Plant and Animal Cell Structures and Functions

Hello! We’ll begin this school science course by looking at cells, the small living units that make up plants and animals. In this biology module, you’ll first learn what is inside a cell, then use that knowledge to understand how leaves and flowers work.

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to label the main parts of a typical plant cell and animal cell and explain what each part does. Plan on about 35–40 minutes, including the short video, reading, and time to study the diagram.

Start with the two cells

Most cells are too small to see without a microscope, so diagrams enlarge them and use colours to make their parts easier to distinguish. A diagram is a model, not a photograph: real cells do not have neatly colour-coded parts.

Watch Cognito’s GCSE Biology – Cell Types and Cell Structure. The selected portion introduces the parts shared by plant and animal cells, then the extra structures shown in a typical plant-cell diagram.

Keep this diagram beside you as you read. The animal cell is on the left and the plant cell is on the right.

The parts both cells share

Start at the boundary. An animal cell’s outer edge is its cell membrane. The plant cell has a membrane too, but it is just inside its thicker cell wall. The membrane controls which substances enter and leave the cell. It is not simply a wrapper: cells need to take in useful materials and release others.

Inside the membrane is the cytoplasm, shown as the pale blue region in both cells. It is the jelly-like material in which the cell’s parts are held and many chemical reactions happen. When labelling it, point to the region between the structures rather than to one of the small dots or ovals.

The purple structure is the nucleus. It contains the cell’s genetic material, called DNA, which carries instructions that help control the cell’s activities. Notice that both diagrams have a nucleus; it is not a plant-only or animal-only part.

Two smaller structures can be easy to mix up. Mitochondria are the pink oval shapes with folded-looking insides. They are where respiration releases usable energy from substances such as glucose. Plant cells need this energy as well as animal cells do. Ribosomes are represented by tiny dots. They build proteins—molecules cells need for growth and many other tasks.

That gives you five labels common to both diagrams: cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, and ribosomes. Their appearances may vary between drawings, so learn each part’s position and function as well as its colour in this particular image.

What stands out in a typical plant cell?

Follow the plant cell’s edge from the outside inward. First comes the thick cell wall, shown in yellow-brown. Just inside it lies the much thinner cell membrane. This distinction matters: the wall provides strength, support, and a more regular shape; the membrane controls movement of substances into and out of the cell. The wall does not take over the membrane’s job.

The large pale region occupying much of the plant cell is its permanent vacuole. It holds cell sap, which contains water and dissolved substances. When the vacuole is full of water, its contents press outward, helping keep the cell firm against its wall. If a plant loses too much water, its cells become less firm and the plant may wilt. Animal cells can also have small vacuoles, but the large central vacuole is the feature to recognise in a typical plant-cell diagram.

Finally, the green, striped ovals are chloroplasts. They contain chlorophyll, which absorbs light for photosynthesis—the process by which plants make sugars. Do not confuse a chloroplast with a mitochondrion. Chloroplasts help make sugars using light; mitochondria release usable energy from sugars during respiration. A plant cell can contain both.

The BBC Bitesize passage below connects the wall and vacuole to a familiar observation: why fresh plant material tends to feel firm and why it can become droopy.

The diagram shows a typical plant cell. Not every plant cell has chloroplasts: cells in roots, for example, usually receive little light and generally lack them. For school diagrams, use the features actually shown rather than assuming every cell in a plant looks identical.

Match each label to its job

The quickest way to check a label is to ask what job its structure performs. Use this summary to bring the two diagrams together.

When reading an unfamiliar cell diagram, begin with its boundary. A thick wall outside a thin membrane strongly suggests a plant cell. Look next for a large central vacuole and chloroplasts. The cell’s shape alone is a less reliable clue: drawings often show animal cells as rounded or irregular and plant cells as box-like, but the labelled structures give better evidence.

For a brief self-check, cover the labels on the comparison image and locate each structure before uncovering its name. Then say its function in a few words. Pay particular attention to the two easily confused pairs: wall versus membrane, and chloroplast versus mitochondrion.

Key takeaways

Plant and animal cells share a membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria, and ribosomes. A typical plant-cell diagram also shows a supporting cell wall, a large water-holding vacuole, and chloroplasts for photosynthesis. Being able to name a part is only half the task: its location and function explain why the label belongs there.

Next, you’ll use these cell structures to understand how the parts of a leaf support photosynthesis, gas exchange, and transpiration.