Biology Lab: Diversity of Cell Structure

Posted by Science Stuff / TeachersPayTeachers.com on 12/31/10

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This is a short, one hour lab that I wrote for my Biology I
students. This lab would be excellent for an average
Biology class or middle school science class. I use this at
the first of the school year after teaching about the
microscope and the cell organelles.

The purpose of the lab is to observe a variety of cells, to
compare plant cells and animal cells, and to observe the
life in a drop of pond water. Students will make wet mount
slides of onion cells, cheek cells, and Elodea cells.
Students are required to draw and label the cell organelles
and answer various questions comparing and contrasting
plant and animal cells.

Finally, let the students have some fun with the pond
water! My students always get so excited when viewing pond
water. The lab will ask to students to fill in a chart
about their observations of pond water. Students will have
to find four different organisms an describe their method
of locomotion, whether or not they have cell walls and
chloroplasts, and the method of food getting.

Materials required for this lab are: Microscope, slides,
onion, iodine, coverslips, methylene blue, Elodea plant,
pond water, colored pencils.

The download contains 7 pages: A 4 page lab for the student
and a 3 page answer key for the teacher. You will receive
both a pdf version of the lab and a Word document