Observing Cells

Objectives:
After completing this exercise and reading the corresponding material in your text, you should
be able to
1. Understand how to prepare a wet mount slide
2. Identify structures described in this lab on slides
3. Cite examples of the wide diversity of cell types
4. Relate differences in structure among cells to functional differences

Introduction
Structurally and functionally, all living things share one common feature: all living
organisms are composed of cells. The development of this concept began with Robert Hooke's
seventeenth-century observation that slices of cork were made up of small units he called
"cells.” Over the next 100 years, the cell theory emerged. It was formally (and independently)
presented by Schleiden and Schwann in 1839 and clarified by Virchow a few years later.
This theory has three principles: (1) All organisms are composed of one or more cells. (2) All life
processes derive from the activities of cells. (3) All cells arise from preexisting cells.
Living organisms are composed of one or many cells, and every activity that occurs in a
living organism is ultimately related to metabolic processes in cells. Understanding the
processes of life requires an understanding of the structure and function of the cell. Although
cells vary in organization, size, and function, all share certain structural features. All are enclosed
within a plasma membrane, defining the boundary of the living material. All contain a region of
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which forms the genetic code. Inside of the plasma membrane is
watery cytoplasm, and the chemical processes inside the cell occur within this watery medium.
Upon microscopic examination, we see there are two basic types of cells, prokaryotic and
eukaryotic, see the table below to see a comparison of the two cell types.

Table 1. Comparison of Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells

Characteristics Prokaryotic Eukaryotic

Genetic material
Cytoplasmic structures
Kingdoms (Domains) represented
Found loose in the cytoplasm, not
bounded by special membrane
Consists of a single, circular molecule
of DNA
Small ribosomes (70s)
No internal membranes except
photosynthetic membranes (formed
from infoldings of the plasma
membrane) found in some
Monera (Archaea & Eubacteria)
Isolated from other cytoplasmic
organelles by a porous double
membrane
Many linear molecules of DNA
combined with histone protein form
chromosomes
Large ribosomes (80s)
Endomembrane system, a system of
connected membranous structures
Membrane-bound organelles form
specialized compartments
Protista (in Eukarya)
Fungi (in Eukarya)
Plantae (in Eukarya)
Animalia (in Eukarya)

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 For these following exercises you will use the virtual microscope () in order to explore
different cell types at various magnifications. For each cell type you must sketch the specimen at
4x, 10x, 40x (and for the prokaryotic cells 100x). Additionally, you will label the drawing of your
specimen with all the cell structures you can identify on the highest magnification.

Exercise 1: Examining Prokaryotic cells

1. What types of organisms are prokaryotic?

Prokaryotes are a microscopic single-celled organism that has neither a distinct nucleus with a
membrane nor other specialized organelles. Prokaryotes include the bacteria and archaea.

2. What structures are found in a Eukaryotic cell that will not be visible in a Prokaryotic
cell?
Prokaryotic cells differ from eukaryotic cells in that they lack any membrane-bound
organelles, including a nucleus. Instead, prokaryotic cells simply have an outer plasma
membrane, DNA nucleoid structure, and ribosomes.

3. Open the virtual microscope and click on explore, then click on the? on the slide box.
Examine one of the prokaryotic specimens available in the virtual microscope.

4. Sketch your specimen under 10x, 40x and 100x magnification below. Be sure to label
any internal or external structures visible under 100x magnification.

Name of specimen: Holotype 

10x 40x 100x

low power (10X) and use the
fine adjustment knob to focus
the image.
o high power (40X). Make sure
your paramecium is in the center
of your low power field of view
before you switch to the high-
power lens.
– This objective magnifies the
image by a factor of 100. It is
referred to as the “oil immersion
objective” since it requires a
drop of immersion oil on the
slide to provide good resolution.

Exercise 2: Examining Eukaryotic cells

The cells on which we focus most of our attention are relatively large and complex,
although many details of their structure are only evident with electron microscopy. The word
eukaryote derives from the visible nucleus found in most of these cells. No one cell will show all
of the features that a cell might have, so you will be observing a variety of eukaryotic cells.\

Plant cells:

Plant cells are different from animal cells in many ways.

