Introduction
"Cells are the smallest units of life in all living things. Cells are organized structures that help living things carry on the activities of life such as the breaking down of food, movement, growth, and reproduction. Because most cells are small, they were not observed until microscopes were invented.
In 1665, scientist Robert Hooke, using a microscope he made, observed tiny box-like things in a thin slice of cork. He called them cells because they reminded him of the small, box-like rooms called cells, where monks lived.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, scientists observed many living things under microscopes. Their observations led to the development of the cell theory.
The three main ideas of the cell theory are:
1. All living things are made up of one or more cells.
2. The cell is the basic unit of life in which the activities of life occur.
3. All cells come from cells that already exist."
.GIF)
*Information quoted from Glencoe NY Science Grade 7 textbook
2008, page 362
Task
Your job is to design a comparison chart of the organelles of an animal cell and a plant cell. Briefly describe the job of each organelle and answer a set of questions.
Process
"1. Research the organelles of plant and animal cells. Create a table showing the results.
| Organelle | Description of its Job / Sketch |
| Plant Cell | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
| Nucleus | |
| Chromosomes | |
| Mitochondrion | |
| Cell Wall | |
| Cell membrane | |
| Vacuole | |
| Chloroplast | |
| Cytoplasm | |
| Animal Cell | XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX |
| Cell Membrane | |
| Nucleus | |
| Vacuole | |
| Cytoplasm | |
| Mitochondrion |
*Extra Credit: Add additional parts of a plant or animal cell and provide a description/ sketch.
Answer this set of questions.
1. Restate the cell theory in your own words.
2. Describe how cells get the energy they need to carry on their activities.
3.Compare and contrasts cells with atoms. What is similar or different about each?
4. Suppose your teacher gave you a slide of an unknown cell. How would you determine whether the cell was from an animal or from a plant?
5. Compare and contrast the parts of animal cells and plant cells and the jobs that they do."
Evaluation
Rubric
|
|
Beginning 1 |
Developing 2 |
Accomplished 3 |
Exemplary 4 |
Score |
|
Creating Table |
Table incomplete; missing key details or has incorrect information |
Table mostly complete with some inconsistencies. |
Table complete with basic detail to explain |
Table complete with details, description and sketch of organelles, |
|
|
Set of Questions |
Missing information. Details are missing or incorrect. Use of incomplete sentence structure. |
Good explanation of relevant information, demonstrates beginning understanding, fair grammar. |
Accurate and succinct paraphrasing of information, understanding, excellent grammar. |
Interesting and accurate retelling of information, insightful thoughts/ details, flawless grammar. |
|
|
Group Discussion |
No participation. |
Sporadic participation, no evidence of deep thinking. |
Regular participation, sharing ideas, posing questions. |
Regular participation, sharing evidence in support of ideas, and using evidence to question ideas. |
|
Conclusion
Summary:
"By now you will understand that cells are organized structures that help living things carry on the activities of life. They have different parts that do different jobs. Cells also need energy to function. They get their energy from the process of cellular respiration. Plants, algae, and some bacteria make food through the process of photosynthesis."
(Page 367)
Credits
"13/ Section 1 The World of Cells." New York Science. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 362-67. Print.
This webquested was developed by Mrs. Parker using pages 362-367 of the Grade 7 Science Textbook.