Look at an animal cells—your own!
Place a very small drop of tap water on a clean side. Rinse your mouth out with water. With the broad end of a toothpick, gently scrape the inside of your cheek. Deposit a little of the scraping and the drop of water by rolling the toothpick in it.
Stir the scraping into the drop of water with a toothpick until all of the drop is cloudy. Add a small drop of stain to the scraping. Place a cover glass on the slide. Observe with low power. You may find that some of the cells are folded over or piled on top of one another. Some may be broken. Find one or two that you can see clearly. Center these for viewing.
How does the edge of this kind of cell compare with the plant cells you observed?
Turn to the high-power objective. The nucleus of each cell should be clearly visible. You may have to adjust (usually reduce) the light.
Using the fine adjustment, focus up and down on one cell to determine its shape.
How does the shape of this animal cell compare with the shape of the plant cells you observed?
How would you be able to tell that this cell was from an animal and not a plant?
How are the plant and animal cells you have seen alike?
Would you expect cells from other parts of your body to be exactly like the cells from inside your cheek? Why or why not?
An organism may have many small cells rather than a few large cells. Suggest one or more possible explanations for this.
