Name: Jhenave Balantic, Gecel Gallao, Jachelle Kate Maruzzo Date:

Course & Year: BS Biology 3-A

Rating:

Exercise # 4
Cell

Although cell show differences in their form and function, all cells share common characteristics
and are built to a fundamental design. Learning the different cell structures is important to the
understanding of the cell as the basic unit of structure and function of all living things.

I. OBJECTIVE/S:
1. To recognize the difference and similarities between onion bulb (non-green plant
cell), elodea plant (green plant cell) and cheek cell (animal cell).
2. Learning and identifying the structures present in either plant or animal using a
microscope.

II. MATERIALS: Compound microscope

2 glass slides and cover slips
Medicine dropper
toothpicks
Needle
Cells of the inner lining of the cheek
Hydrilla plant
Iodine solution
Onion bulb

III. PROCEDURE:
A. Non-green plant
1. Prepare a wet mount slide of the thin epidermis of the onion scale.
2. Examine the onion wet mount slide under the low power and high power objectives of
your microscope. Look for a group of cells. Although the cells appear to be
rectangular, remember that they are three dimensional, that is they have length, width,
and thickness. Locate and identify the structures described below.

Cell wall – forms the outermost part of the cell. It is rigid, non-living, and is the
one that protects and gives support to the plant cell
Plasma membrane or cell membrane – a very thin membrane which constitutes
the inner edge of the cell wall.
Vacuole – a fluid-filled structure which occupies the central portion of the cell.
Vacuolar membrane – a membrane surrounding the vacuole.
Cytoplasm – the space bounded by the cell membrane and the vacuolar membrane.
Nucleus- a dense round body suspended in the cytoplasm.
 Nuclear membrane – a thin membrane whicih surrounds the nucleus.

3. Some structures of the cell are too transparent to see under the microscope. These
objects can be rendered visible by the use of a stain such as iodine solution.
4. Carefully remove the slide from the stage of the microscope. Remove the cover glass,
with the aid of a medicine dropper, place a drop of iodine solution on the onion
epidermis.
5. Carefully replace the cover glass and examine under LPO and HPO.

What cell structures can now be seen but were not visible in the unstained onion
epidermis?
Ribosomes, filaments, small granules and vesicles, nucleolus, the cell wall and
nucleus will be clearly visible.

6. Draw a group of three onion cells as they appear in HPO. Label the parts observed
under the microscope and indicate the magnification of your drawing.

B. Green plant cell.

1. Obtain a single leaf from Hydrilla or Elodea plant. Wet the leaf with a drop of water
and place on a clean slide. Gently lower a cover glass over the leaf.
2. Examine your wet mount of the Hydrilla or Elodea leaf under LPO. Locate an area
in the leaf where green color is not too dense and examine under HPO. Locate the
nucleus, cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm and chloroplasts.

What structures do you see which are not seen in the onion cell?
-The structures that are found in the Hydrilla and are not found in the onion cell
are chloroplasts, definitely the stomata and chlorophyll as observed in the color of
onion bulb, it doesn’t have a greenish color.

How are the onion cells and Hydrilla or Elodea cells alike?
- Both onion and elodea cells had a cell wall, cytoplasm, cell membrane, nucleus,
etc.

Draw a group of three Hydrilla or Elodea cells and label the structures as seen
under LPO and HPO.

3. Carefully remove the slide from the stage. Remove the cover slip and place a drop of
iodine solution. Replace the cover slip. Focus under the LPO and locate the toothlike
cell at the side of the leaf. Shift to the HPO and observe carefully.

What structure is clearly visible?

Nucleus, cell membrane, cytoplasm, cell wall
 What is the purpose of the iodine solution in this experiment?
-to increase the contrast of cellular structures that would otherwise be transparent
against a transparent background. The iodine acts a stain to make the structures in the
cell easier to see.

