Exercise 3
Structure of a Plant Cell
Objectives:
To identify the basic parts of a plant cell.
To compare the shape, structure, and function of some plant cells.
Specimens:
Onion (Allium cepa), Digman (Hydrilla or Elodea), Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Squash stem (Cucurbita maxima)
Materials:
Compound microscope, Cover glass, Glass slide, Water, Iodine solution
Procedure:
1. Onion:
a. Take an onion bulb and peel off a small piece of the epidermis with forceps and scissors.
b. Put the epidermis specimen on the glass slide and flood with a drop of iodine solution.
c. Put a cover slip and examine under the LPO and HPO.
2. Tomato:
a. Prepare a temporary mount of the thin epidermal covering of a ripe tomato fruit.
b. Put a small piece of the epidermis on the glass slide with a drop of iodine solution, then cover with a cover slip.
c. Focus under LPO and HPO.
3. Digman (Hydrilla):
a. Pull out a single leaf from a young shoot of a hydrilla plant that has been exposed to sunlight.
b. Examine it under LPO and HPO. You might notice the streaming movement of the cytoplasm due to the movement of
the chloroplasts.
4. Squash Stem:
a. Mount at least 3 trichomes from a squash stem.
b. Put a drop of iodine solution into the glass slide.
c. Examine closely under LPO and HPO.
RESULTS
A. Onion
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
-Nucleus, cell wall, cell membrande and vacuole -Nucleus
B. Tomato(ripe)
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
-Nucleus, cell wall, cell membrande and vacuole -Nucleus
C. Tomato(unripe)
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
C. Digman
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
E. Squash stem
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts
LPO HPO
F. Vermi worm
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
G. louse
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
H. Calamansi skin
Draw 4 cells under LPO and 1 cell under HPO. Label the visible parts.
LPO HPO
QUESTIONS
1. How do cells of the onion specimen appear under the microscope?
The epidermis of an onion under microscope examine in LPO was not hard to identify the cells and I was
amazed even the hair of an onion you can see it through microscope. Under HPO the cells are not that
pellucid, but you can see the unique cloudy thing.
2. Are the cell walls thick and are the nuclei invisible in the onion epidermal cells?
The cell walls of an onion was not that thick, but compared to other specimen the onion epidermal has an
amazing cell walls. Especially under the LPO and it became invisible when we tried it in HPO.
3. What shape do the epidermal cells of tomatoes exhibit? What is the color of the dominant pigments here?
Since we tried two tomatoes, the ripe and unripe tomatoes. I don’t know the exact shape but it’s like a
bubble in oil and the unripe tomato exhibits many shape. The dominant pigments are red and yellow.
4. Did you notice the movement of chloroplasts? Describe what you have observed.
Yes, since we took a picture of it we observed the movements of chloroplasts through comparing the the
photos we have and yes it changed. The circle thing was moving from one cell wall to another.
5. What is the shape of the apical and marginal cells of Hydrilla?
For it’s like rhombus, the edge was pointed
6. In plant trichomes, did you see a prominent nucleus? Is the trichome septate?
Reviewing the pictures we took, there are no nucleus even in LPO. The trich
7. What are trichomes for?
Responsible for plants diverse effects, aromas, and flavors
