Plant and Animal Cells - Differences and structures

 The late scientists Schwann and Schleiden devised a theory known as the Cell Theory which posed that a cell is the basic unit of structure and function in living organisms. A cell is surrounded by a membrane known as the Cell Surface Membrane which is a thin membrane acting as a barrier for the cell contents, its function is to control what molecules enter and leave the cell. All cells contain a structure known as the nucleus which comprises the chromatin, which is a coiled form of a chromosome, and the nucleolus. Next is the cytoplasm which contains the organelles, and is a jelly-like structure found between the cell surface membrane and the nucleus. Despite these common structures present in both animal and plant cells, they also have distinguishing features.

The table below analyzes the common differences between plant and animal cells.

Plant Cell	Animal Cell
Has a rigid cell wall	Has no cell wall
Has Chloroplasts	Has no chloroplast
Has a Large Central vacuole	May have small vacuoles

The image below shows more differences and similarities as well as the structures of  the plant and animal cell.

Image taken from evolution.berkeley.edu