The size and scale of cells: the basics
I can describe numbers and sizes of cells using appropriate units.
The size and scale of cells: the basics
I can describe numbers and sizes of cells using appropriate units.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- Most animals and plants are made up of millions or billions of cells.
- Cells are usually too small to see with the unaided eye.
- Comparison of the sizes of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and cell structures, in micrometres.
Keywords
Million - 1 000 000, or one thousand thousand.
Billion - 1 000 000 000 or one thousand million.
Micrometre (µm) - One millionth of a metre, or 1 m / 1 000 000.
Magnification - Making small objects appear larger in order to see more detail.
Common misconception
Pupils commonly convert units incorrectly, multiplying when they should divide or dividing when they should multiply.
It can help to relate the unit conversions in the lesson to an everyday example, e.g. pounds to pence.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In which type of cell is the genetic material not enclosed within a membrane-bound nucleus?
Q2.Which piece of apparatus is used in science laboratories to view cells?
Q3.In microscopy, what does the term magnification mean?
Q4.What is being described: "the distance at which two distinct points of a specimen can still be seen"?
Q5.On which part of a microscope is the specimen placed in order to view it?
