IBN GABIROL SCHOOL
BIOLOGY LAB
TOPIC: PLANT AND ANIMAL CELLS UNDER MICROSCOPE
Goal: To differentiate animal and plant cells under microscope, recognizing their main parts,
describing them, and explaining the differences between both types.
Introduction:
Pluricellular organisms are those which are made up of millions of cells. These cells organize
themselves in tissues to cover the diversity of functions the organism must be able to carry out.
Having in mind that animals and lots of plant species have specialized tissues, is clear we can see
different shapes, sizes, and structures in a cell, depending on the type it is of.
Plant cell is a type of eukaryotic cell that forms plant tissues. A characteristic of plant cells is the cell
wall, resistant to tension, which provides strength to the cell. In plants, its main component is
cellulose, a polysaccharide, thanks to which we use wood and paper, and it’s easy to see these parts
of plant cells in plants like onions.
By the other hand, animals have much more specialized tissues. One of these tissues is the epithelial
one, a type of tissue that is in charge of covering other tissues and giving protection to them. In
humans, the oral mucosa is an epithelium that protects the teeth, and it is present in inner cheeks,
lips, palate and on the underside of the tongue. Considering the easy way in which we can access
to the inside of the mouth, oral mucosa is usually used for seeing animal cells under the microscope.
Materials:
- Light microscope. - Methylene blue.
- Goggles - Watch glass.
- Slides.
- Coverslips.
- Water.
- Bunsen burner.
- Wood and metal clamps.
- Pasteur pipettes or droppers.
- Toothpicks.
SAFETY: For this practice, you need to use the goggles when using the Bunsen burner, as this is an
extra protection for you when being close to fire.
Procedures:
For preparing the human cells mount:
1. Take a sample of the oral mucosa for all the people in the group, using a different toothpick for
each person by rubbing it with the inner cheek.
2. Extend the sample over the slide with the toothpick. Add a drop of water to do it better.
3. Fix the sample by passing it over the flame of the burner, being careful to not burn it. This is called
a heat fixation.
4. Add one or two drops of methylene blue with the dropper and let the sample like this for 5 minutes.
You must do this above the watch glass to avoid spills over the table.
5. Wash the sample by letting water flows down the slide to eliminate the colouring agent residues.
6. Cover the sample with a coverslip and use the light microscope to see it. Remember to use the
objective lens from lowest to highest magnification. Identify parts of the cells you already know.
Biology Lab Introduction to Microscopy 1
For preparing the onion cells mount:
1. Cut the onion by the half, in vertical way, and repeat the cut to have ¼ of the onion.
2. Use the clamps to remove the thin membrane that is in one of the inner layers of the onion.
3. Place the sample over the slide, being careful of letting it well extended for a better observation.
4. Add one or two methylene blue drops on the sample, and let it act for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the excess dye with water, carefully. Then, use a coverslip to cover the sample and see it
under microscope. Remember to use the objective lens from lowest to highest magnification.
Identify parts of cells you already know.
ACTIVTY: LAB PRACTICE #2
(To solve in the notebook). This evidence must be sent by Google Classroom, the due date
for this is on Sunday, October 30th, 2022, all day.
1. Draw two 5 cm x 5 cm squares. Inside the squares, draw both, animal and plant cell mounts we
prepared in the laboratory. Label the parts you could recognize in each case. Use colors to
differentiate how you saw each type of cells.
2. Describe the drawings from the task 1. What differences could you see between animal and
plant cells?
3. Why do you think plant cells are more organized than human cells? Explain your idea.
4. What advantages can we obtain from knowing the characteristics of cells in different living
things, such as plants and animals? Why is this important?
5. Draw a conclusion from this laboratory practice. What did you learn?
Biology Lab Introduction to Microscopy 2
