Lab - Plant and Animal Cells
Objectives:
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Students will discover that onions are made up of cells.
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Students will observe onion cells under a microscope.
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Students will discover that their skin is made up of cells.
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Students will observe cheek cells under a microscope.
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Students will look at a blood smear to identify blood cells.
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Students will observe muscle cells under a microscope.
Key Questions:
A. What are cells?
B. How are cells similar to the bricks of a building?
C. How are animal cells different from plant cells?
D. What are the three main parts of a cell?
Materials:
Microscope, microscope glass slides, iodine stain, cover slips, an onion, and prepared slides (cheek, muscle, and
frog blood cells)
Procedure:
Onion Cells
1. Peel a translucent piece of tissue from the onion (the smaller the piece the better). Translucent means that
you can see light through the specimen, but it is not transparent.
2. Place the piece of onion on a glass slide and add a drop or two of the iodine solution. Cover the slide with a
cover slip using your best wet-mount making techniques.
3. Observe the onion cell under both low and high power. Make a drawing of the onion cell under HIGH power,
labeling all of its parts as you observe them.
(At a minimum you should observe: nucleus, cell wall, and cytoplasm.)
Cheek Cells
1. Take a prepared cheek slide from the slide box.
2. Observe the cheek cells under both low and high power of your microscope. Draw a diagram of a cheek cell
under HIGH power and label its parts. (At a minimum you should observe: cell membrane, nucleus, and
cytoplasm.)
3. MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE SLIDE BACK IN THE PROPER BOX.
Blood Smear
1. Take a prepared cheek slide from the slide box.
2. Observe the blood cells under both low and high power of your microscope. Draw a diagram of several
blood cells under HIGH power and label their parts. (At a minimum you should observe: cell membrane,
nucleus, and cytoplasm with frog red blood cells. You should see only a cell membrane and cytoplasm with
frog white blood cells).
3. MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE SLIDE BACK IN THE PROPER BOX
Muscle Cells
1. Take a prepared muscle slide from the slide box
2. Observe the muscle cells under both low and high power of your microscope. Draw a diagram of a muscle
cell under HIGH power and label its parts. (At a minimum you should observe: cell membrane, nuclei,
cytoplasm, and striations)
3. MAKE SURE YOU PUT THE SLIDE BACK IN THE PROPER BOX.
Observations: (8 points each)
The following labeled high power drawings should be completed on microscope paper. These
neat drawings MUST be completed using colored pencils.
1. Onion cell
2. Cheek cell
3. Blood cells
4. Muscle cell
Staple your sketches behind your answer sheet!