Question

Write main differences between plant and animal cells.

Answer 1

Definitions:

1. The structural, functional and reproductive units of the plants is called plant cell.
2. The structural, functional and reproductive units of the animals is called animal cell.

Differences:

Point of comparison	Plant cell	Animal cell
Location	They make up the body of the plants and algae.	They make up the body of the animals.
Shape	They are roughly rectangular or cuboid in shape.	They can be branched like neurons, cuboid like glandular cells, flat like squamous epithelial cells, spindle like muscle cells, etc.
Inter-cellular spaces	The inter-cellular spaces are less or absent.	The inter-cellular spaces are more, compared to the plant cells.
Cell wall	Cellulose cell wall is present.	Cell wall is absent.
Vacuole	There is one large vacuole that maintains the shape and turgidity of the cell.	There are several small vacuoles.
Plastids	Plastids are present. Chlorophyll containing green plastids called chloroplasts are also present.	Plastids and chloroplasts are all together absent.
Centrosomes	Centrosomes and centrioles are absent.	Centrosomes containing two units of centrioles are present.
Nucleus position	The nucleus is generally situated at the periphery due to the presence of a large vacuole.	The nucleus is generally present at the centre of the cell.
Cell division	The cell division does not involves the polar centrioles for the formation of spindle fribres and the cytokinesis takes place by the formation of cell plates from middle to the periphery.	The cell division takes place by the formation of the spindle fibres from the polar centrioles and cytokinesis takes place by the formation of membrane furrow from periphery towards centre of the dividing cell.