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Chapter 8 Cbse Class 8 Science Notes

Robert Hooke first observed cells in 1665 when examining a slice of cork under a microscope. A cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life, and can be either unicellular, like an amoeba, or multicellular, like humans. Cells come in various shapes and sizes but generally contain a cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. The nucleus contains the cell's genetic material and controls its activities, while the cytoplasm contains various organelles that carry out specific functions. Plant cells also contain a cell wall outside their cell membrane.

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240 views8 pages

Chapter 8 Cbse Class 8 Science Notes

Robert Hooke first observed cells in 1665 when examining a slice of cork under a microscope. A cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life, and can be either unicellular, like an amoeba, or multicellular, like humans. Cells come in various shapes and sizes but generally contain a cell membrane, cytoplasm, and nucleus. The nucleus contains the cell's genetic material and controls its activities, while the cytoplasm contains various organelles that carry out specific functions. Plant cells also contain a cell wall outside their cell membrane.

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Chapter 8

Cell Structure and Functions


Notes
# Discovery of cell
 The term ‘cell’ was first coined by Robert Hooke in the year 1665 when he
noticed boxes or compartments in a slice of cork under a microscope.

Cell: 
 A cell is defined as the basic smallest structural and functional unit of an
organism. They are complex units that are microscopic in nature.

 An organism can be made up of a single cell unit and they are called unicellular
organisms like an amoeba, paramecium, etc. 

 The single-cell unit of unicellular organisms performs all the functions necessary
for life like growth, digestion, respiration, excretion, and reproduction by itself.

 An organism made up of many cells is called a multicellular organism like


human beings, plants etc.

 In multicellular organisms, a group of special cells perform the same function


and are termed tissues. Similar tissues form an organ and organs form an
organism. Thus each cell or group of cells has a specific function to perform.

 In general, the cells exhibit a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and numbers and
these can vary from organism to organism.

 A cell can be as big as a hen’s egg which can be seen by the naked eye and as
small as 0.1 - 0.5 micrometres in a bacteria. 

 A cell can be of multiple shapes. It can be spherical like the red blood cells or
spindle-shaped like the muscle cells or branched like the nerve cells.

 The size of a cell is not related to the size of the organism, it is the function of
that cell that is important. The nerve cells perform the same function of
transferring messages whether it is in an elephant or a rat.

Parts of a Cell:
The cell has basically three main parts, which are the cell membrane, cytoplasm, and
nucleus.
a. Cell membrane: This is the basic component of a cell that encloses the
cytoplasm and nucleus and gives shape to the cell. This is also known as the
plasma membrane and it separates the cells from each other. It is porous in
nature to allow the transport of substances in and out of the cell. The plants
have an additional thick outer layer known as the cell wall.

b.

c. Cytoplasm: The jelly-like substance which is present between the cell


membrane and the nucleus is called the cytoplasm. There are various other
components of a cell that are present in the cytoplasm called organelles. They
are as follows:

 Mitochondria

 Endoplasmic reticulum or the ER

 Ribosomes
 Lysosomes

 Vacuole

 Golgi body

 Plastids are small coloured bodies in the cytoplasm of plants. The green
coloured ones are called chloroplasts.

 Centrosome which is present only in animal cells.

a. Nucleus: This is the dense spherical component that is present in the centre of
the cell. This is the most important part of a living cell as it controls all the
activities of the cell. It also contains thread-like structures called chromosomes
which carry the hereditary material in the genes.

b. Nuclear membrane: The nucleus of a cell is separated from the cytoplasm by a


porous membrane called a nuclear membrane which functions to transport
substances between the cytoplasm and the nucleus.

c. Nucleolus: There are small spherical bodies present in the nucleus which are
known as nucleolus.
Prokaryotic Cells:
The cells that lack a nuclear membrane for the nucleus are called prokaryotic cells, like
bacteria and blue-green algae.
Eukaryotic Cells:
The cells that have a defined nuclear membrane for the nucleus are called eukaryotic
cells. All organisms except bacteria and blue-green algae are eukaryotic cells. 

Comparison of Animal and Plant cell:


S No Component Animal cell Plant cell

1 Cell membrane Present Present

2. Cell wall Absent Present

3. Cytoplasm Present Present

4.  Nucleus Present Present

5. Nuclear membrane Present Present

6.  Plastids Absent Present

7.  Vacuole Present Present

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