The Plant Cell (How does it work?)

Plant cells are eukaryotic, and yet they differ slightly from animal cells. The plant cell has a more rigid cell wall than that of animals. It has many similar organelles to animal cells, organelles are micro organs is a cell that carry out its functions. However, the main difference in plant cells is the chloroplast, while normally animal cells have a mitochondria used for respiration and the creation of energy. The chloroplast is an organelle that contains many stacks called granules that store from sunlight (chlorophyll II), a compound that is used in photosynthesis to create energy.

Questions:
1. How to plant and animal cells differ?
2. What are organelles?
3. What type of cells are plants?

Reference:
•Carpi, A. (1998). The cell. Retrieved from http://web.jjay.cuny.edu/~acarpi/NSC/13-cells.htm

Don't Neglect Plants (They're Important!)

Plants come in all shapes, colors and sizes, ranging from the largest of trees to the simplest of clovers. However, regardless of their sizes, they all have various important features in nature. To begin with, they all provide oxygen (especially aquatic plants), which is a key gas that animals use for respiration. Secondly, flowers in particular help in pollination to produce more plants and plant types. Example of this process, when a bee collects its pollen from a plant, then continues to another, it cross pollinates another plant or area. Other basic functions of plants are providing food and shelter for animals in nature.

Questions:
1. What type of plants produce the most oxygen?
2. What does pollination result in?
3. Are all plants useful?

Reference:
•Creek, H. (2001, april 03). Plants and our Environment. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/3715/

How Do Plants Make Energy?

Every living organism on the planet is in the need of energy to survive. Plants do so by a process called Photosynthesis, which is the process of creating food (usually sugars) using the energy of sunlight. This makes plants very unique in the sense that they can synthesis their own food using only the sun, thus the term Photo-synthesis. The basic elements involved in this chemical reaction are an intake of Carbon Dioxide + Water, and a resultant of Sugar and Oxygen. Plants are the producers in an ecosystem, while all animals are consumers.

Questions:
1. What is the process of Photosynthesis?
2. What are the elements involved in photosynthesis?
3. What is the most important trait of plants that makes them essential to an ecosystem?

Reference:
• Carter, J. (2004, november 02). Photosynthesis. Retrieved from http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm