Magnification Lab Report

Ana María Romero, María Camila Sánchez, Juliana Fonseca, Catalina Fuentes

Problem question: Is there any difference between the animal and plant cell?
Hypothesis: Yes, there will be difference in the size of the cell, the structure, the form and
other physical characteristics.
Aim: To understand cell differentiation between animal and plant cell. To calculate the actual
size of the cell.
Background information:
What microscopes do?
The word “microscope” gets its name from the Greek words micro (small) and skopion
(look), traducing it is a machine for looking at small things. A microscope may be used to
look at the anatomy of small organisms such as insects, the structure of rocks, or individual
cells organs. Depending on the type of microscope, the magnifies image may be two or
three dimensional. (Zamboni,2018)

Magnification on a microscope:
Magnification on a microscope refers to the amount or degree of visual enlargement of an
observed object. Magnification is measured by multiples, such as 2x, 4x and 10x, indicating
that the object is enlarged to twice as big, four times as big or 10 times as big, respectively.
(White,2018)

How to calculate total magnification on microscope

To figure the total magnification of an image that you are viewing through the microscope,
take the power of the objective (4X, 10X, 40x) and multiply by the power of the eyepiece,
usually 10X. (Miami university, 2001)

Calculation of magnification:
To calculate the linear magnification of a drawing or image, the following equation should be
used: Magnification = Image size (with ruler) ÷ Actual size (according to scale bar)

Calculation of actual size:

To calculate the actual size of a magnified specimen, the equation is simply

rearranged: Actual Size = Image size (with ruler) ÷ Magnification

(Bioninja,S.F)

When working on those calculations, the same unit of measurement should be used:
meter (m), millimeter (ml) or micrometer (μm).

Drawing and differentiation of cell structure

When attempting to draw microscopic structures, the following conventions should

be followed:
Figure 1. Shows structure, example and visible features of bacteria, protist, plant
and animal cells.

As in this research we will see animal and plant cells, it is important to take into
account their differences.

Animal and plant cells are similar in that they are both eukaryotic cells. These cells
have a true nucleus, which houses DNA and is separated from other cellular
structures by a nuclear membrane. Both of these cell types also contain cell
structures known as organelles, which are specialized to perform functions
necessary for normal cellular operation. Animal and plant cells have some of the
same cell components in common including: nucleus, Golgi complex, endoplasmic
reticulum, ribosomes, mitochondria, peroxisomes, cytoskeleton, and cell (plasma)
membrane. (Baile,2019)

However, plant and animals cells also differ in their organelles and structure, since
both of them have different functions. An example of it is the presence of chloroplast
(organelle in charge of photosynthesis) in plant cells and the absence of it in animals
cells.

Some of the difference present on plant and animals cells are:

Cell Wall: Most animal cells are round whereas most plant cells are rectangular.
Plant cells have a rigid cell wall that surrounds the cell membrane. Animal cells
do not have a cell wall

Vacuoles: Animal cells have one or more small vacuoles whereas plant cells
have one large central vacuole that can take up to 90% of cell volume.

Lysosomes: Animal cells have clearly defined lysosomes. The presence of

lysosomes in plant cells in under debate. A few studies have reported presence
of animal lysosomes in plant vacuoles therefore suggesting plant vacuoles
fulfilling the role of the animal lysosomal system. (Diffen, 2017)
 Figure 2. shows structure of animal and plant cells

Materials:
- Microscope slides (x2)
- Microscope slides cover (x2)
- Onion
- Animal cell
- Microscope
- Safety materials
- Tweezers

Methods:

This laboratory was divided into two sections. Plant cell identification and animal cell
identification. We started with plant identification. For this section we took an onion and
removed a tiny layer from it. Then, we placed the onion layer in a microscope slide, added
one drop of water and covered it with a microscope slide cover. Next, we located the
microscope slide in the microscope. Finally, we focused the microscope in order to see the
cells, first we used the x4 lens and then we used the x10 lens, which is the one shown in
figure 2. For the animal cell identification we used a pre-assembled microscope slide due to
time and equipment. We placed the slide
on the microscope and focused first with
the x4 lens and then with the x10 lens,
which is the image shown in figure 3.

Results:

For both plant and animal cell, the

magnification used was 10X10 (10 from
the lens and 10 from the
microscope)=1000.
Plant cell:
 I
Using the equation of = A where I=Image size, M=Magnification, and A=Actual size of the
M
image, the actual size of the cell is going to be obtained.
The image size was 10 mm but as the units needed were μm the value was multiplied by
1000.
1 mm → 1 000 μm
10 mm → 10 mm * 1000 μm = 10000 μm

I 10 000
= =10 μm
M 1 000

The cell measures 10 μm long.

Figure 3. plant cell seen with x10 lens

Animal cell:

I
using the same equation of = A where
M
I=Image size, M=Magnification, and A=Actual
size of the image, the actual size of the cell is
going to be obtained.

The image size was 2 mm but as the units

needed were μm the value was multiplied by
1000.
1 mm → 1 000 μm
2 mm → 2 mm * 1000 μm = 2000 μm

I 2 000
= =2 μm
M 1 000

The cell measures 2 μm long.

Figure 4. animal cell seen with x10 lens

For understanding the cell differentiation, drawings of the plant and animal cell were made
by us.
Figure 5. Drawings of each group integrant of plant cell and animal cell.
Analysis and discussion of results:
The drawings were based on the difference in characteristics mentioned before. Plant cells
have an hexagonal form with shaped edges while animal cells are more like rounded/circular
shape. The difference in organelles could not be seen due to the magnification lens and the
internal differences could not be observed.
With the calculations showed previously, it could be concluded that the animal cell is smaller
in size than the plant cell as posed before.
In figure 3, the cell wall can be observed perfectly with the sharpened sides and defined
form. While, in figure 4, the cell membrane is detected due to the fact that edges are not
clearly defined as straight lines.
For the a next investigation and to improve the method, some suggestions will be made. The
cells have to be seen with different magnification lenses to be able to observe the
differences in organelles and internal structures besides the cell external structure.
Conclustion:
In conclusion, answering the question made, there are differences between animal and plant
cells. During the laboratory we could see a difference on the shape of the cells, while plant
cells were hexagonal animal cells were more rounded. We also could spot a difference in the
size of the cells, animal cells were smaller than plant cells. We accomplish our objectives as
we could visualize the structure of animal and plant cells in a microscope. Now we can
identify either a cell is from an animal or a plant when seeing it and we can establish the
differences between them.
Bibliography:
Zamboni, Jon. (2019, September 16). What Is the Function of a Microscope?.
sciencing.com. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/function-microscope-
6575328.html

White, Joe. (2019, September 16). What Is Magnification on a Microscope?.

sciencing.com. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/magnification-microscope-
5049708.html

Cornell,B. (2016). Magnification. Bioninja.com. Retrieved from:

ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-1-cell-biology/11-introduction-to-
cells/magnification.html

Bailey, Regina. "Differences Between Plant and Animal Cells." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26,
2019, thoughtco.com/animal-cells-vs-plant-cells-373375.

Nikhilesh,J. Kate T., Bueza.C , Pooja,S. Nurul, N.,Chooranolickal,V. "Plant Cell vs Animal
Cell." Diffen.com. DiffenLLC,n.d.Web.16Sep2019.
https://www.diffen.com/difference/Animal_Cell_vs_Plant_Cell