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 1. Name three ways plant cells differ from animal cells below.
 vacuole, chloroplast, and a cell wall.

As in animals, cells of plants are organized into tissues, aggregations of similar cells performing a
common function in a multicellular organism. In this part of the lab, you will look at two types of
plant cells.
1. Open the virtual microscope and click on explore, then click on the ? on the slide box.
Examine two of the plant cell samples available in the virtual microscope.

2. Sketch your specimen under 4x, 10x and 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any
internal or external structures visible under 40x magnification.

Name of specimen 1: Onion root

4x
Its very clear and can see
almost everything. With the
fine focus you can view more
clear.
10x 40x
Its way clear then the 4x. you Its gets clear the more
can see and tell everything. number goes up. 40x got the
Also with the coarse focus. most clearness of all of them.

Name of specimen 2: Spider

4x 10x 40x
Everything was normal. I 10x I could see every close With this one I saw every
could see the body and other like the hair was so clear. thing like where the hair on
staff like the hair. the body grows.

1. What shape do most of these cells have? What structure maintains this shape?

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 The cytoskeleton is a framework that helps cells maintain their form and internal order,
as well as providing mechanical support for cell division and movement.

2. Which cellular components are present in these cells are not found in any other cell
types?

The cytoskeleton is a framework that helps cells maintain their form and internal order, as well
as providing mechanical support for cell division and movement.

Animal cells:
Next you will examine animal cells under the microscope.
1. Open the virtual microscope and click on explore, then click on the ? on the slide box.
Examine two of the animal cells available in the virtual microscope. Examine one type of
animal cells and one type of human cells.

2. Sketch your specimen under 4x, 10x and 40x magnification below. Be sure to label any
internal or external structures visible under 40x magnification.

Name of animal cell specimen: spider leg

4x 10x 40x

The leg was viewable and It was So clear. Made me see I could see everything like the
clear. the inside of the root where vain of it very small but
the hair comes from. viewable.

Name of human cell specimen: blood

4x 10x 40x
I saw lots of pink circles it
It was some very circle I saw some little circle things. was lots of them and had this
things. Just a little closer. black tiny thing next to them.

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 3. What shape do most of these cells have? What structure maintains this shape?

The cytoskeleton plays a number of important roles, including creating cell shape, assisting in
cell division, and allowing cells to move. It was also like how the vein was so little.

4. Which cellular components are present in these cells are not found in any other cell
types?

Plant cells lack a centrosome and lysosomes, but animal cells have. Plant cells, as animal cells,
have a cell wall, a big central vacuole, chloroplasts, and several specialized plastids.
Cells Review Questions
Your answers should be specific and to the level of the lecture, book and lab manual. You may
need to use outside sources.
1. Describe how you would prepare a wet mount slide.
2. Place a drop of fluid in the center of the slide.
3. Position sample on liquid, using tweezers.
4. At an angle, place one side of the cover slip against the slide making
contact with outer edge of the liquid drop.
5. Lower the cover slowly, avoiding air bubbles.
6. Remove excess water with the paper towel.

7. What characteristics do all cells have in common?

A plasma membrane is the shape of a cell that separates its space from its surroundings.
8. What characteristics are common to all eukaryotic cells but not found in prokaryotic
cells?
a nucleus that is wrapped in a membrane many cells that are membrane-bound.

9. Would you expect that all the living cells contain mitochondria? Explain.

Yes, because Some cells, such as red blood cells, are free from any form of mitochondria.
Bacteria and archaea do not have mitochondria because they are prokaryotic creatures.

10. Describe as many differences as you can between plant and animal cells at a cellular
level. Do any of these differences relate to the organismic differences we see between
plants and animals? Explain.

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A bit confused on this question but Animal cells lack a cell wall, but plant cells do. Plants rely on
their cell walls for stability and form. Animal cells lack chloroplasts, but plant cells do. Plant cells
often have one or more big vacuoles, whereas animal cells, if any, have smaller vacuoles.

11. How would you compare a protist cell to a cell from your body, a cheek cell for example,
in terms of complexity at the cellular level?

Human cells are often skilled focused on function and tissue type, but protist cells, albeit
eukaryotic, are still rather basic.