Background and Use

It is often difficult for students to remember the functions of the cellular organelles because they cannot see, feel, or touch them.  Presenting the analogy of the "Cell As A City" helps them realize that each organelle has an essential function.  There is also a small section at the bottom of the resource asking the students to recall which cell parts are in a eukaryote, prokaryote, or both.

 This worksheet will help your students demonstrate understanding of the concept after a lecture.  It could also be used after a traditional organelles lecture, but before you have presented the analogy as a non-graded exercise.

This resource is openly licensed, so feel free to change it however you like.  I have shown a preview below, and the actual resource is attached as a one-page word document.  The matching exercise is two-sided so students can check their work.  This means they put answers on both columns.

Preview

                “A Cell Is Like A City”

NAME: ____________________

Compare the parts of the cells to a city

Cell Organelles                              Parts of a City

___1. Cell Membrane                     ___A.  Power Plant

___2.  Nucleus                                ___B.  Fence around the city with gates

___3.  Cytoskeleton                        ___C.  Solar Panels

___4.  Ribosomes                           ___D. Streets

___5.  Golgi                                    ___E.  UPS Warehouse

___6.  Mitochondria                       ___F. Planning Department

___7.  Lysosomes                          ___G.  Factories

___8.  Vacuoles                              ___H.  Wrecking company

___9.  DNA                                     ­­­___I.  City hall

___10.  Chloroplasts                       ___J.  Storage Company

Resource File