What kind of cells are cheek cells

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Amino Acids. Religion Collection. Cocktail Collection. Screen Savers. Win Wallpaper. Some of the main parts of a cell include:. Cell membrane outer boundary of the cell. Cytoplasm the fluid within the cell. Nucleus at the center of the cell and controls cell functions. Organelles e. Using biological stains such as methylene blue, it's possible to clearly observe and differentiate the different parts of a cell. This is because the stain will color some parts of the cell and not others, allowing them to be clearly observed.

Before starting, it's always important to ensure that the working surface is clean and that you are wearing a pair of clean gloves to avoid contamination. Cheek cells can be easily obtained by gently scraping the inside of the mouth using a clean, sterile cotton swab.

Once the cells have been obtained, the following procedure is used for cheek cell wet mount preparation:. The cell has different parts, and those that can absorb stains or dyes are referred to as chromatic. Having absorbed the stain, these parts of the cell become more visible under the microscope and can therefore be easily distinguished from other parts of the same cell. Without stains, cells would appear to be almost transparent, making it difficult to differentiate its parts.

When it comes in contact with the two, a darker stain is produced and can be viewed under the microscope. The nucleus at the central part of the cheek cell contains DNA. When a drop of methylene blue is introduced, the nucleus is stained, which makes it stand out and be clearly seen under the microscope. Although the entire cell appears light blue in color, the nucleus at the central part of the cell is much darker, which allows it to be identified.

This is an easy and fun experiment that will show kids the basic structure of a cell and its major parts. For easy identification of the parts, the parent or teacher can first show the kids some samples of the cells in advance. This will help them identify different parts with ease. Once this has been achieved, kids can move on to the next stage of learning the functions of these different parts.