# Animal Cell vs Plant Cell

> Animal and plant cells are both eukaryotic, so they share a nucleus, mitochondria and a membrane system. A plant cell adds a rigid wall, chloroplasts and a large central vacuole, which together suit it to standing still and making its own food.

Web page: https://cellnaut.com/topics/animal-vs-plant-cell

![Teaching illustration: Animal Cell vs Plant Cell](https://cellnaut.com/topic-illustrations/animal-vs-plant-cell-teaching.jpg)

## Labelled parts

1. **Animal plasma membrane**: The only outer boundary of an animal cell, so the cell can change shape.
2. **Animal nucleus**: Holds the DNA and sits near the middle of the cell.
3. **Endoplasmic reticulum**: Folded membranes that make and carry proteins and lipids; both cell types have them.
4. **Mitochondrion**: Releases usable energy from sugar in both animals and plants.
5. **Cell wall**: A stiff layer of cellulose outside the membrane that gives the plant cell its box-like shape.
6. **Central vacuole**: Stores water and ions and pushes the cytoplasm against the wall, keeping the cell firm.
7. **Chloroplast**: Captures light and builds sugar by photosynthesis; animal cells have none.
8. **Plant nucleus**: Often pushed to the edge by the large vacuole.

## How they differ

| Feature | Animal cell | Plant cell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Outer boundary | Plasma membrane only | Cell wall outside the plasma membrane |
| Shape | Round or irregular, can change | Fixed, often box-like |
| Chloroplasts | Absent | Present in green tissues |
| Vacuole | Small and temporary, if any | One large central vacuole |
| Centrioles | Present in the centrosome | Absent in flowering plants |
| Stored sugar | Glycogen | Starch |

**What both have in common:** Nucleus, Mitochondria, Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, Ribosomes, Plasma membrane

## Key points

- Only plant cells have a cell wall, chloroplasts and a large central vacuole.
- Both cell types have a nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum and a Golgi apparatus.
- Plants make sugar in chloroplasts, yet their mitochondria still burn it for energy.

## Check yourself

**1. Which structure is found in plant cells but not in animal cells?**

- A. Mitochondrion
- B. Chloroplast
- C. Nucleus
- D. Ribosome

**Answer:** B. Chloroplast - Chloroplasts carry out photosynthesis, which animal cells do not do.

**2. What does the large central vacuole do for a plant cell?**

- A. Makes ATP
- B. Keeps the cell firm by holding water
- C. Copies DNA
- D. Builds the cell wall

**Answer:** B. Keeps the cell firm by holding water - Water pressing outward against the wall keeps the cell rigid.

## Related lessons

- [What Is a Cell?](https://cellnaut.com/learn/what-is-a-cell)
- [Mitochondria and Chloroplasts](https://cellnaut.com/learn/energy-organelles)

## See it in 3D

- [Animal Cell](https://cellnaut.com/studio/animal)
- [Plant Cell](https://cellnaut.com/studio/plant)

Explanations rewritten in our own words from Biology 2e, Chapter 4: Cell Structure (OpenStax), licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/4-introduction