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Lesson 5 Cell Composition

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Course: Science 10 [5 cr] - AB Ed copy 1
Book: Lesson 5 Cell Composition
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Sunday, 7 September 2025, 6:45 PM

Table of contents

  Introduction

What are the differences between a plant and an animal cell?


AS2.3 Plant vs. animal cell
All plant and animal cells have organelles in common, such as the nucleus or the cell membrane, but what about when we look deeper? What other differences are there between plant and animal cells? By the end of this lesson, you will have answers to these questions! We will also look at the compounds and substances that make up a cell.

  Targets

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to
  • identify the differences and similarities in the structure, chemical composition, and function of plant and animal cells
  • describe the complementary nature of the structure and function of plant and animal cells   

  Watch This


Nutrients for Living Things

https://adlc.wistia.com/medias/6ngmdj73r4


Watch this video for an overview of the compounds and elements needed in cells. This will help prepare you for Lesson 5.
 

  Compounds of the Cell

What is a cell made up of?

A cell contains only a few different elements and minerals, but each of these elements and minerals are important to the cell’s structure. 


A5.1 Four Elements of Cells

Cells also have many other elements present in tiny amounts. These elements, called trace elements, are important to cells’ health. Some of the most important trace elements needed by cells are magnesium, zinc, manganese, and iron.
All cells are made up of four elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. These elements are found naturally all over Earth: as part of our air, land, and water. This means single-celled organisms and multicellular organisms can live all over Earth as well.

The elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are used to make up four types of compounds used in cells:

  • Lipids—fats and oils: They are made of all four of the elements
  • Carbohydrates—sugars, starches, and cellulose: They are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
  • Proteins—muscle fibre: They are made of all four of the elements.
  • Nucleic acids—DNA and other genetic material: They are made up of all four of the elements.
Water is one of the most important compounds used by cells. Most other compounds are dissolved in water, both inside and outside of the cell. Water provides the environment for the functions of the cell to occur. It is made of oxygen and hydrogen.

A5.2 Cholesterol is a lipid, important to the structure of the cell membrane

  Practice Questions

Complete the following practice questions to check your understanding of the concept you just learned. Make sure you write complete answers to the practice questions in your notes. After you have checked your answers, make corrections to your responses (where necessary) to study from.

  1. What is the solvent that provides the environment for all biological reactions inside and outside the cell?
  1. What are the four types of organic compounds used in cells? Give examples of each. What do you think each is used for?
Lipids—fats and oils. They are used for energy storage in the organism. We will study how these are used in the cell membrane in the next lesson.
Carbohydrates—sugars and starches. They are used as energy in the organism. They can also be used as energy storage, depending on the type of organism.
Proteins—muscle fibre. They are used for most jobs in the cell. Movement, digestion, energy creation, production of other materials, and so on.
Nucleic acids—DNA and genetic material. They are used to create the organisms DNA and DNA type molecules used in the production of proteins.

  Problem Solving Activity

What do the trace elements do for cells?


Background Information:

We have learned small amounts of certain elements are needed for a cell’s health, but why exactly are they needed?

Research each of the four trace elements mentioned in the course content and try to determine what each is used for by the cell. Please click the analysis tab to complete the analysis questions.
What are the four trace elements used for by the cell?
  • Magnesium: The energy molecule a cell uses (ATP) must be bound to magnesium to be active. Without magnesium, the cell would have no energy to complete the life functions.
  • Zinc: There is still lots of research going into why this element is important. Some places being researched are protein synthesis, cell communication, gene expression, and cell growth and death.
  • Manganese: This element is essential for normal cell growth and development. It is used in many cellular reactions to help them happen quicker. In humans, too much or too little manganese often leads to problems with the brain and nervous system.
  • Iron: In humans, this element is used in blood cells as part of the system that carries oxygen and carbon dioxide around the body. In cells, it is used to move oxygen used in cellular respiration to the mitochondria. It is also used in protein synthesis.



  The Differences Between Plant and Animal Compounds

Are there differences in the compounds plants and animal cells need?

