Name___________________________________________ Date__________________
Cell Analogy Project
Introduction:
Each individual cell operates much like a city, a business, a home, or a school
does. Each organelle in the cell does a job that allows the whole cell to function properly.
There are many different jobs that have to be done in order for a city business, school,
etc. to run smoothly. There must be a waste management system that deals with trash.
Could you imagine what a city, home, or business would be like if there wasn’t anyone
picking up the trash? In this project, you are going to compare the organelles in a cell to
the functions of other objects that are needed to run a city, home, business, or school.
You and your partners will design a project where you will need to research the
organelles to deepen your understanding, plan what the pieces to your project will look
like, and then build/design all the parts of your city, home, etc. that correspond to the
organelles in a cell.
Organelle List: Chloroplast, Nucleus, Lysosome, Vacuole, Endoplasmic Reticulum,
Golgi apparatus, Cell Membrane, Cell wall, Cytoplasm, Mitochondria, chromosomes,
ribosomes.
Instructions:
Step 1: Research the functions of the organelles that are found within the
cell.
Step 2: Plan your city/home/business:
o Decide what Parts of you will need for the cell type you chose.
Cell Organelle Organelle Function Similar to a ____ because
it ________.
Chloroplast Produce energy through photosynthesis and Solar panel because it uses the suns
oxygen energy
Vacuole Stores waste products Landfill or warehouse because it
stores waste
Nucleus The cell's control center White house because the
government is our center
Cell wall Provides tensile strength and protection A fence because it protects us from
against mechanical and osmotic stress. stuff.
Cell membrane Regulates the transport of materials entering A gate because it lets things in and
and exiting the cell. out.
Mitochondria Generate most of the chemical energy Power company because it
needed to power the cell's biochemical produces the power
reactions.
Lysosomes The digestive system of the cell, Food process because it processes
large quantities of
food
Instructions Continued:
Step 3: Choose whether you want to do a plant cell or animal cell
Step 4: Build your city:
o Decide what Parts of a city you will need for the cell type you chose
o On a poster, draw, design, cut-out your city parts and organize them
on the poster like a real city or business would be organized.
o Label each part of the city and underneath it in parentheses label the
organelle it represents. Ex. City Hall (nucleus), Principal’s Office
(nucleus).
Step 5: In the left corner of your poster draw an actual cell.
Grading Rubric:
1.Properly matching each organelle with a city part ________5 pts
2. Choosing the right organelles for Plant vs. Animal ________5 pts
3. Designing a city with all the parts represented on a poster ________20 pts
4. Labeling all parts of the city with their correct organelle ________5 pts
5. Overall quality, effort, neatness, timeliness, etc. ________10 pts
6. Cell colored and labeled in the left corner ________5 pts
7.Total Point value ________/50 pts
