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🔬 The Cell

The smallest unit of life, and the busy machinery packed inside it.

lessons

~30 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Teens

level

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What you’ll learn

State cell theory and distinguish prokaryotic from eukaryotic cells.Cells are the smallest unit of life, revealed by early microscopes. Cell theory says all life is made of cells that come from other cells. Cells divide into simple prokaryotes and complex eukaryotes.
Identify key organelles and describe their functions.The nucleus stores DNA, mitochondria produce energy as ATP, ribosomes and the ER and Golgi manufacture and ship proteins, and the selectively permeable membrane controls what crosses in and out.
Compare plant and animal cells and explain specialization and cell division.Plant cells add walls, chloroplasts, and vacuoles. Cells specialize into types like nerve and muscle to divide labor, and they reproduce by mitosis, upholding the rule that cells come from pre-existing cells.

Questions this course answers

What is the smallest unit that can be considered alive?

The cell is the basic unit of life; all living things are made of one or more cells.

Who coined the term 'cell' after examining cork in 1665?

Robert Hooke named the box-like compartments he saw in cork 'cells.'

A key difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is that eukaryotes have:

Eukaryotic cells enclose their DNA in a true nucleus; prokaryotic DNA floats freely.

The nucleus of a eukaryotic cell mainly functions to:

The nucleus houses DNA and directs the cell's activities.

Mitochondria are called the powerhouses of the cell because they:

Mitochondria carry out cellular respiration, producing ATP that powers the cell.

The cell membrane is described as selectively permeable because it:

The membrane controls exchange, allowing certain molecules in and out while excluding others.

Grounded in trusted sources

Britannica, 'Cell (biology)' (britannica.com/science/cell-biology)
Alberts, Bruce et al., 'Molecular Biology of the Cell' (Garland Science, 6th ed., 2015)
Nature Education Scitable, 'Eukaryotic Cells' (nature.com/scitable)
Khan Academy, 'Prokaryotes and eukaryotes' (khanacademy.org)

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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