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Course 234 · Life course 56

Explain How Cells Support Living Things

A labeled cell-function model with membrane transport predictions, cell-type comparisons and an explanation connecting cells to tissues and organs. Six introductory lessons use supplied practice cases.

Before you start

Use paper or a free text document; every core input is supplied in the lessons.

Scientific Reasoning and Lab Readiness See everything you’ll need

Free download · Original practice data · No external account required. Download the starter pack

What you’ll leave with

A labeled cell-function model with membrane transport predictions, cell-type comparisons and an explanation connecting cells to tissues and organs.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload practice filesSupplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners aged 14+ building subject foundations and practical independence. Adults can use the same supplied cases.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Use paper or a free text document; every core input is supplied in the lessons.
  • A basic calculator is optional; show the method, units and checks.
  • Suggested earlier course: Scientific Reasoning and Lab Readiness
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

A labeled cell-function model with membrane transport predictions, cell-type comparisons and an explanation connecting cells to tissues and organs.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Classify supplied living and nonliving observations.
  • Label major structures with their distinct functions.
  • Compare typical plant, animal and bacterial cells and name an exception.
  • Predict two passive-movement directions with permeability assumptions.
  • Link cells, tissues and organs and repair the supplied flawed model.
  • Include the six changed-case responses with explanations.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Method: applies the course-specific rules to the supplied cases with visible intermediate work.
  • Accuracy: results agree with the stated facts, units, boundaries and independent checks.
  • Reasoning: explains why the result follows and identifies a limitation or unresolved question.
  • Transfer: completes changed cases and revises the final project when a relevant assumption changes.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Use the supplied mechanism

A cell is a bounded system that uses energy, regulates its internal conditions and carries hereditary information. Shape, motion or growth alone cannot establish life: crystals grow and machines move. A dormant cell can remain alive without visible growth.

02

Connect the middle steps

Plant and animal cells are eukaryotic: they have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Typical green plant cells additionally have a cell wall, a large central vacuole and chloroplasts for photosynthesis. Bacteria are prokaryotic and do not have a membrane-enclosed nucleus. Plants also have mitochondria; not every plant cell has chloroplasts.

03

Explain the final boundary

A model is useful when its labels and connections explain observations. A contradiction can reveal a missing structure, wrong function or hidden assumption. Change the part responsible for the observed process; avoid adding every possible feature.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Cell
Smallest basic structural and functional unit of a living organism.
Organelle
A specialized component within a cell.
Eukaryotic
Having a membrane-enclosed nucleus.
Prokaryotic
Lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus.
Diffusion
Net passive movement down a concentration gradient.
Tissue
A cooperating group of cells performing related functions.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Identify evidence of a living cell

    Evaluate combined observations that distinguish cellular life from nonliving material.

  2. 2
    10 min

    Connect cell parts to jobs

    Match major cell structures to distinct functions and predict a missing-function effect.

  3. 3
    10 min

    Compare plant, animal and bacterial cells

    Compare supplied cell structures and state where a typical-cell rule has exceptions.

  4. 4
    10 min

    Predict passive movement across a membrane

    Predict initial net passive movement using concentration and permeability assumptions.

  5. 5
    10 min

    Build the cell-to-organ hierarchy

    Arrange biological organization levels and justify the placement of an organ.

  6. 6
    13 min

    Repair a cell model using functions

    Repair a cell-function model and link a failure prediction to the responsible structure.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
ZIP · practice files

Explain How Cells Support Living Things practice files

Supplied practice cases, a blank working record, complete lesson instructions, and annotated worked examples.

Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

OpenStax: properties and levels of life
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Web open/search showed the official page, its topic heading and relevant concept description. This is a content/source check, not a provider endorsement.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01; interactive tools and videos were not certified by retrieval.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching cases, calculations, questions and examples; link and short factual paraphrase only. No copied source exercises or illustrations.

OpenStax: eukaryotic cell structures
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Web open/search showed the official page, its topic heading and relevant concept description. This is a content/source check, not a provider endorsement.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01; interactive tools and videos were not certified by retrieval.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching cases, calculations, questions and examples; link and short factual paraphrase only. No copied source exercises or illustrations.

OpenStax: prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Web open/search showed the official page, its topic heading and relevant concept description. This is a content/source check, not a provider endorsement.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01; interactive tools and videos were not certified by retrieval.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching cases, calculations, questions and examples; link and short factual paraphrase only. No copied source exercises or illustrations.

OpenStax: passive membrane transport
Source & access notes · checked 2026-10-01

Web open/search showed the official page, its topic heading and relevant concept description. This is a content/source check, not a provider endorsement.

Access: Official page retrieved with the web reader on 2026-10-01; interactive tools and videos were not certified by retrieval.

Reuse: Original fictional teaching cases, calculations, questions and examples; link and short factual paraphrase only. No copied source exercises or illustrations.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one