The Cell

MAIN IDEA: The cell is the basic unit of life. All living beings are
made up of cells.

All living beings have something in common: they are made up of cells. Cells are the basic
unit of life. In fact, are the smallest unit of live.
Cells perform vital functions: nutrition, behaviour and reproduction.
They are very small, in fact we need a microscope to see them.
There are two groups of living beings according with the number of cells: single-cells beings
and pluricellular beings.

• Single-cells beings have only one cell. It is the simplest form of life. The
paramecia, amoeba and bacteria are some examples.
• Pluricellular beings have more than one cell. All plants and animals began to
this group. In these organisms all the cells work together and help to keep the
organism alive.

1. Draw a circle around the names where we can find cells:

ORANGE ATOM QUARTZ

TREE BACTERIA RIVER

DOG´S LEG HUMAN´S ARM MOLECULE

ROCK HEART FLOWER

MUSHROOM ANT PLASTIC PEN

There are different cells with different structures. Most of them have three main parts:
cellular membrane, cytoplasm and nucleus.
The cellular membrane covers the whole cell. The cytoplasm is the inside of the cell and
contain different organelles that make some functions. Finally, the nucleus contain the
genetic material that its cover by the nuclear membrane.
There are two type of cells: eucaryotic and procaryotic cell.

• Eucaryotic cell have a nucleus with genetic material inside of it. Algae,
animals, plants, fungi and protozoa have eucaryotic cells.
• Procaryotic cell have no nucleus, and the material genetic are in the
cytoplasm. Only bacteria are prokaryotic.

2.- ¿What type of cells are these photograph, eucaryotic cell or prokaryotic cell? Elige dos
células y señala con una flecha en cada una de ellas la membrana celular, el
citoplasma y el núcleo.

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© Carmen Ruiz Pérez

IES Puerta de la Axarquía