All living things are made up of cells. The structures of different types of cells are related to their function.

Animal cells and plant cells have features in common, such as a nucleus, cytoplasm, cell membrane, mitochondria and ribosomes. Plant and algal cells also have a cell wall, and often have chloroplasts and a permanent vacuole. Bacterial and yeast cells have different structures to animal and plant cells.

Nucleus

Cytoplasm

Cell membrane

Mitochondria

Ribosomes

Plant Cells

Cell wall

Chloroplasts

Permanent vacuole

Bacterial cells

Yeast

Specialised cells

Leaf Cell
Absorbs light energy for photosynthesis.
Packed with chloroplasts. Regular shaped, closely packed cells form a continuous layer for efficient absorption of sunlight.

Root hair cell
Absorbs water and mineral ions from the soil. Long 'finger-like' process with very thin wall, which gives a large surface area.

Sperm cell
Fertilises an egg cell - female gamete. The head contains genetic information and an enzyme to help penetrate the egg cell membrane. The middle section is packed with mitochondria for energy. The tail moves the sperm to the egg.

Red blood cells
Contains haemoglobin to carry oxygen to the cells.Thin outer membrane to let oxygen diffuse through easily. Shape increases the surface area to allow more oxygen to be absorbed efficiently. No nucleus, so the whole cell is full of haemoglobin.

Diffusion

Dissolved substances have to pass through the cell membrane to get into or out of a cell. Diffusion is one of the processes that allows this to happen.