Table of Contents
What parts of the onion cells are visible?
Like all plant cells, an onion peel cell consists of different parts, including the cell wall and cell membrane. There is also the cytoplasm, and the nucleus, which is located at the cytoplasm’s periphery. You will also be able to see the vacuole, which is prominently visible at the cell’s center.
What magnification of the onion root is the best to view the cells?
In actively growing root tips you usually find at least a few cells at various stages of mitosis. The majority of cells will be in interphase, so it is important to go to 400x magnification to clearly see the mitotic cells.
What are the parts of the onion cell?
An onion is a multicellular (consisting of many cells) plant organism.As in all plant cells, the cell of an onion peel consists of a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus and a large vacuole. The nucleus is present at the periphery of the cytoplasm. The vacuole is prominent and present at the centre of the cell.
How do you view an onion cell?
Peel a thin layer of onion (the epidermis) off the cut onion. STEP 2 – Place the layer of onion epidermis carefully on the glass slide, and cover with a cover slip. STEP 3 – Stain the layer of onion with food colouring. STEP 4 – View your onion cells.
What happens to Red Onion cells in salt water?
When the salt water is added to the onion tissue, over time students will notice that the cytoplasm pulls away from the cell wall as a result of water leaving the onion cell where it was more highly concentrated onto the slide where it was less concentrated.
What magnification can you see the cell cycle?
Focusing the microscope with 40x objective should give you a close enough view of the chromosomes to find each phase. You will also look for spindle fibers which are attached to each chromosome and are used by the cell to separate the chromosomes and move them to each pole.
Where is the nucleus located in an onion peel?
As in all plant cells, the cell of an onion peel consists of a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus and a large vacuole. The nucleus is present at the periphery of the cytoplasm. The vacuole is prominent and present at the centre of the cell. It is surrounded by cytoplasm.
What makes an onion cell visible under a microscope?
Iodine – dark stain that colors starches in cells. In an onion cell, it will make the cell wall more visible. It provides some contrast for viewing under a microscope.
What makes up the layers of an onion?
An onion is made up of layers that are separated by a thin membrane. For this experiment, the thin membrane will be used to observe the onion cells.
How are the root tips of an onion used for mitosis?
An onion root tip is a rapidly growing part of the onion and thus many cells will be in different stages of mitosis. The onion root tips can be prepared and squashed in a way that allows them to be flattened on a microscopic slide, so that the chromosomes of individual cells can be observed easily.