The Cell

Front 1

Cell

Back 1

Basic unit of structure and function in living things.

Front 2

Microscope

Back 2

An instrument that makes small objects look larger.

Front 3

Organelle

Back 3

Tiny cell structures that carry out specific functions within the cell.

Front 4

Cell membrane

Back 4

Forms the outside boundary that separates the cell from its environment.

Front 5

Cell wall

Back 5

Rigid layer of nonliving material that surrounds the cells of plants and some other organisms.

Front 6

Nucleus

Back 6

Cell structure that contains nucleic acids, the chemical instructions that direct all the cell’s activities.

Front 7

Mitochondria

Back 7

Rod-shaped cell structures that convert energy in food molecules to energy the cell can use to carry out its functions.

Front 8

Ribosome

Back 8

A small grain-like structure in the cytoplasm of a cell where proteins are made.

Front 9

Chloroplast

Back 9

A structure in the cells of plants and some other organisms that captures energy from sunlight and uses it to produce food.

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Element

Back 10

Any substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances.

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Compound

Back 11

Two or more elements that are chemically combined.

Front 12

Carbohydrate

Back 12

Energy-rich organic compound, such as a sugar or a starch, that is made of the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Front 13

Lipid

Back 13

Energy-rich organic compound, such as fat, oil, or wax, that is made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Front 14

Protein

Back 14

Large organic molecule made of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur.

Front 15

Amino acid

Back 15

A small molecule that is linked chemically to other amino acids to form proteins.

Front 16

Enzyme

Back 16

A type of protein that speeds up a chemical reaction in a living thing.

Front 17

Nucleic acid

Back 17

Very large organic molecule made of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and phosphorus, that contains the instructions cells need to carry out all the functions of life.

Front 18

Selectively permeable

Back 18

A property of cell membranes that allows some substances to pass through, while others cannot.

Front 19

Diffusion

Back 19

The process by which molecules move from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration.

Front 20

Osmosis

Back 20

The diffusion of water molecules through a selectively permeable membrane.

Front 21

Passive transport

Back 21

The movement of materials through a cell membrane without using energy.

Front 22

Active transport

Back 22

The movement of materials through a cell membrane using cellular energy.

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Photosynthesis

Back 23

The process by which plants and some other organisms capture energy in sunlight and use it to make food.

Front 24

Respiration

Back 24

The process by which cells break down simple food molecules to release the energy they contain.

Front 25

Fermentation

Back 25

The process by which cells break down molecules to release energy without using oxygen.

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Cell cycle

Back 26

The regular sequence of growth and division that cells undergo.

Front 27

Mitosis

Back 27

The stage of the cell cycle curing which the cell’s nucleus divides into two new nuclei and one copy of the DNA is distributed into each daughter cell.

Front 28

Chromosome

Back 28

A double rod of condensed chromatin; contains DNA that carries genetic information

Front 29

Interphase

Back 29

The stage of the cell cycle that takes place before cell division occurs.

Front 30

Cytokinesis

Back 30

The final stage of the cell cycle, in which the cell’s cytoplasm divides, distributing the organelles into each of the two new cells