Dr. Roberts examined the cells of four different organisms for the presence of various cellular structures. His observations are recorded in the table below. (An "X" indicates that the structure is present in the cell.)
cell
membrane cell wall chloroplasts mitochondria nucleus ribosomes vacuoles
1 X X X X X X X
2 X X X X X
3 X X X
4 X X X X
Using the information in the table, which of the cells most likely came from an animal?
A. 1 only
B. 4 only
C. 2 and 4 only
D. 1 and 3 only

Question

Dr. Roberts examined the cells of four different organisms for the presence of various cellular structures. His observations are recorded in the table below. (An "X" indicates that the structure is present in the cell.)
cell
membrane	cell wall	chloroplasts	mitochondria	nucleus	ribosomes	vacuoles
1	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
2	X			X	X	X	X
3	X	X				X	
4	X			X	X	X	
Using the information in the table, which of the cells most likely came from an animal?
	A. 	1 only
	B. 	4 only
	C. 	2 and 4 only
	D. 	1 and 3 only

matt101 · Answer

Animal cells do not have cell walls or chloroplasts. 1 and 3 both have these structures, so they cannot be animal cells. The only difference between 2 and 4 is the presence of vacuoles. Vacuoles are present in both animal and plant cells, but are much larger in plant cells. This means 4 is definitely an animal cell, and 2 may also be an animal cell. Depending on what exactly you learned in class about vacuoles, either B or C is the right answer.