The City/Cell Analogy

A picture of Vancouver's skyline.


Learning Intentions

  • To learn the functions of various organelles
  • To learn about the geography of Vancouver and the Lower Mainland


Notes

The cell is frequently analogized to a city, with each organelle performing a function that is similar to something in the city.

Inside each living cell, there is a lot going on.

Inner Life Of A Cell - Full Version (7:59 - watch first 3:00 only)



Questions

Like a city, a cell is made up of a lot of smaller parts, each of which is vital to its survival. In the roles that they perform, various people and things in a city are similar to organelles in a cell. For example, the cell membrane is sort of equivalent to a city boundary, as the membrane forms the boundary between the cell and the outside world.

  1. For each of the following organelles, write down the analogous equivalent in a city:
    1. Cell membrane: city boundary
    2. Cytoplasm
    3. Endoplasmic reticulum
    4. Ribosomes
    5. Golgi bodies
    6. Chloroplasts
    7. Nucleus
    8. Nuclear membrane
    9. Nucleoplasm
    10. Nucleolus
    11. Mitochondria
    12. Lysosomes
    13. Vacuole
    14. Cytoskeleton (hard - no good analogy)
    15. Centrosome (hard - no good analogy)
  2. On a piece of 8.5" x 11" paper, draw (copy from the Internet) an outline map of the City of Vancouver, not including Burnaby, Richmond, North Vancouver, or any other suburbs. The map does not need to be colour, and only needs the outline of the city.
  3. On your map, indicate with numbers (1-15) where everything is located in the City of Vancouver.
    For example, label the borders of the city with 1, to indicate that it is analogous to the cell membrane.

Assessment


  • Required Parts
    • All 15 analogies are provided
    • Labelled map of the city
  • Analogies
    • Extending: Found analogies for cytoskeleton and centrosome
  • Map
    • Locations labelled accurately
    • Well drawn, easy to read

Required Parts
Analogies
Map
1. Beginning Missing some
Missing a lot
Lots of errors
2. Developing - Missing some
Some errors
3. Applying
4. Extending - Found hard analogies
Very well done