Plant cells require a few more compounds than animal cells do because they perform photosynthesis. Some differences in compounds and structure are the following:


A5.3 Photosynthesis in plants
  • Plant cells contain specialized compounds such as chlorophyll for photosynthesis and cellulose for the cell wall.
  • Animal cells contain specialized compounds such as hemoglobin for oxygen transport and cholesterol.
  • Some plant cells store energy as oils or starch.
  • Some animal cells store energy as sugar or fat.
  • Plant cells tend to have a large central vacuole for water storage.
  • Animal cells tend to have many small vacuoles.

There are some similarities in compounds and structures too. Both contain

  • DNA or genetic material
  • a cell membrane
  • a cytoskeleton—a set of proteins and fibres that help hold the organelles in place in the cytoplasm
  • specialized compounds adapted for special functions

A5.4 Thistle oil and milk thistle flowers

  Read This

Please read pages 271 and 272 in your Science 10 textbook. Make sure you take notes on your readings to study from later. You should focus on the compounds and elements needed in all cells and the differences between the compounds in plants and animal cells. Remember, if you have any questions or you do not understand something, ask your teacher!

  Practice Questions

Complete the following practice questions to check your understanding of the concept you just learned. Make sure you write complete answers to the practice questions in your notes. After you have checked your answers, make corrections to your responses (where necessary) to study from.

  1. Why do plant and animal cells have so many similarities?

The basic function of all cells, whether plant or animal, is to perform the basic functions of life. This means that besides a few specialized functions, plant and animal cells have the same functions and therefore the same parts to do those functions.
  1. Animals need the compounds plants produce through photosynthesis to survive. We often eat certain plants because they are high in a compound we require. What are some examples of this?
Your answer should be a variation of the following: We eat avocados because they are high in fat. We eat nuts as a source of protein and trace elements. We eat many vegetables for the nutrients they contain. These are all things we cannot produce ourselves, so we must eat plants to collect them. In turn, when animals die, they decompose and become food for plants.

  Plant and Animal Cells Are Different

Generally, plant and animal cells have many similar structures and functions, but they also have some key differences.



A5.5 Coyote hunting a vole
While all cells are made of the same four elements and use the same four types of compounds in their processes, plant and animal cells also have a number of differences due to the functions of each. Plants create their own food from the sun through photosynthesis, so they need special organelles and compounds. Their cells are also more rigid in structure. Animals need to eat other organisms to get the nutrients their cells need to survive. To be able to hunt or graze, they need to be able to move and their cells have functions related to this as well.

In the next lesson, we will look very closely at an organelle both plants and animals have: the cell membrane.

  Try This!

Plant or animal?


Background Information:

This activity will give you practice on determining if a cell belongs to a plant or an animal.

Look at each of the following cells and determine if they are a plant cell or an animal cell. Make sure you take note of why you chose that kind of cell so that you can study from your notes later.

A5.6 Cell #1
A5.7 Cell #2
A5.8 Cell #3
A5.9 Cell #4

Please click the analysis tab to complete the analysis questions.

A5.6 Cell #1

A5.7 Cell #2

A5.8 Cell #3

A5.9 Cell #4
Which cells are plant cells and which cells are animal cells? How do you know?

Cell 1 is a plant cell because it has chloroplasts lining the edge of the cell. It also has a large white space in the centre, which is its central vacuole.
Cell 2 is a plant cell because it has a distinct cell wall that is slightly separated from the cell membrane. It is also filled with chloroplasts.
Cell 3 is an animal cell because it does not have a cell wall, chloroplasts, or a central vacuole.
Cell 4 is an animal cell because it does not have a cell wall, chloroplasts, or a central vacuole.

Cell 1 is a plant cell because it has chloroplasts lining the edge of the cell. It also has a large white space in the centre, which is its central vacuole. Cell 2 is a plant cell because it has a distinct cell wall that is slightly separated from the cell membrane. It is also filled with chloroplasts. Cell 3 is an animal cell because it does not have a cell wall, chloroplasts, or a central vacuole. Cell 4 is an animal cell because it does not have a cell wall, chloroplasts, or a central vacuole.


1.4 Assignment

Unit 1 Assignment Lessons 5-8

It is now time to complete the Lesson 5 portion of 1.4 Assignment. Click on the button below to go to the assignment page.

1.4 Assignment