Plant and animal cells: what is the same and what is different
Plant and animal cells share five parts: a nucleus, cytoplasm, a cell membrane, mitochondria and ribosomes. Plant cells add three more. A cellulose cell wall makes the cell stronger, chloroplasts carry out photosynthesis, and a permanent vacuole holds cell sap. Animal cells have none of these three. Both are eukaryotic cells, which means their genetic material sits inside a nucleus.
Reading the comparison table
Each row of the table is one cell part. Each column is one type of cell. A tick means that type of cell has the part, and a cross means it does not. The bacterial column is there because AQA, Edexcel and OCR all cover bacterial cells next to plant and animal cells.
Run your eye down the animal and plant columns first. Five rows match. The rows for the cell wall, chloroplasts and permanent vacuole are where they split.
What they have in common
Both kinds of cell keep their DNA in a nucleus. Both carry out respiration in their mitochondria, so a leaf cell needs energy from glucose just as a skin cell does. Both make proteins at ribosomes, and both have a membrane round the outside of the cytoplasm.
The animal cell diagram lets you tap each of these shared parts to see its job.
Where they differ
A plant cell has a wall outside its membrane. The wall is made of cellulose, which the plant makes from glucose. AQA says it strengthens the cell.
Chloroplasts let the cell make its own glucose by photosynthesis. An animal cannot do this, so it gets glucose from its food instead.
The permanent vacuole is a space full of cell sap. Edexcel just calls it a vacuole.
Not every plant cell has chloroplasts or a permanent vacuole. AQA uses the word "often" for both. Every part is on the plant cell diagram.
How they grow and specialise
Cells change as a living thing develops, to take on special jobs. AQA calls this differentiation, and here plants and animals differ. Most types of animal cell differentiate early in life. Many types of plant cell keep the ability to differentiate all through the plant's life.
AQA gives examples of specialised cells from each group:
- in animals: sperm cells, nerve cells and muscle cells
- in plants: root hair cells, xylem cells and phloem cells
Where bacteria fit
Bacterial cells are prokaryotic. They have no nucleus, no mitochondria and no chloroplasts. Like plant cells, though, they do have a cell wall. The bacterial cell diagram shows their single DNA loop and plasmids.
Common mistakes
- Saying plant cells have no mitochondria. Plants respire all the time, so their cells have mitochondria.
- Saying a plant cell has a cell wall instead of a membrane. It has both, with the wall on the outside.
- Drawing a large permanent vacuole in an animal cell. AQA and Edexcel list a vacuole for plant cells only.
- Thinking every plant cell has chloroplasts. AQA says plant cells often have them, which leaves room for some that do not.
Build an animal cell, then a plant cell and a bacterial cell, in Cell Builder. The biology hub lists every page.
Questions people ask
What are three differences between plant and animal cells?
Plant cells have a cellulose cell wall, chloroplasts and a permanent vacuole. Animal cells have none of these.
Are plant and animal cells covered at KS3?
Yes. The KS3 National Curriculum asks for the similarities and differences between plant and animal cells, and the jobs of their main parts.
Which microscope practical uses both kinds of cell?
AQA required practical 1 asks you to use a light microscope to observe, draw and label plant and animal cells, with a magnification scale.