Difference Between Plant and Animal Cells
Animal and plant cells are essential in the makeup of a plant or animal, respectively. Most cells, if not all, are invisible to the naked eye, which is why it is difficult to talk about the visual differences. Once under the microscope, the two cells are easily identified with some specific characteristics of each. The differences between the cells of equipment and animal cells are noted in their structure and function despite having many similarities too, as both are living creatures.
Plant Cell
Plant cells are rectangular in shape; usually it is fixed which makes it hard for a plant to adapt to changes in the shapes and sizes. Plant cells have a regular or fixed form. These cells are surrounded by a layer of wall called cellulose that acts as the passage for water and the liquid to move in and out freely by osmosis. This allows the cells to absorb lot of liquid without swelling or bursting. The cells also contain chloroplasts, necessary to produce the food inside their cells. The cells contain large vacuole equipment that takes most of the cell volume.
Animal cell
On the other hand, an animal cell is irregularly shaped or a bit round, this allows the easy adjustment of animal cells to any changes in form and size. An animal cell does not have a cellulose wall surrounding it. This is the reason why an animal cell can easily swell and burst when subjected to increase in the volume of liquid. These cells need to release water or the fluids to save them from swelling and bursting. Plant cells contain chloroplasts while animal cells do not. That’s why animals need to eat because unlike plants, they can’t synthesize their own food. Animal cells contain vacuoles, but they are very small in comparison to the cell vacuoles in plant cells.
Differences between animal and plant cells
Both, plant and animal cells contain chromosomes and are eukaryotic. Both also contain mitochondria, which plays an important role in synthesizing the energy for the survival of both cells. A cell membrane protects the cells from all the foreign bodies which may try to enter the cell. The cell membrane controls what enters or goes out of these cells.