🔬 What Is a Cell?
6th Grade 🧬 Life Science
A cell is the smallest living unit. Every living thing — plants, animals, you — is made of cells.
Building blocks of life
Some living things, like bacteria, are just one cell. Your body has about 30 trillion cells! Most are so small you need a microscope to see them.
Parts of a cell
A cell has a membrane (its outer skin), cytoplasm (a jelly inside) and usually a nucleus — the control center that holds DNA, the instructions for the cell.
Plant vs. animal cells
Plant cells also have a stiff cell wall and green chloroplasts for photosynthesis. Animal cells don’t.
Who discovered cells?
In 1665, the English scientist Robert Hooke looked at cork under a microscope and saw tiny boxes. He called them "cells," like little rooms.
Quick quiz
What part of the cell is the control center?
What do plant cells have that animal cells don’t?
Who named cells?