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AS · Practice questions · Animal and plant cells

Name it, then say what it does.

Six original Cambridge-style questions on eukaryotic cell ultrastructure: organelles, plant and animal cells, and ATP.

Original questions All questions on this page are original work, written in the Cambridge AS & A Level style. They are not from past papers. They test the same concepts and skills the syllabus rewards.
Keep these straight

Structure, then function.

01
Recall
[4 marks]

State the function of: (a) smooth endoplasmic reticulum, (b) a lysosome, (c) plasmodesmata, (d) centrioles.

  • (a) makes lipids and steroids (and stores calcium ions). ✓
  • (b) contains hydrolytic enzymes that digest worn-out organelles or engulfed material. ✓
  • (c) link the cytoplasm of neighbouring plant cells through the cell walls. ✓
  • (d) organise the spindle (microtubules) during cell division. ✓
02
Explain
[4 marks]

Describe the roles of the organelles involved in making and secreting an extracellular enzyme.

  • The gene is transcribed in the nucleus and mRNA leaves through a nuclear pore. ✓
  • The enzyme is made on ribosomes on the rough ER and folded and transported in its cisternae. ✓
  • Vesicles carry it to the Golgi body, where it is modified and packaged into secretory vesicles. ✓
  • Secretory vesicles fuse with the cell surface membrane and release it by exocytosis; mitochondria supply ATP. ✓
03
Analysis
[4 marks]

Give four structural differences between a typical palisade mesophyll cell and a typical liver cell.

  • The palisade cell has a cellulose cell wall; the liver cell has none. ✓
  • The palisade cell has chloroplasts; the liver cell has none. ✓
  • The palisade cell has a large permanent vacuole with a tonoplast; the liver cell has only small temporary vacuoles. ✓
  • The liver cell has centrioles; the palisade cell has none (also accept: plasmodesmata in the plant cell; starch grains versus glycogen granules). ✓
04
Recall
[3 marks]

Outline the structure of a mitochondrion as seen with an electron microscope.

  • A double membrane (envelope); the inner membrane is folded into cristae. ✓
  • A matrix enclosed by the inner membrane. ✓
  • The matrix contains small circular DNA and 70S ribosomes. ✓
05
Explain
[2 marks]

Distinguish between cilia and microvilli.

  • Cilia contain microtubules (9 + 2 arrangement) and beat to move fluid or mucus across the cell surface. ✓
  • Microvilli are small folds of the cell surface membrane with no microtubule core; they do not move but increase the surface area for absorption. ✓
06
Explain
[3 marks]

State what is meant by ATP and give two energy-requiring processes in cells that use it.

  • ATP is adenosine triphosphate, the molecule that transfers energy from respiration to energy-requiring processes; it is hydrolysed to ADP and phosphate. ✓
  • Any two of: active transport, protein synthesis, DNA replication or cell division, muscle contraction, exocytosis, movement of cilia. ✓

Mark this once you have attempted all six and checked your working. It records a Practiced badge on the topic and adds a one-time bonus. Revealing the solutions alone does not count.