Question
Describe the function of each organelle. Cytoplasm Chloroplasts Cell wall Centrioles
Answers
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GPT-5 mini
- Cytoplasm
- The gel-like interior of the cell (cytosol plus suspended organelles) that fills the space between the plasma membrane and the nucleus.
- Provides a medium for biochemical reactions (e.g., glycolysis), distributes nutrients and waste, and allows organelles to be held in place and moved around.
- Chloroplasts
- Organelles in plants and some protists that carry out photosynthesis.
- Contain chlorophyll and membrane-bound thylakoids where light reactions produce ATP and NADPH; the stroma carries out the Calvin cycle to fix CO2 into sugars. (They also have their own DNA.)
- Cell wall
- Rigid outer layer outside the plasma membrane that provides structural support, protection and maintains cell shape.
- Composition varies by organism: cellulose in plants, chitin in fungi, peptidoglycan in bacteria; it also helps resist osmotic swelling and can participate in intercellular connections (e.g., plasmodesmata in plant cells).
- Centrioles
- Paired cylindrical structures made of microtubule triplets found in most animal cells (part of the centrosome).
- Organize microtubules during cell division to form the mitotic/meiotic spindle and serve as basal bodies that nucleate cilia and flagella; many plant cells lack centrioles.
- The gel-like interior of the cell (cytosol plus suspended organelles) that fills the space between the plasma membrane and the nucleus.
- Provides a medium for biochemical reactions (e.g., glycolysis), distributes nutrients and waste, and allows organelles to be held in place and moved around.
- Chloroplasts
- Organelles in plants and some protists that carry out photosynthesis.
- Contain chlorophyll and membrane-bound thylakoids where light reactions produce ATP and NADPH; the stroma carries out the Calvin cycle to fix CO2 into sugars. (They also have their own DNA.)
- Cell wall
- Rigid outer layer outside the plasma membrane that provides structural support, protection and maintains cell shape.
- Composition varies by organism: cellulose in plants, chitin in fungi, peptidoglycan in bacteria; it also helps resist osmotic swelling and can participate in intercellular connections (e.g., plasmodesmata in plant cells).
- Centrioles
- Paired cylindrical structures made of microtubule triplets found in most animal cells (part of the centrosome).
- Organize microtubules during cell division to form the mitotic/meiotic spindle and serve as basal bodies that nucleate cilia and flagella; many plant cells lack centrioles.