Comparing animal and plant cells | Cells and organisms | Middle school biology | Khan Academy

So, let's play a game of spot the difference.

Now, if you were asked to spot the difference between these two pictures, you'd probably laugh and say that's too easy because it's obvious that this picture of a lion on the left is nowhere close to looking like the picture of a green fern plant on the right.

What's more, a lion and a fern not only look completely different, they also function differently.

But what if I told you that if we zoomed in really close and compared the lion cells with the fern cells, they'd actually share many similarities? An animal cell and a plant cell have several common features, as well as a few key differences.

In this video, we're going to spot the similarities and the differences between the two types of cells and talk about their functions inside the cells.

So first off, let's take a look at some cell models. Here on the left is an animal cell, and on the right is a plant cell. First, let's try and identify the things that both animal and plant cells share in common.

If you recall, both animal and plant cells have a cell membrane, which acts like a gate to control what enters and leaves the cell.

Animal cells and plant cells also have this jelly-like substance called the cytosol, which contains organelles or small compartments with specific functions inside the cell.

Animal and plant cells share several common organelles, two of which include the nucleus and the mitochondria. The nucleus within each cell type serves as an information database to store the cell's genes, while the mitochondria act as factories to break down sugars and release energy that the cells can use.

So, now that we've identified some features found in both kinds of cells, let's look closer to spot the fundamental differences between animal and plant cells.

As you can see in this diagram, plant cells have an additional layer of material that surrounds the cell membrane. This is called a cell wall, which makes the plant cell more structured and stiff.

Think of a celery stalk compared to a raw piece of chicken or fish. The animal muscle tissue is floppy, while the celery stalk is firm. That's cell walls in action.

Also, plant cells have these special organelles called chloroplasts, which are what give plants like the fern we saw their green color. Chloroplasts are the site of photosynthesis, which is how plants make their own food in the form of sugars.

If the word sugar rings a bell, you're on the right track because I mentioned earlier that mitochondria are responsible for breaking down sugars. In plant cells, chloroplasts and mitochondria are like good buddies that help each other and work together.

Chloroplasts make sugars through photosynthesis, and mitochondria convert the sugars into energy that ultimately the plant can use.

Both cell walls and chloroplasts are found in plant cells, but not animal cells, such as the ones in you and me.

And luckily for you and me, this means we aren't green.

In summary, we just identified several similarities and differences in our comparison of animal and plant cells.

While both cell types have a cell membrane, cytosol, a nucleus, and mitochondria, plant cells have a cell wall that makes them stiff and rigid.

Think about celery stalks, and they have chloroplasts which make sugars and give plants their green color.

All of these are just a handful of the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells.

As you go forward in your biology journey, you'll probably learn about a lot more, but the differences that we've covered are a big part of what makes plant and animal cells so distinct and unique from each other.

These differences are why we don't see green lions that photosynthesize using chloroplasts or floppy raw veggies with cell membranes but no cell walls.

Now, I hope that you have a clear understanding of the different cell parts in both animal and plant cells and that spotting the differences between the two will be easy breezy.