Unit 1 Cell Model

The picture on the left is the materials I used to make my cell, and the picture below is a view of the completed cell

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3(1) closeup of vesicles, lysosomes, and golgi apparatus

(2)closeup of mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, and nucleus)

3(another view of the completed cell)

I enjoyed creating a model of a cell. I tried to find materials that not only looked like the part of the cell they were supposed to represent, but also served a similar function as what they represented. Here are the items I used, and why :

Cell membrane - wire looming. The cell membrane holds everything in the cell and controls what enters and leaves the cell.

Nucleus - a CD. The nucleus contains all the DNA and genetic information, much as a CD contains and stores information.

Mitochondria - batteries. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, much as batteries are the powerhouse of many products.

Golgi apparatus - divided container. The golgi apparatus processes, packages, and secretes cell products. A divided container can also be used to process and package items.

Lysosomes - my daughter's recycle truck, dump truck, and roadkill removal van. The lysosomes are used for waste disposal, and recycling which is the same function of each of the vehicles.

Vesicles - my daughter's pickup truck and bicycle hauler. The vesicles store and transport substances similar to the way you can transport items in either of my daughter's vehicles.

Flagella - end piece of wire looming, with toothpicks inside to represent the microtubules. The flagella is resposnsible for cell movement.

Smooth Endoplasmic reticulum - green tea tablets. Smooth ER is used to synthesize fat, and green tea tablets are a weight (fat) loss aid.

Rough Endoplasmic reticulum - plastic animals that are prey in the wild. The Rough ER contains the proteins. Prey contain proteins for their predators.

Ribosomes - plastic animals that are predators in the wild. The ribosomes synthesize proteins...in my model the predators are feasting on the prey, synthesizing their proteins.

Other parts - nucleolus - ball from one of my daughter's toys

chromatin - rice

DNA is a double helix, made up of two strands spiraling around each other. It's structure resembles a ladder, with the rungs being the paired bases. The bases in DNA are Adenine and Thymine along with Guanine and Cytosine. The strands of the double helix are made of playdoh, and the bases are different colored marshmallows.

There are four main phasesof mitosis : prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. I illustrated each of the phases using these materials : red and blue Playdoh for the chromatin, macaroni noodles for the spindle poles, toothpicks for the spindle fibers, green playdoh for the nucleolus and playdoh lids for the nuclei.

During prophase, the centrosomes outside the nucleus have duplicated and begin to move toward opposite ends of the nucleus. The spindle fibers begin to form.

During Metaphase, the centromeres of the duplicated chromosomes line up at the equator. There are spindle fibers attached to the sister chromatids.

During Anaphase, the sister chromatids part and become daughter chromosomes. These move toward the spindle poles.

During Telophase, the daughter cells form as nuclear envelopes and nucleoli reappear.

This was a fun project, and I enjoyed the chance to be creative.