Comparing Plant and
Animal Cells
Chapter 1 Lesson 2
What we already know…
▪ All living things are made of cells
▪ Some animals and plants are made of many cells and some are only
made of one single cell
▪ But, plant and animals cells are not identical
Similarities of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both have a cell membrane
▪ Cell membranes are a thin
layer that surrounds and
holds cells together
▪ Kind of like how skin holds
us together!
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both are filled with Cytoplasm
▪ Cytoplasm is a gel like
substance containing
chemicals needed by the cell.
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both cells have a Nucleus
▪ The Nucleus is the information
and control center of the cell.
▪ Kind of like your brain!
▪ The nucleus is also where DNA is
stored.
▪ DNA is the chemical inside cells
that stores information about an
organism.
Difference:
▪ Some large animal cells have more
than one nucleus. All plant cells only
have one.
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both have mitochondria.
▪ Mitochondria is an organelle
that uses oxygen to break
down food and release
energy in chemical bonds.
▪ Kind of like your digestion
system!
Difference
▪ Animal cells mainly use
Mitochondria for their energy.
Plants use something called
chloroplast.
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both have Vacuoles
▪ Vacuoles store substances
such as food, water, and
waste products
▪ Like a storage facility
Difference
▪ Animal cells have many small
Vacuoles. Plants have one
large vacuole.
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ Both have Ribosomes
▪ Ribosomes are a
protein builder of the
cell
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ They both have
endoplasmic reticulum
▪ Endoplasmic Reticulum
are a system of tubes that
processes and transports
proteins outside the cell.
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
▪ They both have Golgi
Bodies
▪ Golgi Bodies package
and distribute proteins
that provide structure
to the cell
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
Plant Cells Have Cell Walls
• Cell Walls are the outer part
of a plant cell that provides
structure to the cell
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
Plant Cells Have Chloroplasts
• Chloroplasts capture the
light energy from the sun to
make food
Similarities and Differences of Plan and Animal Cells
Animal cells have Lysosomes.
• Lysosomes break down
substances in the cell.
Cells Store and Use energy
▪ The energy that cells need comes originally from the sun.
▪ Chloroplasts in plant cells trap the sun’s light energy and change it
into chemical energy.
▪ The chemical energy is stored in chemical bonds between atoms of
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen.
▪ Atoms are the basic unit of matter.
Cells Store and Use energy
▪ Chemical bonds hold the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
together to form molecules.
▪ Molecules are the smallest particle of a substance that has all the properties of
the substance.
▪ Cells can combine these molecules with other atoms to form larger
molecules.
Cells Store and Use energy
▪ Both plant and animal cells break down these molecules by breaking
the chemical bonds.
▪ Energy is released when these bonds are broken and the cells can
either use it or store it.
Cells Store and Use energy
▪ The mitochondria in plant and animal cells use oxygen to release the
energy in these chemical bonds.
▪ Cells store energy in ATP molecules.
▪ ATP molecules are high-energy molecules that store energy in a form the cells
can easily use.
▪ When the cells need energy, the ATP is broken down to release
energy.
Cells Store and Use Information
▪ Remember: the nucleus in plant and animal cells is the control center
of the cell and contain the DNA of the cell.
▪ The DNA has instruction for all the cell’s activities.
▪ One activity is putting together protein molecules.
▪ DNA and RNA molecules work together in the cell to make these
proteins.
Cells Store and Use energy
▪ The DNA in the cell’s nucleus determines what type of cell it is.
▪ When a cell divides into two cells, the DNA is copied so that each cell
has the same DNA instructions.
Cell Division