Cells and Cell Structure

Vocabulary flashcards covering the characteristics of living things, cellular organization, and basic cell structures.

Cell

The basic unit of life and the smallest structure that can carry out all the processes needed for life, such as respiration, growth, and reproduction.

Unicellular organisms

Organisms that consist of only one cell, such as bacteria.

Multicellular organisms

Organisms that are made of many cells working together, such as humans and plants.

Organelles

Membrane-bound structures found in the cytoplasm with particular functions, such as nuclei, chloroplasts, and mitochondria.

Cell membrane

A thin layer that surrounds the cell.

Cytoplasm

The material contained inside a cell in which other structures, such as the nucleus, are located.

Nucleus

The cell's rounded control centre, enclosed in a nuclear membrane, which controls cell division and without which the cell dies.

Nuclear membrane

The membrane that encloses the nucleus.

DNA

The genetic material contained in the nucleus that carries instructions for all cell activities, such as growth and protein production, and determines what type the cell will be.

Robert Hooke

The individual credited with observing cork cells.