Inside a Cell: Parts That Do Jobs
Aligned to MS-LS1-2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
A cell works like a tiny factory: each part has a job, and the parts work together to keep the cell alive. The nucleus stores instructions, mitochondria release energy, the cell membrane controls what enters and leaves, and chloroplasts in plant cells capture sunlight.
Worked example
A plant leaf cell stays alive because its chloroplasts make sugar from sunlight, its mitochondria break that sugar down for energy, and its membrane lets in the water and gases needed for both jobs — remove any one part and the whole cell fails.
Practice questions
- Look at a labeled cell diagram and list which part controls what enters and leaves the cell.
- Build a model of a cell using household objects and label each part with the job it does.
- Explain why a cell with damaged mitochondria would struggle to survive even if every other part worked.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Dentro de una célula: partes que hacen trabajos
Una célula funciona como una fábrica diminuta: cada parte tiene una función, y las partes trabajan juntas para mantener viva a la célula. El núcleo guarda las instrucciones, las mitocondrias liberan energía, la membrana celular controla lo que entra y sale, y los cloroplastos de las células vegetales captan la luz solar.
Ejemplo: Una célula de la hoja de una planta se mantiene viva porque sus cloroplastos producen azúcar a partir de la luz solar, sus mitocondrias descomponen ese azúcar para obtener energía, y su membrana deja entrar el agua y los gases necesarios para ambas tareas — si se elimina cualquiera de esas partes, toda la célula falla.
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