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Lesson: Chapter 6 — The Structure and Function of Plant and Animal Cells

6.3. The structure of cells 1 of 5

Activity 01 — cheek cells

You do not have to go far to look at an animal cell. The easiest specimen to obtain is on the inside of your own cheek — cheek cells.

Materials

Something like a yoghurt spoon, a clean glass slide, a drop of water, a cover slip, a light microscope.

Figure to be added

Figure 6.2 (a) — rinsing the mouth, scraping the inside of the cheek, and placing the sample on the glass slide.

Method

  1. Rinse the mouth.
  2. Using something like a yoghurt spoon, carefully scrape the inside of the cheek to obtain a sample of cheek cells.
  3. Take a clean glass slide, put a drop of water on it, and place the sample of cheek cells on the drop.
  4. Cover with a cover slip so that no air bubbles get in, and observe under the light microscope.

Figure to be added

Figure 6.2 (b) — stained cheek cells as they appear under the light microscope.

Observation

Once stained, separate cells can be made out clearly. None of them has a rigid outline, and in the middle of each is a densely stained part — the nucleus.

Why keep the air bubbles out?

A bubble trapped under the cover slip appears through the microscope as a circle with a dark rim — and a beginner mistakes it for a cell more often than not. That is why lowering the cover slip slowly is part of the method.