Cell Organelles
Cell Parts Notes
• When you are filling in your chart,
remember the following:
– Underline or highlight important vocabulary
words in the definitions
– Be thinking about how you will use the word
in your simile
Cells are the
basic units of all
living things.
Cells are made of
parts, called
organelles, that each
do their own job for
the cell.
The nucleus is the
largest organelle that
stores the chromatin
(genetic material) and
controls all the cells
activities.
What about your
topic might be the
nucleus?
The cell membrane is like
a security guard. No one
gets in or out of the cell
without its permission
and it is “selective” about
what it lets in and out.
What about your
topic might be the
cell membrane?
The cell wall is
found only in plant
cells, is non-living,
and supports and
protects the cell.
What about your
topic might be the
cell wall?
The mitochondria are
considered the powerhouse of
the cell because they break
down food (glucose) and
release energy! This is known
as cellular respiration.
What about your
topic might be the
mitochondria?
The vacuole is a
temporary storage
area in the cell that
holds water, food,
and waste.
Vacuoles are small and
numerous in animal
cells but there is only
one really big one in
plant cells.
What about your
topic might be the
vacuole?
Cytoplasm is the “stuff”
that supports all the
organelles and allows them
to get their jobs done so the
cell can continue living. It is
vital to the cell and is mostly
made of water.
What about your
topic might be the
cytoplasm?
Chloroplasts are
naturally GREEN and
make all the food for
plants only. This food
is in the form of a
sugar called glucose.
Think of the chloroplasts
as the “food makers” or
providers and the
mitochondria as the
energy releasers or food
“breakerdowners”
What about your
topic might be the
chloroplast?
The endoplasmic
reticulum is like a super
small and intricate
highway system in the
cell because it move
things around.
Often referred to as
ER…it can be smooth
(without ribosomes) or
rough (with ribosomes).
What about your
topic might be the
ER?
The Golgi body or Golgi
apparatus is often compared to
a post office. This is because
materials made by the cell (i.e.
proteins, lipids, etc.) are
packaged, labeled, and shipped
off to other areas of the cell
from here.
What about your
topic might be the
Golgi body?
Lysosomes are like the
custodians of the cell.
They will seek out and
destroy any and all
waste inside the cell.
What about your
topic might be the
lysosome?
The nucleolus hides out
inside the nucleus with
the chromatin and
manufacture all the
ribosomes. It does NOT
contain the DNA.
What about your
topic might be the
nucleolus?
Without the ribosomes, no cell
would be able to make any
proteins. Of course, the
nucleus tells the ribosomes
which ones to make…but they
are very important nonetheless.
Proteins are vital to every living
thing and are actually responsible
for how an organism looks,
behaves, performs their life
processes, etc. The code for making
proteins is housed in the DNA of
every cell and basically tells that
cell what kind of cell to be.
What about your
topic might be the
ribosomes? How
about your protein?
How are plant and
animal cells alike? How
are they different?
•CHLOROPLASTS
IN GREEN CELLS
•ONE LARGE
VACUOLE
•CELL WALL
•RECTANGULAR
SHAPE
•NUCLEUS
•CYTOPLASM
•CELL MEMBRANE
•MITOCHONDRIA
•VACUOLES
•LOTS OF
SMALL
VACUOLES
•IRREGULAR
SHAPE
Two other types of
organisms you
should be familiar
with now are…
Bacteria…organisms that
reproduce rapidly, are
prokaryotic, can cause disease
but can also be very helpful,
come in rod, sphere, or spiral
shapes and can often be
treated with antibiotics.
Viruses…neither alive nor
dead, they can’t reproduce
by themselves (parasitic),
come in several geometric
shapes, and can not be
treated with antibiotics.