Cell types and cell structures viewed in light and electron micrographs
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Question
What is a micrograph?
Answer
A **photograph** of a specimen taken through a **microscope**.
Question
What is an electron micrograph?
Answer
A micrograph taken with an **electron microscope** — high enough magnification to see small organelles such as mitochondria.
Question
Define an organelle.
Answer
A structure inside a cell that does a **specific job** (for example the nucleus or a mitochondrion).
Question
What is the first clue to look for when reading a micrograph?
Answer
Whether there is a **nucleus** — no nucleus means **prokaryotic**.
Question
In a micrograph, how do you know a cell is prokaryotic?
Answer
**No nucleus** and **no membrane-bound organelles**; the DNA lies **free in the cytoplasm**, and the cell is **small**.
Question
In a micrograph, how do you know a cell is eukaryotic?
Answer
It has a **nucleus** and **membrane-bound organelles** (such as mitochondria).
Question
Plant vs animal cell in a micrograph — how do you tell?
Answer
A **plant** cell has a **cell wall** and often **chloroplasts**; an **animal** cell has **neither**.
Question
Cell wall but no chloroplasts — which cell type?
Answer
A **fungal** cell (its wall is made of **chitin**).
Question
What must a 'Deduce' answer about a micrograph include?
Answer
The **cell type** AND a **visible feature** as the reason (for example 'no nucleus, so prokaryotic').
Question
Name four features to label when drawing a nucleus from an electron micrograph.
Answer
The **double membrane (nuclear envelope)**, the **nuclear pores**, the **chromatin** and the **nucleolus**.
Question
Why draw the nuclear envelope as two lines?
Answer
Because it is a **double membrane** — drawing a single line is the most common lost mark.
Question
Roughly how large is a typical prokaryotic cell?
Answer
Small — about **1–5 μm** across (eukaryotic cells are usually much larger).
Question
How do you identify a mitochondrion in an electron micrograph?
Answer
It is **oval** (sausage-shaped) with folded inner membranes called **cristae**.
Question
How do you tell rough ER from smooth ER in a micrograph?
Answer
**Rough ER** has membranes **studded with ribosomes** (dots); **smooth ER** has a **plain surface with no dots**.
Question
How do you identify the Golgi apparatus in a micrograph?
Answer
It looks like a **stack of flattened, curved sacs**, often with small vesicles nearby.
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