3.3 Super Cells!

A. Plants and Animals

To make humans with big superpowers we have to go real small because the way to change our powers starts with parts of our body too small to see. All of our traits – like if we have a widow’s peek or can roll our tongue – come from directions deep inside our bodies, directions that are too small to see. To understand our ability to create super powers we have to all the way down to where our code is stored: our cells. 

Let’s review some basics about cells. If you already know all about cells, you can go faster through this section. 

Exploring Cells: Plant vs. Animal:  Below are different types of images of a person and a plant. Zoom into each. As you zoom in, think about:

  • What do plant and animal cells have in common?
  • What is different about plant and animal cells?
  • Does anything surprise you?

plant cell

*no dye added

animal cell

*has dye added so you can see it

B. What's a cell?

A cell is one of those words that have more than one meaning. A prison cell is where someone in jail sleeps. A cell could be where a monk or religious person sleeps. A cell is also the smallest unit that makes up living things. An analogy- Which of these best describes a cell and why? Drag and drop to answer

C. Where does strength come from?

Cells might be tiny, but cells, and what happens inside them can impact an entire organism. For example, different living things have different strengths and different living things get their strength from different places. 


Directions: Read this short passage about super strength to see how cells can impact an entire organism and answer the questions below:

  • What’s the main difference between plant and animal cells?
  • How does the source of strength for plants and animals differ?
  • Where does “Super Strength” come from:

Choose which you want to read:

Comic Book Style

Article Style

D. Cell Walls?

Directions: Complete the analogies below to explain why plants have cell walls. 

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