CELL STRUCTURE

Objectives

Students should be able:

1. to make drawings of typical animal and plant cells as seen under the light microscope.
2. identify differences between electron and light microscope and between resolution and
magnification

The Cell Theory

The cell is the basic unit of life and current cell theory states that:

1. All living organisms are made up of one (unicellular) or more cells (multicellular)
2. Metabolic processes take place within the cells
3. New cells are derived from existing ones
4. Cells possess the genetic material of an organism which is passes from parent cell to
daughter cell
5. A cell is the smallest unit of an organism capable of surviving independently

Microscopy

Microscopes are instruments that magnify the image of an object in some way. There are two types
of microscopes used namely, the light microscope and the electron microscope.

The Light Microscope

The light microscope uses visible light and a system of lenses to generate magnified images of small
objects. In our Biology lab, we use a compound light microscope. Compound light microscopes have
three systems of lenses. There are

1. the condenser lenses located beneath the microscope stage that can be adjusted in height
to ensure that light is focused on the specimen being examined
2. the objective lenses that produce an initial magnified image (X4, X10 and X40 in our Biology
lab)
3. the eyepiece lenses that further magnifies the image produced by the objective lenses (X10
in our Biology lab)

Magnification

The specimen put under the microscope is known as the object, the appearance of the specimen
when viewed under the microscope is known as the image. The magnification of an object is how
many times bigger the image that we see using the microscope is when compared to the actual
object.

For example, when using the X4 objective lens in the Biology lab, the image created is 40 times as big
as the actual object (X4 objective X 10 eyepiece = 40 X)

What is the highest magnification obtained using our microscopes?

More advanced light microscopes can magnify objects up to 1500 X.

Resolution

The term resolution is used to describe the ability of a microscope to distinguish detail. The
resolving power of a microscope is the minimum distance apart that two objects can be for them to
appear as separate items. In a light microscope, it is about 0.2 micrometres. Any object that is
closer than 0.2 micrometres apart will appear as a single item. The greater the resolution, the
clearer and more precise the image becomes.

Microscopes have a limit to both its magnification and resolution. Until the limit is reached,
increasing both will produce a larger image with more detail. However, when maximum resolution
is obtained, any further magnification, will produce a larger but more blurred image.

An animal cell as seen under a light microscope

When viewed under a light microscope, a typical animal cell is made up of:

• a cell surface membrane

• cytoplasm
• nucleus with nucleoplasm, the nucleolus and chromatin
• mitochondria
• centriole
• cytoplasmic granules storing carbohydrates
 A plant cell as seen under a light microscope

When viewed under a light microscope, a typical plant cell is made up of:

• cell wall
• cell surface membrane
• cytoplasm
• nucleus
• vacuole containing cell sap
• tonoplast
• mitochondria
• chloroplasts
• starch grains

The Electron Microscope

Although the light microscope was able to magnify specimen and allow scientists to view images
never seen before with the naked eye, scientists soon became frustrated once again as they tried to
discovery the sub-cellular detail that was beyond the limit of the light microscope with its poor
resolving power. This poor resolution is due to the long wavelengths of light. Scientists had to find a
source with shorter wavelengths. In the 1930’s scientists developed the first electron microscope
which used a beam of electrons instead of light. Since the electron beam has a very short
wavelength, the resolution of the microscope was increased. In addition, since electrons are
negatively charged, the beam could be focused on the specimen using electromagnets to create the
image. The human eye can not detect electrons and so the image is made visible by directing the
electron beam onto a fluorescent screen. The image is then photographed to create a
photomicrograph. Examples of these micrographs can be seen throughout the Biology textbook.
The best modern electron microscope not only magnifies objects thousands of times but can resolve
objects that are 0.0001 micrometres or 0.1 nanometres apart.

Comparison of the Light Microscope and the Electron Microscope

LIGHT MICROSCOPE ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

Advantages Disadvantages
Small and portable so it can be used almost Very large and so must be operated in special
anywhere rooms
Both living and dead material can be observed Only dead material can be observed
Preparation of material is relatively quick and Preparation of material is lengthy and requires
simple and does not require much expertise considerable expertise and sometimes even
complex equipment
Material is rarely distorted during preparation Preparation of material may distort it
Natural colour of the material can be observed All images are in black and white. Colour can
be artificially added if needed
Cheap to purchase and operate Expensive to purchase and operate
Disadvantages Advantages
Magnifies objects up to 1500 X only Magnifies objects more than 500,000 X
Low resolution High resolution
The depth of field is restricted It is possible to investigate a greater depth of
field

Objectives

Students should be able to:

1. describe and interpret drawings and electron micrographs of the structure of membrane
systems and organelles of typical animal and plant cells. These must include rough and
smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi body, mitochondria, ribosomes, lysosomes,
chloroplasts, cell membrane, nuclear envelope, centrioles, nucleus and nucleolus.

The Electron Micrographs of Animal and Plant Cells

Each cell of an organism can be regarded as a metabolic compartment to carry out specific functions.
The internal structure of a cell therefore depends on that cell’s function. To get a general
understanding of the internal structures of plant and animal cells, we will look at a “generalized cell”
which represents a combination of many different types of cells rather than any cell in particular. No
cell actually displays all the features shown.

Below is a diagram of a generalized plant and animal cell showing the different components that can
be found in these cells and their function.
Please ensure that you can label a plant and animal cell, as well as, state the function of the different
components of these cells.

Let us now examine the differences between animal and plant cells. The main differences are
highlighted in the table below.

The prokaryotic cell

Although cells come in very large variety of sizes, shapes and functions, they can be divided into two
basic categories as follows:
 1. Prokaryotic cells (pro = before and karyotic = nucleus) where cells have no nucleus or
nuclear membranes
2. Eukaryotic cells (eu = true and karyote = nucleus) where cells have a nucleus bounded by
nuclear membranes.

We will now examine the structure of a bacterium (prokaryotic cell) and the function of its cellular
components.
Let us now compare the structure of a prokaryotic cell with that of a eukaryotic cell by examining the
table below.

Activity

Label the following diagram of a cell

Write the functions of the components numbered

1.

3.

9.

10.

13.

15.