Cell Structure Practice Questions

Name structures A and B.

Structure C is the cell membrane. State the function of the cell membrane.

State the function of structure B.

Name one sub-cellular structure that would be found in a plant cell but not in the animal cell in Figure 1.

Complete the table to give the function of each sub-cellular structure.

Sub-cellular structure	Function
Chloroplast
Permanent vacuole
Cell wall

The cell wall of a plant cell is made of a carbohydrate. Name this carbohydrate.

Cells taken from a potato tuber growing underground do not contain chloroplasts. Suggest why.

The student added a drop of iodine solution to the cells on the slide.

Give one reason why a stain such as iodine solution is used.

The student lowered the cover slip slowly using a mounted needle. Explain why.

The student viewed the cells using an eyepiece lens of $\times 10$ and an objective lens of $\times 40$.

Calculate the total magnification used.

As well as labels, state one other thing the student must include on the drawing of the cells.

Name structure Y, the outer layer of the bacterial cell.

Name structure X.

Describe the main genetic material of a bacterial cell.

Bacterial cells are prokaryotic cells. Give the name used for cells that have their genetic material enclosed in a nucleus.

Calculate the real width of the cheek cell in mm.

Use the equation:

$\text{magnification} = \dfrac{\text{size of image}}{\text{size of real object}}$

Give the real width of the cheek cell in micrometres ($\mu$m).

In an image of the same cell, a mitochondrion of real length $1.5\ \mu$m appears to be 3 mm long.

Calculate the magnification of this image.

Give the diameter of a ribosome in metres. Give your answer in standard form.

Calculate how many times longer the human liver cell is than the bacterial cell.

Calculate how many times greater the length of the bacterial cell is than the diameter of a ribosome.

A student said: 'A ribosome could not be seen clearly using a school light microscope.'

Use the data in the table to suggest why the student is correct.

Name the type of cell division used by bacteria to multiply.

Calculate how many times the bacteria will have divided in 5 hours.

Calculate the number of bacteria in the flask after 5 hours.

Give your answer in standard form to 2 significant figures.

After 24 hours the number of bacteria in the flask was much lower than the number calculated using the mean division time.

Suggest two reasons why.

The student passed the inoculating loop through a Bunsen burner flame before transferring the bacteria to the agar.

Explain why.

The student fixed the lid of the Petri dish with two short pieces of tape, rather than sealing the lid all the way round.

Explain why the lid was not sealed all the way round.

The student stored the Petri dish upside down. Give one reason why.

In school laboratories, cultures of bacteria are incubated at a maximum of 25 °C.

Explain why cultures are not incubated at 37 °C.

Calculate the cross-sectional area of the clear zone around the disc soaked in hand gel B.

Use the equation: $\text{area} = \pi r^2$

Give your answer to 3 significant figures.

Which hand gel was the most effective at killing the bacteria? Give a reason for your answer.

Describe the control the student should have used in this investigation and explain why it is needed.

A sperm cell has many mitochondria in the middle section of the cell.

Explain how this is related to the function of a sperm cell.

A muscle cell from the leg contains many more mitochondria than a cell from the outer layer of the skin.

Suggest why.

A nerve cell is a long, thin cell with many branched endings.

Explain how these two features are related to the function of a nerve cell.

Give two ways in which an electron microscope differs from a light microscope.

Explain how the development of the electron microscope has increased scientists' understanding of cells.

A light microscope can resolve two points that are 200 nm apart. An electron microscope can resolve two points that are 0.20 nm apart.

Calculate how many times better the resolution of the electron microscope is than that of the light microscope.

Give the resolution of the electron microscope, 0.20 nm, in metres. Give your answer in standard form.

What is meant by cell differentiation?

Explain why cell differentiation is important as an organism develops.

In mature animals, cell division is mainly restricted to repair and replacement. Many types of plant cell keep the ability to differentiate throughout the life of the plant.

Suggest one advantage to a plant of keeping this ability.

A skin cell from an adult and a nerve cell from the same adult contain exactly the same genetic material, but have very different structures.

Suggest how this is possible.

Compare the structure of a bacterial cell with the structure of a palisade mesophyll cell.