Build a model of an animal cell
Suitable For
Grade 6
Difficulty
1
Time Required
<2 Days
Supervision
Advised
What’s it about?
‘Cells’ are the basic building blocks of an animal’s body. These cellular building blocks are so tiny you would need about 10 000 just to cover a pinhead. There are a huge amount of different kinds of cells in an animal’s body, including nerve cells, skin cells, blood cells, bone cells, fat cells, muscle cells and many more. A cell is basically a little parcel of organic or ‘life’ chemicals within a thin membrane of protein and fat. The membrane holds the cell together, but lets nutrients in and waste out. In the science experiment, you will learn about living cells by building a model of an animal cell:
Topics covered
Cells, Membrane, DNA
What will I need?
- FLAVOURED GELATINE DESERT MIX
- PLASTIC ZIP-LOC BAGS
- BOWL
- GRAPE
- PEANUTS
- WHITE POSTER BOARD & MARKER
- CAMERA
Procedure (Method)
‘Cells’ are the basic building blocks of an animal’s body. These cellular building blocks are so tiny you would need about 10 000 just to cover a pinhead. There is a huge amount of different kinds of cells in an animal’s body, including nerve cells, skin cells, blood cells, bone cells, fat cells, muscle cells and many more. A cell is basically a little parcel of organic or ‘life’ chemicals within a thin membrane of protein and fat. The membrane holds the cell together, but ALLOWS nutrients in and waste out. In the science experiment, you will learn about living cells by building a model of an animal cell:
- Make the flavoured gelatine by following the directions on the package.
- Allow about 20 minutes for the gelatine mixture to cool down and then pour it into a plastic zip-loc bag.
- Seal the bag, and when it is cool enough, place it in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
- After about 4 hours, take the ‘firm’ gelatine out of the refrigerator and open the bag.
- Now, use your finger to push a grape into the centre of the gelatine mould. Then insert about 5 peanuts so that they are distributed evenly around the grape in the centre. This forms your model of a cell.
- Use the poster board and marker to make a stand up legend for your model cell, as shown in the diagram above. Take a picture of the bag and its contents and fix the photo to the left hand side of the poster, draw a cell on the right side of the poster about the same size as the bag in the picture. Label the main parts of the cell as follows: Cell membrane, Cytoplasm, Nucleus, Mitochondria!
How does it work?
A cell is the most basic and smallest of building blocks in a living organisms’ body. All cells have a membrane that holds the cell together, but still lets nutrients in and waste out – this is represented by the plastic bag. Organelles are structures within cells that have specific functions, such as the nucleus or mitochondria. At the centre of the cell is the nucleus (the grape). This is the cell’s control centre and it contains the amazing molecule DNA.
DNA not only has all the instructions that the cell needs to function, but also has the pattern for new human life. The peanuts placed in the gelatine mould represent the mitochondria which are the power stations of the cell. In the mitochondria, food and oxygen combine to produce the energy needed for the cell to function. The gelatine or ‘cytoplasm’ is a clear jelly like material inside the membrane, in which all the ‘organelles’ are floating. These common parts of the cell all work together and are necessary for the functioning of the cell.
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