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Plant and Animal Cell Comparison

Side-by-side Cambridge IGCSE comparison of plant and animal cell structures, covering presence, function, shape, and support.

#cell-comparison#plant-cell#animal-cell#cell-structure#organelles#igcse-biology

Plant and Animal Cell Comparison

Reference comparison of the structures candidates must know when describing and comparing a plant cell with an animal cell 1.

        PLANT CELL                     ANIMAL CELL
   ┌───────────────────┐          ╭───────────────────╮
   │ ▭ cell wall       │          │  ╭───╮            │
   │ ┌───────────────┐ │          │  │ ● │  ○ ○       │
   │ │ ╭───╮  ▨ ▨    │ │          │  ╰───╯   ○  ◌     │
   │ │ │ ● │  ▭ ▭    │ │          │   ○   ◌  ○        │
   │ │ ╰───╯   ▭     │ │          │     · · ·         │
   │ └───────────────┘ │          ╰───────────────────╯
   └───────────────────┘
   regular shape                  irregular shape
   ● nucleus  ▨ chloroplast  ▭ vacuole  ○ mitochondrion
StructurePlant cellAnimal cellFunction
Cell wallPresent (cellulose)AbsentRigid support and fixed shape
Cell membranePresentPresentControls entry and exit of substances
NucleusPresentPresentContains DNA and controls the cell
CytoplasmPresentPresentSite of metabolic reactions
MitochondrionPresentPresentAerobic respiration releases energy
ChloroplastIn photosynthetic cellsAbsentPhotosynthesis using chlorophyll
VacuoleLarge and permanent (cell sap)Small and temporaryStorage; plant support through turgor
RibosomesPresentPresentProtein synthesis

Key Differences to State

  1. Only plant cells have a cell wall, so plant cells keep a regular shape while animal cells are irregular.
  2. Only plant cells contain chloroplasts, because only plants photosynthesise.
  3. Plant cells have one large permanent vacuole; animal cells have small temporary ones, so turgidity supports plants but not animals.
  4. Both cell types share a cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, mitochondria and ribosomes — the shared set explains why so many cell processes are common to plants and animals.
  • Cell - Structural and functional unit of living organisms.
  • Cell Wall - Structure unique to plant and bacterial cells.
  • Small Vacuole - Small animal vacuoles against the large plant vacuole.
  • Chloroplast - Organelle confined to photosynthetic plant cells.
  • Ribosome - Shared organelle where protein synthesis happens.
  • Biology - Cambridge IGCSE life-science area.

Footnotes

  1. Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 syllabus for examination in 2026, 2027 and 2028 - Cell structure of plant and animal cells, limited to cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, chloroplasts, ribosomes, mitochondria and vacuoles (2.1.1), bacterial cell comparison (2.1.2), turgor and support (3.2). ↩