Plant Cell analogy in comparison to Melbourne High School

If Melbourne High was a generic plant cell then different parts of the school would represent different organelles in a plant cell. Firstly, the cell wall which in plant cells is supposed to strengthen and support the cell. In combination with the cell membrane which is a semi-permeable membrane, allows only certain substances in and out of the cell with the use of a phospholipid bilayer, represents the gates of Melbourne High School. Phospholipid Bi layer A mitochondrion is a small organelle which we believe was engulfed by a cell some point in biological history. We can prove this with a theory called endosymbiotic theory of mitochondrial development. This theory uses the fact the mitochond ria has a double membrane and its own DNA to prove that mitochondria was in fact engulfed by a cell. A mitochondrion is what gives a cell its energy by efficiently converting sugars into ATP (Adenosine Triphospate). If Melbourne High school was a plant cell, mitochondria would represent students. The nucleus is the control centre of any cell with the exclusion of prokaryotic cells. It reads messages sent to it from other cells and instructs the cell on what action to do. The Nucleus would represent the Principal/Assistant Principal or a SLC in Melbourne High School. The vacuole is basically a dump of water, minerals and nutrients which are vital for the survival of a cell. The chloroplasts synthesize light into chemical energy in the form of sugars. Chloroplasts were also thought to have been engulfed by a cell in the past because of different DNA and a double membrane. These two organelles represent the canteen of Melbourne High School. Ribosomes are classified as organelles but technically are not since they lack a membrane. Ribosomes synthesize protein which is essential for the survival of the cell. The teachers of Melbourne High would be equivalent to Ribosomes in a cell. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle which has two variants. One is studded with ribsomes synthesizes proteins which it then transports to the Golgi apparatus, this

is the rough variant. The other which is called the smooth variant which synthesizes phospholipids and fatty acids, unlike the rough ER, the smooth ER stores what it synthesizes. In Melbourne High the ER represents the curriculum. The Golgi apparatus is an organelle which packages contents passed onto it and then secretes it in vesicles, through the cell membrane. The Golgi apparatus represents the teachers in Melbourne High School