how can you telll the difference between a plant and an animal?

Answer 1

Plant cells have these features which animal cells do not:

* A large central vacuole (enclosed by a membrane, the tonoplast), which maintains the cell's turgor and controls movement of molecules between the cytosol and sap.
* A cell wall made up of cellulose and protein, and in many cases lignin, and deposited by the protoplast on the outside of the cell membrane. This contrasts with the cell walls of fungi, which are made of chitin, and prokaryotes, which are made of peptidoglycan.
* The plasmodesmata, linking pores in the cell wall that allow each plant cell to communicate with other adjacent cells. This is different from the network of hyphae used by fungi.
* Plastids, especially chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color and allows them to perform photosynthesis.
* Plant groups without flagella (including conifers and flowering plants) also lack centrioles that are present in animal cells.

Answer 2

Well, when you get right down to the line, the argument is still going on.... some organisms are continuously reclassified.

But the simplest difference is to say that only plant cells have cell walls. Most plant cells also contain chloroplasts- but not all species; whereas no animal cells will.

Mitochondrial DNA would also be a good indicator.

Then again, if in one hand you have a leafy green thing you just pulled up, and in the other hand you had a squirrel (you need a glove for this- squirrels are viscious little beasts). The leafy green thing is probably the plant.

Answer 3

Plant Cells have a cell wall and a chloroplast. An animal cell does not. That is the main difference between the cells.

Answer 4

only if the animal doesn't look like a plant...er..or vice versa