Animal and plant cells

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What are living things made of?
Cells work together to carry out the seven life processes
that are needed for an organism to stay alive.
Other organisms are multicellular – they are made
up of many types of cells. Can you think of some
examples of unicellular and multicellular organisms?
Some organisms are
unicellular – they are
made up of only one cell.
Cells are the building
blocks of life – they come
in all shapes and sizes.

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What are the seven life processes?

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What is a cell?
Animal and plant cells come in different shapes and sizes,
but they all have three basic features.
Plant cells also have some extra features that make them
different to animal cells.
cell membrane
cytoplasm
nucleus
animal cell plant cell

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A typical animal cell

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The parts of a typical animal cell

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A typical plant cell

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The parts of a typical plant cell

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Comparing animal and plant cells

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What shape is a cell?
Cells are not flat; they are usually three-dimensional (3D).
Most cells have three basic parts: the nucleus, cytoplasm
and cell membrane. They may also contain other small
structures called organelles, that perform specific jobs.
But the 3D shape of the cell is determined by its location
in the body and the job that it does.

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Do all cells look the same?
Cells can be different shapes and sizes and also have
different functions. This is because they are specialized.
The shape of a cell is related to its function. Where do you
see this idea in sport?
Why are the players in a
rugby team often different
shapes and sizes?
The players in a rugby team
are different shapes and sizes
because each player does a
different job for the team.
Like rugby players, cells are different shapes and sizes
because they perform different jobs.

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Whose cell is it anyway?

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Parts of a microscope

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From cell to organism
All living things are made up of cells. The appearance of
each living thing is the result of the types of cell that it is
made up of and how these cells are organized.

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How is the body like a school?
To understand how the body is organized, think about all the
different people that work in a school to make it function.
Everybody in the school needs to know where they should be
and what they are doing for the school to function properly.
Everybody does a different job – they have different skills
and equipment to help them do their job.
 teachers and teaching assistants
 caretakers and cleaners
 dinner ladies and bus drivers
 governors and office workers

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How is the body organized?
Living things are made up of organized systems too.
Each specific cell is grouped with other cells similar in
structure and function to form tissues and ultimately organs:
Groups of tissues
work together to
form organs.
Groups of cells
work together to
form tissues.
Cells are
the basic
units of life.
cell tissue organ