Question

james is making models of plant and animal cells using objects supplied by his teacher to represent organelles. for one cell, he will place the objects in a shoebox. first he fills a balloon with water and places it in the shoe box. he also drops a handful of marbles into the box.

which statement most likely describes the structures he has represented so far?

○ he is making an animal cell. the box is the cell membrane, and the balloon represents the large vacuole. the marbles are the endoplasmic reticulum.

○ he is making a plant cell. the box is the cell wall, and the balloon represents the large vacuole. the marbles are the tiny ribosomes.

○ he is making a plant cell. the box is the cell wall, and the balloon represents the nucleus. the marbles are the centrioles.

○ he could be making either a plant or animal cell. the box is the cell wall, and the balloon represents the large vacuole. the marbles are the centrioles.

Explanation:

• Animal cells lack a cell wall and large vacuole, so options with "animal cell" or "either" (since animal cells don't have cell wall/large vacuole) are wrong.
• Plant cells have a cell wall, large vacuole, and ribosomes. The box (rigid) as cell wall, balloon (large, fluid - filled) as large vacuole, marbles (tiny) as ribosomes matches. Other options misidentify organelles (e.g., balloon as nucleus, marbles as centrioles/ER which is incorrect for plant cell context).

Answer:

B. He is making a plant cell. The box is the cell wall, and the balloon represents the large vacuole. The marbles are the tiny ribosomes.