Inside a cell
🎯 Try it
Which structure is found in both typical animal and leaf cells?
✅ Recall before reading
Draw a simple animal cell and a leaf cell. Label what you remember, then correct using the guide. These are simplified models; not all plant cells contain chloroplasts.
📝 Apply the functions
A leaf cell can photosynthesise and respire: chloroplasts do not replace mitochondria. A plant root cell may lack chloroplasts because it is not exposed to light.
Cover the table. Explain which structure would be involved in controlling entry, releasing energy through aerobic respiration, and photosynthesis. Then redraw your original diagrams with corrections in another colour.
✅ Check your understanding
Do plants also respire?
What lies outside the plant cell membrane?
✏️ Repair a cell model
A model leaf cell has a wall and chloroplasts but no membrane or mitochondria. Identify both missing structures and explain why the chloroplasts do not replace either one. Then explain why a typical root cell could be healthy without chloroplasts.
🔑 Worked answer
The membrane regulates exchange; mitochondria support aerobic respiration. Chloroplasts perform photosynthesis, a different process. A root cell is generally not exposed to light and can obtain sugars from other parts of the plant.