Plant and animal cells explained simply, parts and differences

This guide is for you if you need to know the parts of a cell and the differences between plant and animal cells. In CBSE this is taught in Class 8 and in more depth in Class 9 (The Fundamental Unit of Life). It is also part of ICSE biology, Key Stage 3, and an early topic in GCSE and IGCSE biology. It is one of the most commonly tested topics in school biology, so it is worth learning properly.

The idea in plain words

The cell is the basic unit of life. Every living thing is made of one or more cells. Your body has trillions of them.

Plant and animal cells share many parts, because both need to control what goes in and out, make proteins and release energy. Plant cells have a few extra parts, because plants make their own food and need to stay upright without a skeleton.

Parts of the cell and what they do

Part	What it does	Animal cell	Plant cell
Nucleus	Contains the genetic material (DNA) and controls the cell’s activities	Yes	Yes
Cytoplasm	Jelly-like substance where many chemical reactions happen	Yes	Yes
Cell membrane	Controls what enters and leaves the cell	Yes	Yes
Mitochondria	Where aerobic respiration releases energy	Yes	Yes
Ribosomes	Where proteins are made	Yes	Yes
Cell wall	Made of cellulose. Strengthens and supports the cell	No	Yes
Chloroplasts	Contain chlorophyll. Absorb light for photosynthesis	No	Yes, in green parts
Large permanent vacuole	Filled with cell sap. Keeps the cell firm	No (only small, temporary vacuoles, if any)	Yes

The three differences to remember

Plant cells have three things animal cells do not:

1. A cell wall
2. Chloroplasts (in cells exposed to light)
3. A large permanent vacuole

Shape is also different. Plant cells are usually a regular, box-like shape because of the cell wall. Animal cells are usually irregular or rounded.

Worked questions

Question 1: identifying a cell

A cell has a nucleus, a cell membrane, a cell wall and a large vacuole, but no chloroplasts. Is it a plant or animal cell? Where might it come from?

1. A cell wall and a large permanent vacuole are found only in plant cells, so it is a plant cell.
2. It has no chloroplasts, so it is not carrying out photosynthesis. It probably comes from a part of the plant that gets no light, such as a root.

This is a common exam trap. Not every plant cell has chloroplasts.

Question 2: magnification

In a drawing, a cell is 30 mm long. The real cell is 0.05 mm long. What is the magnification?

The formula is:

magnification = image size ÷ actual size

1. Both sizes are in mm, so the units match.
2. Magnification = 30 ÷ 0.05
3. 30 ÷ 0.05 = 600

Answer: × 600

If the sizes are in different units, convert first. Remember 1 mm = 1,000 μm (micrometres), so 0.05 mm = 50 μm.

You can rearrange the formula: actual size = image size ÷ magnification. For example, an image 12 mm long at × 400 shows a real size of 12 ÷ 400 = 0.03 mm, which is 30 μm.

Question 3: microscope practical

Describe how to prepare a slide of onion skin cells and say what you would expect to see.

1. Peel a thin layer of skin from the inside of an onion scale with forceps.
2. Lay it flat in a drop of water on a clean glass slide.
3. Add a drop of stain, such as iodine solution or safranin, so the nucleus and cell wall show up clearly.
4. Lower a coverslip at an angle with a needle to avoid trapping air bubbles.
5. Look at it under low power first, then high power.

Expected: box-shaped cells in neat rows, each with a clear cell wall and a nucleus. You will not see chloroplasts, because onion skin cells grow underground, away from light.

For animal cells, a similar slide of cheek cells (gently scraped from the inside of the cheek and stained with methylene blue) shows irregular, rounded cells with a nucleus and no cell wall.

Question 4: why plant cells do not burst

Explain why a plant cell placed in pure water does not burst, but a red blood cell may.

1. Water enters both cells by osmosis, because there is a higher concentration of water outside.
2. The plant cell swells, but the strong cell wall stops it bursting. The cell becomes firm (turgid).
3. The red blood cell has no cell wall, so it keeps swelling and can burst.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Saying plant cells have no mitochondria. They do. All plant cells respire.

Confusing the cell wall with the cell membrane. Plant cells have both. The wall is outside the membrane. Animal cells have only the membrane.

Saying all plant cells have chloroplasts. Only those in green, light-exposed parts.

Forgetting ribosomes. They are in both cell types and are often tested at GCSE and IGCSE.

Calling the nucleus the “brain” in exams. Use the correct description: it contains genetic material and controls the cell’s activities.

Unit mistakes in magnification. Convert both sizes to the same unit before dividing.

Try these

1. Name three structures found in plant cells but not in animal cells.
2. Which part of the cell controls what enters and leaves it?
3. In which part of the cell does aerobic respiration take place?
4. An image of a cell is 12 mm long. The real cell is 0.03 mm long. Find the magnification.
5. Why do root hair cells not have chloroplasts?

Answers

1. Cell wall, chloroplasts and a large permanent vacuole.
2. The cell membrane.
3. The mitochondria.
4. 12 ÷ 0.03 = × 400.
5. They are underground, with no light, so they do not carry out photosynthesis.

Still unsure?

If cells still feel like a list of names, a Qlive teacher can work through them with you one-to-one, using diagram-labelling activities in Qlive Space, starting with a free assessment that finds the exact gap. You can read more about how we teach on our biology page, and see how chloroplasts do their job in our guide to photosynthesis.