Owusu-Ansah 1

Title:
The Cells of Living Organisms
Hypotheses:
If a plant, animal, protist and bacteria cell are examined under a microscope, then two cells will
have similar structures like a nucleus (animal and protist cells), as will the other two (plant and
bacteria cells) like a cell membrane.
If a plant cell, animal cell, and protist cell is examined, then a nucleus will be seen.
If a bacteria cell is examined, then a nucleus will not be seen.
If a plant cell is examined, then a cell wall will be seen, which a distinct organelle is.
Materials:
Microscope
Slides
Pencil
Paper
Eye Goggles
Procedure:
Place the slides underneath the microscope and examine each structure. Sketch the
structures of each cell examined. Take note of certain characteristics, as well as the similarities
and differences. This lab was done to identify the individual characteristics of each cell, as well
as record and analyze the similarities and differences between cells.
Owusu-Ansah 2

1. Plug in the microscope into the electrical outlet.
2. Ensure that the revolving nosepiece is on the lowest power, which has a magnification of
40X.
3. Adjust the course adjustment until the stage reaches its highest distance away from the
base.
4. Carefully place the glass slide on the stage using the stage clip.
5. Turn on the light for a better view of the slide. This is located at the base of the
microscope.
6. To further adjust the stage, use the adjustment nobs located underneath the stage. This
moves the stage from left to right as well as up or down.
7. Once the organism is in clear focus, draw a sketch of what is seen.
8. Turn the revolving nosepiece to either a medium power with a magnification of 100X, or
a high power, with a magnification of 1000x.
9. When on a medium or high objective, solely use the fine adjustment for a more focused
look of the organism. Do not adjust the course adjustment.
10. Draw a sketch of what is seen under the microscope on a medium or high power. A
minimum of two sketches should be recorded for each organism.
11. Return the revolving nosepiece to the lowest objective, and carefully remove the glass
from the stage.
12. Repeat Steps 3 through 11 for the three remaining organisms being used in the lab .
Results (Data):
Refer to Appendix A. Appendix A is a sketch of the first organism examined, an onion
bulb. The onion bulb is an example of a plant cell, and evidence can be found through careful
Owusu-Ansah 3

examination of the sketch, which includes a cell wall. The cell wall is distinct characteristic of a
plant cell.
Refer to Appendix B. Appendix B is a sketch of the second organism examined, the
small intestine frog. When the sketch of this organism is examined, a vain-like structure can
clearly be seen. This organism is an example of an animal cell.
Refer to Appendix C. Appendix C is a sketch of the third organism examined, Amoeba.
In this sketch, the nucleus of each individual cell can be seen. One of the characteristics of a
protist cell is for the cell to contain a nucleus. This is confirmed in this sketch.
Refer to Appendix D. Appendix D is a sketch to the fourth organism examined, the
Typical Spirillum. This sketch is of an organism with an indefinite shape. There are several
specks within the organism, and it is also bound by a membrane.
Conclusion:
For this lab, four hypotheses were made. The first hypothesis made was that if all of the
different cells were examined, then the animal and protist cells would have similar structures due
to the fact that they are both eukaryotic structures. However this reason was not strong enough
to base the hypothesis on, and the lab results reflected that. The hypothesis was not supported.
The sketches of these two cells did not show any obvious similarities. The second hypothesis
made was if a plant, animal, or protist cell is examined, then a nucleus will be seen. This
hypothesis was not supported by the data. In the sketch of the animal cell, no nucleus was
present.
My third hypothesis stated that if a bacteria cell was examined, then a nucleus will not be
seen. This hypothesis was based on prior knowledge; bacteria has a prokaryotic structure. This
Owusu-Ansah 4

hypothesis was supported by the data. In the sketch of the Typical Spirillum, there was no true
evidence of a nucleus. The last hypothesis made was that if a plant cell was examined, then a
cell wall would be present. This hypothesis was also supported by the data. In the
representation of the onion bulb, several cell walls were seen. In Appendixs A, B, C, and D, the
four types of cells are represented. The plant and protist cells all have a noticeable nucleus. The
bacteria cell is bound by a type of membrane. The sketch of the animal cell shows no nucleus,
which is unusual for it being a eukaryotic structure.
There are a few sources of error within this lab. It is essential to know how to use you
the materials that you are given. If a student does not have the proper knowledge to use a
material, this certainly increases the chance of error. For an example, not having much prior
knowledge of how to use the microscope hindered our ability to properly examine the organisms
on the higher objectives. Another source of error may have been inaccurate drawing of a cell.
This specifically applies to the animal cell, because a nucleus was not present in the sketch. I
learned that cells do not have as much of a similar structure as I thought. Learning this will help
me to better understand the distinct roles of each type of cell.