Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells compared
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Bacterium (model drawing, not to scale). Ari studies a model drawing of a bacterium. Letter D points to the tangled loop of DNA in the middle of the cell. What is D called?
- The cell wall
- The nucleus, as in a tiny animal cell
- A ribosome
- The nucleoid
model drawing, not to scale. Bo studies a second bacterium drawing. Letter B points to one of many small dots that build proteins. What are the dots called?
Bacterium with a flagellum (model drawing, not to scale). Letter A points to a long whip-like tail. Letter B points to one of many small dots in the fluid. Letter C points to a loop of DNA in the middle of the cell. Letter D points to the rigid outer layer. Bacterium with a flagellum (model drawing, not to scale). Letter A points to a long whip-like tail. Letter B points to one of many small dots in the fluid. Letter C points to a loop of DNA in the middle of the cell. Letter D points to the rigid outer layer. A B C D - Nucleoids
- Ribosomes
- Vacuoles
- Mitochondria
Bacterium (model drawing, not to scale). Esme says only plant cells have a rigid outer layer. Letter A points to that layer on this bacterium. Which statement is right?
Bacterium (model drawing, not to scale). Letter A points to the rigid outer layer. Letter B points to the thin membrane just inside A. Letter C points to a loop of DNA in the middle of the cell. Bacterium (model drawing, not to scale). Letter A points to the rigid outer layer. Letter B points to the thin membrane just inside A. Letter C points to a loop of DNA in the middle of the cell. A rigid outer layer B thin membrane C loop of DNA - A is a cell wall, which a bacterium lacks, so the drawing is wrong
- A is a plasma membrane, so this cell has no wall
- A is a cell wall, so this must be a plant cell drawing
- A is a cell wall, and bacteria have one too
Read this first
Use this
Two cell cutaways side by side (model drawing, not to scale) above a Venn diagram. Left cutaway: a prokaryotic cell. Right cutaway: a eukaryotic (animal) cell. Venn diagram, left circle, prokaryotic cell only: DNA in a nucleoid; no membrane-bound organelles. Right circle, eukaryotic cell only: DNA inside a nucleus; membrane-bound organelles. Overlap, both cells: plasma membrane; cytoplasm; ribosomes; DNA.
Jun reads a Venn diagram of two kinds of cell. In which part is the word ribosomes written?
- In the right circle, so just eukaryotic cells have them
- In the left circle, so just prokaryotic cells have them
- In the overlap, so both kinds of cell have them
- Outside both circles, so neither kind of cell has them
Kira uses the Venn diagram to check a statement about DNA. Which sentence agrees with the diagram?
- Both kinds of cell keep their DNA inside a nucleus
- Just eukaryotic cells have DNA, because DNA needs a nucleus
- Just prokaryotic cells have DNA, and it is kept in a nucleoid
- Both kinds of cell have DNA, and a prokaryote keeps it in a nucleoid
Luz reads the Venn diagram. Which feature is listed in the right circle only, for eukaryotic cells?
- Ribosomes
- A plasma membrane
- Membrane-bound organelles
- DNA
Word card (model). The word to define is prokaryote. Examples named on the card: bacteria and archaea. Not to scale. Milo learns the word prokaryote. Which meaning is right?
- A cell that keeps its DNA safe inside a nucleus
- A cell that has ribosomes and a membrane but no DNA
- A tiny animal cell that is too small to hold a nucleus
- A cell with no nucleus and no membrane-bound organelles
Use this
Word card (model). The word to define is cell wall. Cells with a wall on the card: a bacterium, a plant cell, a fungal cell. Not to scale.
Noah learns the word cell wall. Which meaning is right?
- A rigid outer layer found in plant cells, but not in other cells
- A jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of the cell
- A thin outer layer that separates the cell from its surroundings
- A rigid outer layer found in bacteria, plants and fungi
Use this
Word card (model). The word to define is plasma membrane. It appears in both a prokaryotic cell and a eukaryotic cell. Not to scale.
Pia learns the word plasma membrane. Which meaning is right?
- The rigid layer that gives a plant cell its shape
- The outer covering that separates the cell's inside from its surroundings
- The region where a prokaryote keeps its DNA
- The jelly-like fluid that fills the inside of the cell
Cell diameters (real data, from OpenStax Biology)
kind of cell diameter in µm prokaryotic cell 0.1 to 5.0 eukaryotic cell 10 to 100 Ren reads the table. About how wide is a prokaryotic cell?
- 0.1 to 5.0 µm
- 5.0 to 10 µm
- 0.1 to 100 µm
- 10 to 100 µm