The big picture
These nine ideas explain how cells make up a living thing.
| Idea | Remember | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Made of cells | One cell, or many joined up | onion skin: cells all through |
| Inside one cell | Each organelle has its own job | mitochondria release energy |
| The boundary | Water crosses toward more solute | a potato shrinks in salt water |
| Plant vs animal | Wall and vacuole, plus chloroplasts in green cells | tulsi cell vs a dog's cell |
| Plastids | Chloroplast: food from light. Chromoplast: colour. Leucoplast: stores food | a potato stores starch |
| Two kinds | DNA in a nucleus, or loose | a bacterium has no nucleus |
| Size limit | Surface grows ×4, inside ×8 | double the side |
| One becomes two | Mitosis: 2 cells. Meiosis: 4 cells | skin heals by mitosis |
| Dividing without control | Cancer cells lose control | cells that never stop |
Now open Chapter 2 in your NCERT book. It is called Cell: The Building Block of Life. You have met every idea in it. Name them before you read.