Exercises: Cell Organelles and Their Functions

Name the organelle that contains a cell's DNA and controls the cell's activities. Then state whether this organelle is found in plant cells, animal cells, or both.

Chloroplasts and mitochondria both help a cell get usable energy. State the function of each organelle in one sentence, and say which one is found only in plant cells.

Match each structure to its function: (a) cell wall, (b) cell membrane, (c) ribosomes, (d) vacuole. The functions, in scrambled order, are: (1) stores water, nutrients, or wastes; (2) controls what enters and leaves the cell; (3) builds proteins; (4) gives a plant cell rigid support and protection.

Emma looks at two cells under a microscope. Cell A has a rectangular shape, a large central vacuole, and green organelles. Cell B is round and irregular, with no green organelles and no rigid outer layer. Identify which cell is a plant cell and which is an animal cell. Name two structures from the description that support your answer and explain what each does.

A muscle cell in an athlete's leg needs far more energy than a skin cell does. Predict which of the two cells has more mitochondria and explain why. In your answer, describe what mitochondria do with the food molecules that enter the cell.

Jayden places a plant cell and an animal cell in pure water. The animal cell may burst, but the plant cell keeps its shape. Explain this difference using the cell membrane and the cell wall. Say what job each structure does in this situation.

A pancreas cell makes large amounts of a protein hormone and sends it out of the cell. Trace the path of the instructions and materials by naming and describing the roles of the nucleus, the ribosomes, the cytoplasm, and the cell membrane. Then predict what would happen to hormone production if the ribosomes stopped working, and justify your prediction.

A scientist studies a leaf cell and a root cell from the same plant. The leaf cell has many chloroplasts. The root cell has none but has many mitochondria and a large vacuole. Compare the two cells and explain why each has the organelles it does. Then explain why the root cell can survive without chloroplasts, and describe what the plant must supply to it. Use a claim, evidence, and reasoning format.