---
title: "What does every cell have?"
subtitle: "Year 8 Biology · Cells · Lesson 3"
---

# What does every cell have?

**Name:** {{field-24}} **Date:** {{field-15}} **Class:** {{field-15}}

> **Key question:** A cheek cell and a leaf cell look completely different. Look closer and they share three parts. Every job in a cell depends on them.


:::teacher-note

**In one sentence:** Students identify the nucleus, cell membrane and cytoplasm in plant and animal cells and describe each one's function (AC9S8U01, node 3, a hinge node).

**Students should be able to say:** I can state the function of the nucleus, cell membrane and cytoplasm. I can link a feature of each to its function. I can explain that plant and animal cells both have these three parts.

**Width:** the unmarked parts are the floor every student does (Engage, Explore, Explain, Evaluate). Typical and Wider sections add contexts, not difficulty. Students work in the online tutorial alongside this sheet.

:::


## Engage


:::keep-together

**Which part of a cell holds the instructions (DNA) that control what the cell does?**

☐ The cytoplasm

☐ The cell wall

☐ The cell membrane

☐ The nucleus

My prediction, and why:

{{lines-3}}

:::


:::teacher-note

**What happens:** The nucleus. It holds the DNA: the instructions for making the cell's proteins.

:::


## Explore

Try it on the board in the tutorial. Was your prediction right? What was different?

{{lines-2}}

## Explain: three shared parts


:::keep-together

### Jobs

**Match each part to its job.**

A. Where most of the cell's chemical reactions happen

B. Controls what enters and leaves the cell

C. Holds the DNA: the instructions that control the cell

{{columns 60% 40%}}

{{rows 1}}

| Part | Letter |
|---|---|
| `Nucleus` | |
| `Cell membrane` | |
| `Cytoplasm` | |

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** Nucleus → C. Holds the DNA: the instructions that control the cell; Cell membrane → B. Controls what enters and leaves the cell; Cytoplasm → A. Where most of the cell's chemical reactions happen

:::


:::keep-together

### The membrane

**The cell membrane lets oxygen and food in but keeps most proteins in. What is it like?**

☐ An open door: everything passes

☐ A selective gate: some things pass, others don't

☐ A solid wall: nothing passes

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** A selective gate: some things pass, others don't

Scientists call the membrane selectively permeable.

:::


:::keep-together

### The cytoplasm

**Why must the cytoplasm be liquid (jelly-like)?**

☐ It keeps the cell cold

☐ Substances can move and react in it

☐ It stores the DNA

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** Substances can move and react in it

:::


:::typical

## Elaborate: what only plants have


:::keep-together

### Sort them

**Where is each part found?**

Groups: Both plant and animal cells, Plant cells only

- Nucleus: {{field-15}}
- Cell membrane: {{field-15}}
- Mitochondria: {{field-15}}
- Cell wall: {{field-15}}
- Chloroplasts: {{field-15}}
- Large vacuole: {{field-15}}

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** Nucleus → Both plant and animal cells; Cell membrane → Both plant and animal cells; Mitochondria → Both plant and animal cells; Cell wall → Plant cells only; Chloroplasts → Plant cells only; Large vacuole → Plant cells only

:::

:::


:::wider

## Elaborate: no nucleus


:::keep-together

**Scientists removed the nucleus from a single-celled organism (an amoeba). It kept moving for a few days, then died and could not divide. What does this show?**

☐ The membrane is the control centre

☐ The nucleus holds the instructions the cell needs to keep making what it needs and to reproduce

☐ The nucleus is needed to move

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** The nucleus holds the instructions the cell needs to keep making what it needs and to reproduce

:::

:::


## Evaluate: look back

Write one sentence: "At first I thought… Now I think… because…"

**Revision summary**

- Plant and animal cells share the **nucleus** (holds DNA, controls the cell), **cell membrane** (controls what gets in and out) and **cytoplasm** (where reactions happen).
- Both also have **mitochondria** (release energy).
- Plant cells also have a **cell wall**, **chloroplasts** (where photosynthesis captures light energy to make food) and a large **vacuole**.

## Exit ticket

:::keep-together

**What does the cell membrane do?**

{{lines-3}}

:::


:::teacher-note

**Answer:** It controls what enters and leaves the cell.

:::