Plant Cell Or Animal Cell: Shoestring Venn Diagram

Although plant and animal cells share some basic similarities, they also have some distinctions. For instance, both plant and animal cells have a nucleus, but only plant cells have a cell plate, a divider that forms during cell division. In this activity you will group terms in a Venn diagram depending on whether they represent characteristics of plant cells, animal cells, or both.

Materials

Two colored shoestrings; Notebook paper; Scissors

Activity

1. Write the following terms double-spaced on your notebook paper:

Animal cell	centrioles	chloroplasts	mitochondria
Plant cell	cell membrane	cell wall	cytokinesis
Both	flagella	ribosomes	large vacuoles

2. Cut out the terms so that each term is on a small rectangle of paper.
3. On a table, make a circle with each shoestring, overlapping the circles so you have three separate areas as in a Venn diagram.
4. Look over the terms you have cut out. Place ''Plant cell'' over the left circle, ''Both'' over the middle where the circles overlap, and ''Animal cell'' over the right circle. See Figure 6.1.
5. Place the remainder of the terms in their proper locations within the circles. Refer to Figure 6.2 if you need reminders about animal and plant cells.

Follow-Up Questions

1. Which terms did you place in the animal cell region?
2. Which terms did you place in the plant cell region?
3. Which terms were characteristic of both plant and animal cells?

Answers

1. Centrioles and flagella.
2. Chloroplasts, cell wall, and large vacuoles.
3. Cell membrane, ribosomes, mitochondria, and cytokinesis.

Extension

Plants and animals are made up of eukaryotic cells, cells with nuclei and membrane bound organelles. Bacteria are prokaryotic cells, cells without nuclei or membrane-bound organelles. Use your shoestring Venn diagram to classify the following terms as prokaryotic, eukaryotic, or both: