Look at chloroplasts

Take one plant from the bowl. Break off one of the younger leaves near the tip.

Place the leaf with its underside up, in a drop of water on a clean slide. Put on a cover glass.

Look at this leaf under low power. Some cells seem to be packed with small green bodies. These bodies are called chloroplasts.

Do you think that these elodea cells have the same function as those of the onion you looked at? Why or why not?

 

The part of the onion from which you took cells is usually found below the ground. The elodea plant is found where sunlight strikes the plant.

What does this suggest about the function of chloroplasts?

Where are the chloroplasts located in the cell?

What is the shape of a chloroplast?

Describe the movement of chloroplasts

Chloroplasts have no means of moving about. How might their movement be explained?

Other structures are present in cells of elodea. But all of these except the cell wall, are hidden by chloroplasts. With patience and careful observation of many cells, however, you may be able to find a nucleus and other parts of the cell.

What methods might you use to see these structures better?

Compare and contrast the two kinds of living cells you have seen. How are they alike? How do they differ?