In IB Exams you are quite often asked to

Compare and contrast;

• the structural adaptations  of  plant cells and animal cells

This sheet will help you to achieve high marks in this type of question.  Hopefully you will also learn how to answer any question like this in the future.

Answer the following short questions to remind yourself of the facts you know already:

1. Draw a small labelled sketch of a plant cell, showing; cell wall, nucleus, plasma membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, vacuole, rER, sER, golgi apparatus.
2. Draw a simple sketch of a liver cell showing; plasma membrane, nucleus, mitochondria, rER, sER, golgi apparatus, centrioles, a vesicle.
3. List the organelles that are in BOTH types of cell.
4. What is the function of;
       the centriole in animal cells?
       the cell wall in plant cells?
5. What do plant cells use to do mitosis instead of a centriole?
6. What do animal cells use instead of a cell wall?
7. What is the difference between the vesicle in animal cells and the vaculole in plant cells?

Think about what a comparison is:

A comparison always has to make reference to BOTH the things you compare; 

...lots of people say what both things do but don't make a comparison;

Plant cells have a nucleus to hold the DNA and control the activities of the cell.  It is surrounded by a double membrane with pores to allow communication between the cytoplasm and the nucleus.  Animal cells have a nucleus to hold the DNA and control the activities of the cell.  It is surrounded by a double membrane with pores to allow communication between the cytoplasm and the nucleus.

A good comparison can be just a statement of similarity

Both plant and animal cells contain a nucleus, which holds the DNA and controls the activity of the cell.  They both have a double nuclear membrane with pores to allow communication between the cytoplasm and the nucleus.

Another good comparison will explain a difference;

Animal cells have centioles which pull the chromosomes apart during mitosis whereas plant cells do mitosis without using centrioles.

8. Write three comparisons of your own which compare plant and animal cells.
9. Finally try to write two comparisons for each of these past IB quiestions

• Compare the structural adaptations of a liver cell and a nerve cell

• Compare light and electron microscopes

• Compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells