Plant and animal cells lab

1. Plant and Animal Cells Lab
Objectives: Students will discover that onions and our cheeks are made up of cells.
Students will observe the three main components of onion and cheek cells, including the cytoplasm,
cell wall/membrane and nucleus.
Materials:
microscope, onion slide, methylene blue stain,
one cover slips, and a toothpick
Procedures:
Onion cells
1. Place the onion slide on the microscope stage.
2. Observe the onion cell under both low and high power. Make observations of the onion cell and its
structures.Record you observations on a data table
(At minimum you should observe the nucleus, cell wall, and cytoplasm.)
Cheek cells
1. To view cheek cells, gently scrape the inside lining of your cheek with a toothpick.
DO NOT GOUGE THE INSIDE OF YOUR CHEEK! (We will observe blood cells in a future lab!!)
2. Place a drop of methylene blue stain (specific for animals) onto a glass slide.
3. Gently tap the toothpick into the blue stain on your glass slide. Some of the cheek cells should fall
onto the slide. Place a cover slip over top of preparation.
4. Observe the cheek cells under both low and high power of your microscope. Make observations
of the cheek cell and its structures (At minimum you should observe the cell membrane,nucleus,
and cytoplasm.)
5. Create a simple sketch of each of the cells you observe.
Written Observations:
Onion Cell Observations
Cheek Cell Observations
Drawings:
Onion Cell Cheek Cell
Analysis and Questions:
1. What are cells?
2. What are the three main parts of a cell?
3. What information does the nucleus contain?
4. Why is this information important?