Click any organelle on a labeled cell to see its one-line job, then flip to a name-that-job quiz that scores you. Covers the nucleus, mitochondria, ER, Golgi, ribosomes, and the plant-only parts.
Nucleus
Found in both plant and animal cells
The control center that stores the cell's DNA and directs its activities.
Click any part of the cell, or pick from the list below. Ready to test yourself? Hit "Quiz me".
Organelles in a plant cell (12)
Nucleus. Found in both plant and animal cells. The control center that stores the cell's DNA and directs its activities.
What is a cell organelle?
An organelle is a specialized structure inside a cell that does one specific job,
the way organs do jobs for your whole body. Most major organelles are wrapped in their
own membrane, which is what makes a cell eukaryotic. The interactive above lets
you explore every organelle (click a part to read what it does) and then quiz
yourself (read a job, click the matching part). Use the plant/animal toggle to see which
parts belong to which cell.
Every organelle and its job
Nine organelles are shared by plant and animal cells; the rest are specific to one type.
Organelle
Its one-line job
Found in
Nucleus
Stores DNA and directs the cell
Both
Nucleolus
Builds ribosomes (inside the nucleus)
Both
Ribosomes
Read instructions and build proteins
Both
Rough ER
Folds and makes proteins (studded with ribosomes)
Both
Smooth ER
Makes lipids and helps detoxify
Both
Golgi apparatus
Packages, sorts, and ships proteins and lipids
Both
Mitochondria
Release energy as ATP through respiration
Both
Cell membrane
Controls what enters and leaves
Both
Cytoplasm
Fluid that holds the organelles in place
Both
Lysosome
Digests waste with enzymes
Animal (mainly)
Centrioles
Help pull chromosomes apart in division
Animal
Cell wall
Rigid cellulose support outside the membrane
Plant
Chloroplast
Makes sugar by photosynthesis
Plant
Central vacuole
Stores water; keeps the cell firm
Plant
The organelles work as a team
The parts are easier to remember as a workflow than as a list. Ribosomes on the
rough ER build a protein; it travels to the Golgi apparatus to be packaged and
shipped; mitochondria supply the ATP that powers the work; and the nucleus holds
the instructions for all of it. Learning the connections, not just the names, is what
makes the ideas stick.
A common mix-up: membrane-bound or not
Almost every organelle is wrapped in a membrane, but ribosomes are not. That is why
you will sometimes read that a cell has “membrane-bound organelles plus ribosomes.”
Cells without any membrane-bound organelles at all (bacteria) are called prokaryotic,
a contrast we build on in later lessons.
Using this with a class
Split the room and run the quiz as a relay: each student answers one question, and the
team’s score is the class score. Or have students build the function table from memory,
then check it against the interactive. It is free to embed on your own site or
LMS, next to the animal cell and
plant cell diagrams.
Frequently asked questions
What is an organelle?
An organelle is a specialized structure inside a cell that carries out a specific job, much like an organ does for the whole body. Most major organelles (the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, chloroplasts) are membrane-bound, which is what makes a cell eukaryotic. Ribosomes are an organelle too, but they are not wrapped in a membrane.
What are the main cell organelles and their functions?
The nucleus stores DNA and directs the cell. Mitochondria release energy as ATP. Ribosomes build proteins. The rough endoplasmic reticulum (studded with ribosomes) makes and folds proteins; the smooth ER makes lipids. The Golgi apparatus packages and ships those products. Lysosomes digest waste (mainly in animal cells). Chloroplasts make sugar by photosynthesis and the central vacuole stores water (both plant-only). The cell membrane controls what enters and leaves, and the cytoplasm holds everything in place.
Which organelles make proteins?
Ribosomes build proteins by reading genetic instructions. Ribosomes that sit on the rough endoplasmic reticulum make proteins that are folded and sent into the ER; free ribosomes in the cytoplasm make proteins used inside the cell. Newly made proteins then travel to the Golgi apparatus to be packaged and shipped. The nucleolus, inside the nucleus, is where the ribosomes themselves are built.
What is the difference between the nucleus and the nucleolus?
The nucleus is the large control center of the cell; it holds the DNA and directs the cell's activities. The nucleolus is a small, dense region inside the nucleus whose specific job is to build ribosomes. So the nucleolus is a part within the nucleus, not a separate organelle floating in the cytoplasm.