Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
Objective: To develop a personal understanding of the physiology of nerve cells (physiology
includes the parts of something and how they work). Once you understand nerve cells then you
can really explore concepts like pain, love, memory, drug effects, and coordination of your
body as a living machine.
Exploring cells in general
URL: www.cellsalive.com
Navigating the site: Cells alive has a navigation bar at the left. After accessing the page, click
on CELL BIOLOGY on the left side navigation bar. From here, you will access the links: "How Big
is a…", the animal cell model, the plant cell model, and the bacterial cell model. Be patient
while animations load 
Part A. "HOW BIG IS A...."
Here you will look at objects found on the head of a pin. Your job is to use the size chart below
and estimate the length of each object (in nanometers, micrometers, or millimeters). The line
in the bottom right corner of the screen is used to help you estimate. Sketch each of the
objects.
Object
Sketch
Size in nanometers, micrometers
or millilmeters
Human hair
Dust Mite
Red Blood Cells
E. coli
Staphylococcus
Ebola virus
Rhinovirus
1
Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
Part B: Bacterial Cell Model - (you will need to return to the "Cell Biology" link to access this
page, or hit your back button). Bacteria are about a thousand times smaller then the cells that
make up our bodies. They are called PROKARYOTES meaning “before the nucleus”. Notice
the absence of any organelles. Bacteria are the oldest form of life on our planet (3.5 Billion
years old). Some evolved to become the mitochondria and chloroplasts in larger cells.
A Math Problem: How many E.coli bacteria could fit inside an average stomach
cell (our stomach cells are about the same size as our blood cells). Show your
work below:
Teacher initials
2
Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
Part C: Animal Cell Model - (you will need to return to the "Cell Biology" link to access this
page, or hit your back button)
Animal, Plant, and Fungi (yeast and mushroom) cells are called EUKARYOTIC cells, meaning
“with a nucleus”. They are much larger and more complex then bacteria (Prokaryotic cells).
First take a moment to test yourself. Below is a list of organelles found in your nerve cell
diagram. Try to write down what each does from memory.
Cell Part
Nucleus
What it does
Nucleolus
Mitochondria
Cytoplasm
(Cytosol)
Ribosome
Rough
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Smooth
Endoplasmic
Reticulum
Golgi
Lysosome
Vesicles
Cytoskeleton
Cell Membrane
Now click on the various parts of the cell model and make any corrections to what you
remembered.
Teacher initials
3
Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
Part D: Plant Cell Model - (you will need to return to the "Cell Biology" link to access this page,
or hit your back button)
Plants have some special features. Explore these.
1. What type of cell other then plants, have cell walls?
Sketch the following
Chloroplast
2. What do Chloroplasts do?
3. In plant cells, what does the vacuole do?
Vacuole
Part E: Overview
For the chart below, place a check in the box if the cell has that component.
Plant
Animal
Bacteria
Chloroplast
Vacuole
Ribosome
Mitochondria
DNA
Endoplasmic Reticulum
Cell Wall
Golgi Apparatus
Cell membrane
Nucleus
What 3 parts do all living cells need?
Teacher initials
4
Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
Organelle review game
The following website has a cell organelle game. You have to begin by reading
the interactive comic. Then you play a game against a clock. You can access a
help screen for directions (which are actually very helpful), or you can remain
frustrated while you try to figure it out and keep losing 
http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/cell/
Once you’ve played the game and completed cells alive, try these sample test
questions. The answers don’t come directly from any web activity. They
require you to think about and apply what you have learned. Use your Nerve
Cell Organelle table and readings to help you.
1) All cells, from the most simple bacteria, to complex nerve and muscle cells,
are basically protein factories, creating proteins either for the cell or for the
body / plant that it is a part of. Some examples include nerves making
neurotransmitters, stomach cells making digestive enzymes, and follicle cells
making hair proteins. Below is an analogy, asking you to match cell organelles
with a corresponding part in an ipod factory.
Use organelles from the following word bank to complete the analogy table:
Mitochondria, cell membrane, membrane proteins, ribosomes,
nucleus, golgi vesicles, golgi apparatus, rough endoplasmic
reticulum, Lysosomes, DNA, proteins.
Ipod Factory
Matching Organelle or cell part
ipod part design plans
Design plan store room – manager’s office
Assembly worker (makes the separate
parts using copies of the plans)
Separate ipod parts
Conveyor belt used to send parts made by
assembly worker to shipping plant
Factory power plant
Shipping plant that puts parts together,
packages, labels and prepares complete
Ipods to be sent to Apple stores
Truck driver that delivers completed Ipods
to Apple stores
Factory security barrier
Factory security gate for shipping and
receiving
Room where all defective parts are
broken down and recycled
5
Name:
Cells Alive
Cell Anatomy
2) Both nerves and muscles use membrane proteins that act as sodium/potassium pumps to
trigger a chemical and physical change in the cell. The energy to run those pumps comes from
glucose that is converted into an energy molecule called ATP. What organelle does this?
3) How might Gatorade, which is full of sodium and potassium, help an athlete’s performance?
4) Why are mitochondria needed inside dendrites and axon terminals of nerve cells?
5) Where are neurotransmitters (proteins) made?
6) Why are neurotransmitters packaged into vesicles?
7) How are vesicles moved all the way from the Golgi to axon terminals? (what organelle helps)
8) What 3 parts do all living cells need?
9) Why do cells need at least these three parts (think about the purpose that all cells have)?
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