
Bacteria (sing : bacterium) :
Unicellular organisms whose
cells do not contain nucleus.
Structure of bacterial cell :
o Have cell, wall not made of cellulose, but perform same function.
o Have partially permeable membrane cell tightly pressed against the
inside if the bacterial cell wall.
o Have cytoplasm and ribosomes
o Don’t have nucleus, mitochondria and cytoplasm .
o Also known as Pro(before)karyotic(nuclues) cell.
4|Page
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
o Instead of chromosomes inside a nucleus, bacteria have a circular
DNA.
o Consists of plasmasids; one or more circular DNA.
Differences between Plant, Animal and Bacterial cells :
Plant Cells Animal Cells Bacterial Cells
Has cell wall made of Doesn’t have cell wall Has cell wall made of
cellulose peptidoglycan
Has nucleus Has nuclues Desn’t have nucleus
Has very thin area of Most of the cell is Doesn’t have cytoplasm
cytoplasm as most of cytosplasm
the plant cell is
occupied by vacuole
Specialized cells :
Speacialized cells are cells that have speacial adaptations and features and
have modified structure. Some examples of specialized cells are shown below
:
Tissues and Organs :
Tissue : A group of similar cells that work together to perform a particular
function.
Examples of tissues in animal :
o The layer of cells lining our stomach. These cell makes enzymes to help
us digets out food.
o The layer of muscke in the stomch wall, made of cells that can move.
This muscle tissue makes the wall of the stomach move in and out,
churning the food and mixing it up with enzymes.
5|Page
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
Example of tissues in plant cells :
o A layer of cells made of palisade tissue-adapted to carry
photosynthesis.
Organs : A group of tissues that work togather to perform a particular
function. Example : Stomach, onion bulb.
Organ system : several organs that work together to perform a particulaar
function. Example : Digestive system, Circulatory system, Excretory
system.
Hence we can say that :
Cells Tissues Organs Organ system Organism
Sizes of specimens :
Many of the structures that biologists study are very small. Cells, for
example, are so small that we cannot see them without a microscope. We
can tell some one how bigger the image is than the actual image is by telling
its magnification. But some times the object get so small that not even
millimeters is appropiate for it. Then we use micrometer. 1μm = 106
Magnification : How many times an image is than the actual object.
¿ image
Formula :
¿ actual object
: Example
Image size : 40 mm, Actual size : 8 mm.
¿ image 40
Magnification = = = x5
¿ actual object 8
Important points regarding :
o Make sure all the units in the calculation have same units
o Magnification don’t have any symbols
Keywords :
Cell membrane: a very thin layer surrounding the cytoplasm of every
cell; it controls what enters and leaves the cell
Partially permeable: allows some molecules and ions to pass through,
but not others
Cell wall: a tough layer outside the cell membrane; found in the cells of
plants, fungi and bacteria
Fully permeable: allows all molecules and ions to pass through it
Cytoplasm: the jelly-like material that fills a cell
Metabolic reactions: chemical reactions that take place in living
organisms
6|Page
Class 8 Cells By Uzair Ali Siam
Vacuole: a fluid-filled space inside a cell, separated from the cytoplasm
by a membrane
Cell sap: the fluid that fills the large vacuoles in plant cells
Vesicle: a very small vacuole
Chloroplasts: small structures found inside some plant cells, inside
which photosynthesis takes place
Starch grains: tiny pieces of starch, made of thousands of starch
molecules, that are stored in some plant cells
Nucleus: a structure containing DNA in the form of chromosomes
Chromosome: a length of DNA, found in the nucleus of a cell; it
contains genetic information in the form of many different genes
DNA: a molecule that contains genetic information, in the form of
genes, that controls the proteins that are made in the cell
Mitochondrion: a small structure in a cell, where aerobic respiration
releases energy from glucose
Aerobic respiration: chemical reactions that take place in
mitochondria, which use oxygen to break down glucose and other
nutrient molecules to release energy for the cell to use
Ribosomes: very small structures in a cell that use information on
DNA to make protein molecules
Bacteria: unicellular organisms whose cells do no contain a nucleus
Prokaryotic cells: cells with no nucleus; bacteria have prokaryotic
cells
Plasmids: small, circular molecules of DNA, found in many prokaryotic
cells in addition to the main, much larger circle of DNA.
organ: a group of tissues that work together to perform a particular
function
organ system: several organs that work together to perform a
particular function
magnification: how many times larger an image than the actual
object.
Tissue: Group of similar cells that work together to perform a function.
7|Page