COMPARING PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS

OBJECTIVES:
9 Distinguish between plant and animals cells by their structures
9 Demonstrate the benefit of stains
9 Acquire ability to prepare wet mounts

SAFETY:
Methylene blue stain is a poison! Keep your hands away from your face. Wash your hands before you leave the
lab

PROCEDURE A (ONION CELLS):

1. Place a small drop of water in the center of a clean slide
2. Using the onion at your table, peel a VERY, VERY, VERY thin section of onion. Make sure
the section contains the red color
3. Place the onion sample on the drop of water
4. Carefully place a coverslip over the drop of water and onion. See the diagram below

5. Place the slide on the stage of the microscope with the onion directly over the opening in the stage. Remember
to start on low power.
6. Locate the onion and focus while on low power. LOOK TOWARDS THE EDGE OF THE CELL TO
LOCATE SINGLE CELLS. CELLS IN THE MIDDLE WILL BE CLUMPED TOGETHER AND
DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH
7. Switch to the high power objective lens. CAUTION: LOOK TO THE SIDE WHEN SWITCHING TO THE
HIGH POWER OBJECTIVE TO MAKE SURE THE OBJECTIVE LENS WILL NOT HIT THE SLIDE
8. Observe the cells of the onion while on high power.
9. Draw a single cell that you have located and label the parts that you can identify. These parts should include:
CELL WALL, NUCLEUS, and CYTOPLASM
10. Make sure to draw lines to each organelle so we can see what you are talking about.
11. Identify the magnification that you are using to make your observations

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PROCEDURE B: (ELODEA)
1. Place a small drop of water in the center of a clean slide
2. Using your fingers, remove a leaf from the Elodea plant
3. Place the Elodea leaf on the drop of water
4. Carefully place a coverslip over the drop of water and Elodea leaf. See the diagram above
5. Place the slide on the stage of the microscope with the Elodea plant directly over the opening in the stage.
Remember to start on low power.
6. Locate the Elodea plant and focus while on low power.
7. Switch to the high power objective lens. CAUTION: LOOK TO THE SIDE WHEN SWITCHING TO THE
HIGH POWER OBJECTIVE TO MAKE SURE THE OBJECTIVE LENS WILL NOT HIT THE SLIDE
8. Observe the cells of the onion while on high power.
9. Draw a single cell that you have located and label the parts that you can identify. These parts should include:
CELL WALL, CHLOROPLAST, and CYTOPLASM
10. Make sure to draw lines to each organelle so we can see what you are talking about.
11. Identify the magnification that you are using to make your observations

AP COURSES ONLY:
1. To better view the other organelles we will stain the cell with a saline (salt) solution
2. Remove the slide from the stage of the microscope
3. Using the saline solution at your table, place one drop of solution along one side of the coverslip
4. On the opposite side of the coverslip, place a small piece of paper towel, as shown in the diagram. The paper
towel draws the solution under the coverslip and across the slide

5. Place the slide back on the stage of the microscope with the Elodea plant directly over the opening in the stage.
Remember to start on low power.
6. Locate the Elodea plant and focus while on low power.
7. Switch to the high power objective lens. CAUTION: LOOK TO THE SIDE WHEN SWITCHING TO THE
HIGH POWER OBJECTIVE TO MAKE SURE THE OBJECTIVE LENS WILL NOT HIT THE SLIDE
8. Observe the cells of the onion while on high power.
9. Draw a single cell that you have located and label the parts that you can identify. These parts should now
include: CELL WALL, CHLOROPLAST, NUCLEUS, CELL MEMBRANE, VACOULE, and CYTOPLASM
10. Make sure to draw lines to each organelle so we can see what you are talking about.
11. Identify the magnification that you are using to make your observations

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 PROCEDURE C: (CHEEK CELLS)

1. Place a small drop of water in the center of a clean slide

2. Using the toothpick at your table, GENTLY scrape the inside of your cheek. You do not have to use force
when scraping the inside of your cheek
3. Stir the water on the slide with the end of the toothpick to mix the cheek cells with the water. Dispose of the
toothpick
4. Carefully place a coverslip over the drop of water and the cheek cells. See the diagram above
To better view the other organelles we will stain the cell with a Methylene blue
5. Place one drop of Methylene blue along one side of the coverslip
6. On the opposite side of the coverslip, place a small piece of paper towel, as shown in the diagram. The paper
towel draws the solution under the coverslip and across the slide

7. Place the slide on the stage of the microscope with the cheek cells directly over the opening in the stage.
Remember to start on low power.
8. Locate the cheek cells and focus while on low power.
9. Switch to the high power objective lens. CAUTION: LOOK TO THE SIDE WHEN SWITCHING TO THE
HIGH POWER OBJECTIVE TO MAKE SURE THE OBJECTIVE LENS WILL NOT HIT THE SLIDE
10. Observe the cells while on high power. Try to single out a solitary cell instead of a clump of cells
11. Draw a single cell that you have located and label the parts that you can identify. These parts should include:
CELL MEMBRANE, NUCLEUS, and CYTOPLASM
12. Make sure to draw lines to each organelle so we can see what you are talking about.
13. Identify the magnification that you are using to make your observations

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DATA:

SECTION A (ONION CELLS):

Magnification:

SECTION B: (ELODEA CELLS)

*AP CLASSES ONLY:

CELL WITH SALINE SOLUTION

Magnification:

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SECTION C: (CHEEK CELLS)

Magnification:

CONCLUSIONS:

1. In this lab you observed two (2) plant cells, how were they different? How were they alike?

2. *Why do you think we added the saline solution to the Elodea leaf sample? What advantage did it offer?

3. How were the plant cells different from the cheek cells? How were they similar?

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4. Why do you think we added Methylene blue to the cheek cell sample?

5. If you were given a slide containing living cells of an unknown organism, how would you identify the cells as
either plant or animal?