Name: Date:
Student Exploration: Cell Types
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. How do you know if something is alive? Describe some of the characteristics of living things.
2. Humans, plants and mushrooms are all alive. What do these organisms have in common?
Gizmo Warm-up
In the Cell Types Gizmo, you will use a light microscope to compare and
contrast different samples. On the LANDSCAPE tab, click on the Elodea leaf.
(Turn on Show all samples if you can’t find it.) Switch to the MICROSCOPE
tab to observe the sample as it would appear under the microscope. By
default, this microscope is using 40x magnification.
1. Drag the Coarse focus slider until the sample is focused as well as possible. Then, improve
the focus with the Fine focus slider. What do you see?
2. Select the 400x magnification. If necessary, adjust the fine focus. Now, what do you see?
3.
The individual chambers you see are cells, the smallest functional unit of an organism.
Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity: On the LANDSCAPE tab, click on the woman’s
Observing cells right arm to choose the Human skin sample.
Select the MICROSCOPE tab.
Introduction: Complex organisms are made up of smaller units, called cells. Most cells are too
small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopes are used to magnify small objects.
1. Manipulate: With 40x selected, use the Coarse and Fine focus sliders to focus on the
sample. Then, choose 400x and focus on the sample using the Fine focus slider.
A. Which focus knob is easier to use at 40x? 400x?
B. Turn on Show labels. What structures can you see in human skin cells?
C. Turn off Show labels and turn on Show scale bars. The scale bar has a width of 20
micrometers, or 20 μm. (There are 1,000 micrometers in a millimeter.)
Using the scale bar, about how wide is a human skin cell?
2. Observe: An organelle is a cell structure that performs a specific function. Observe the
samples below under the highest magnification. Click the Show labels checkbox to label the
organelles. List the organelles and approximate size of the cells in each sample.
Sample Organelles Estimated size (μm)
Mouse skin
Fly muscle
Maple leaf
Elodea
Fungus
What do all of these samples have in common?
In eukaryotic cells, genetic material is contained inside a distinct, membrane-bound
nucleus. Plant and animal cells are classified as eukaryotes.
3. Observe: Click on the cow and observe E. coli under the highest magnification. Notice the
microscope magnification is larger for this organism, and notice the scale bar is smaller.
A. What is the approximate size of E. coli?
B. What organelles are present in E. coli?
C. What organelle is missing from E. coli?
E. coli is an example of a bacteria. Bacteria are classified as prokaryotic cells
because their DNA is not contained in a membrane-bound nucleus.
4. Compare: Look at the Sand/silt sample under the microscope.
A. Turn on Show labels. Does sand/silt have any internal structures?
B. Do you think sand or silt is alive? Explain.
