Compare cell types

Supplied materials

• All measurements and observations below are supplied classroom examples. They are not data from actual learners or a claim about a particular real site.
• Paper or a browser document for a labeled drawing, table or explanation.
• Worked problem inputs: Model A has membrane and DNA but no nucleus. Model B has a nucleus but no chloroplast. Compare justified identities.
• Assessment case 1: Model X has DNA and a membrane but no membrane-bound nucleus. What does adding a drawn chloroplast alone establish? Which inference or prediction is best supported?
• Assessment case 2: Which nucleus-based cell category fits? Supplied case: Cell containing a nucleus.
• Assessment case 3: Which supplied specific cell identity fits? Supplied case: Leaf cell with wall and chloroplasts.
• Assessment case 4: Which supplied specific cell identity fits? Supplied case: Muscle cell without a cell wall.
• Assessment case 5: Which nucleus-based cell category fits? Supplied case: Archaeal cell without membrane-bound nucleus.
• Assessment case 6: A fungal cell has a nucleus but no chloroplast. Which inference is warranted? Which inference or prediction is best supported?

Learn the idea

The cell models here include a membrane and genetic information. Eukaryotic cell models have a membrane-bound nucleus; prokaryotic cells lack one. A plant is not the only kind of eukaryote.

Prokaryotic means cell lacks a membrane-bound nucleus. Eukaryotic means cell has a membrane-bound nucleus. Plant cell means listed eukaryotic cell with wall and chloroplasts. Animal cell means listed eukaryotic cell without cell wall.

For the supplied mechanism problem, Model A has membrane and DNA but no nucleus. Model B has a nucleus but no chloroplast. Compare justified identities. A fits a prokaryotic model. B fits a eukaryotic model; lacking a chloroplast does not make B prokaryotic or prove it is an animal, because many eukaryotes lack chloroplasts.

1. Read the supplied problem and mark the structures, processes or quantities named: Model A has membrane and DNA but no nucleus. Model B has a nucleus but no chloroplast. Compare justified identities.
2. Draw the relevant boundary, pathway or comparison and label it using the scientific ideas above.
3. Write a causal explanation or calculation, showing how each observation supports the result.
4. Compare your reasoning with the worked solution; name a condition that would change or limit the inference.

Check your reasoning

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Take it further

New case: a fungus cell has a nucleus and a cell wall but no chloroplast. Classify it and explain why it is not a plant solely because of the wall. Expected: eukaryotic; shared structures do not uniquely identify plant cells.

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