C. Animal cells.
1. Using the flat end of a clean toothpick, gently scrape the inside surface of your cheek
to obtain check epithelial cells.
2. With the aid of a toothpick, spread the scraped mateThe rial, wet with a drop of
water, and place on a clean slide.
3. Add a drop of iodine solution and gently cover with a cover slip.
4. Examine the slide under LPO. Look for a few isolated cells, then shift to HPO.
5. Locate and identify the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus.
6. Draw one cheek cell and label the structures observed through the microscope.
IV. DRAWINGS:

Three onion cells as they appear in HPO (indicate magnification)

Three Hydrilla or Elodea cells
Cheek cell
V. STUDY QUESTIONS:
1. What structures are found in the Hydrilla which are not found in the onion cell?
The structures that are found in the Hydrilla and are not found in the onion cell are
chloroplasts, definitely the stomata and chlorophyll. Onions lack these structures because they
grow underground. The clear epidermal cells exist in a single layer and do not contain
chloroplasts, because the onion fruiting body (bulb) is used for storing energy, not photosynthesis.

2. In what ways are the cheek cells similar to the onion cells? To the Hydrilla cell?

Similarities
Cheek and onion cells Cheek and Hydrilla cell
 Onion cell and cheek cell both are  They both have cytoplasm, cell
eukaryotic cells as they have a distinct membrane and nucleus which can be
nucleus. visibly seen under a microscope.
 Both cells are easy to obtain and are
in a single layer.
 Both have a cell membrane,
cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria,
Golgi apparatus, ER, ribosomes,
lysosomes, and plastids.
 Both cells do not have chloroplasts.

3. In what ways are cheek cells different from the onion cell? From the Hydrilla cell?

Differences
Cheek and onion cell Cheek and Hydrilla cell
 An onion cell is a plant cell that has  A Hydrilla cell is a plant cell that has
an outermost rigid cell wall and a a chloroplast for photosynthesis,
large vacuole. They appear brick-like stomata, etc. while the cheek cell is
in shape. On the other hand, a human an animal cell and doesn’t have a
cheek cell is an animal cell having a chloroplast.
rounded structure but lacking a cell  Though a cheek cell may not have
wall. most of these components, a hydrilla
 Cheek cell belongs to the epithelial cell do not have centrioles that help
tissue of the lining of the oral cavity in the formation of spindle fibers
of humans while onion cell is a clear
 epidermal cell that exists in a single during cell division unlike the cheek
layer in the onion fruiting body cell.
(bulb).
 Onion cell has a small nucleus while
cheek cell has a large, prominent
nucleus.
 Onion cell can be peeled off from an
onion while the other one can be
scraped from the inner oral cavity
with the use of a toothpick.

VI. CONCLUSION/S:

In this experiment, cheek cells (animal cell), elodea plants, and onion bulbs (non-green
plant cells) were compared and contrasted. To become familiar with and recognize the
structures found in either plant or animal cells using a microscope.

Based on the analysis, it can be concluded that cheek and onion cells are similar to each
other in that they both have distinct nuclei, are eukaryotic, have a single layer, lack chloroplasts,
and are made up of cell membranes, cytoplasm, mitochondria, golgi apparatus, ER, ribosomes,
lysosomes, and plastids. Cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus are present in both cheek and
hydrilla cells.

On the other hand, an onion cell is a type of plant cell that is distinguished from the
others by having a large vacuole that has the appearance of a brick-lick and the most solid outer
cell wall. An animal cell with a circular form but no cell wall is what makes up a human cheek
cell. The cheek cell is an animal cell, whereas the Hydrilla cell is a plant cell with stomata and
chloroplast for photosynthesis.

Following the experiment, we came to the conclusion that the use of LPO and HPO
objectives influences the magnified view of the cells. We found that HPO provides a more precise
and magnified image of the animal and plant cells than LPO objective. Due to excessive
magnification in the HPO in the case of onion cells, the divisions of the cell wall could be
observed. After adding methylene blue, a difference in image clarity was also noticed. The cell
wall divisions of the onion and hydrilla plant are more visible. Thus, utilizing the HPO objective
provides a more in-depth and magnified view of the specimen. However, the cells are easier to
see under a microscope after being stained with methylene blue.

REFERENCES:
MEL Science. (2015b, May 19). Iodine diffusion. https://melscience.com/US-

en/chemistry/experiments/iodine-in-plastic/

Lab: Cells. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://slideplayer.com/slide/14559167/