Plant Cells?

Question

Is the cell wall or cell membrane on the outside of the plant cell?? Like if a cell was a cake, would the frosting be the cell membrane or cell wall??

Answer 1

I think you have to put this cake in a Rubbermaid container with a lid. Then the frosting is the cell membrane and the plastic container is the cell wall.

I always think of it as one of those big boxes of milk that they put in the milk dispenser of a cafeteria or a smorgasbord restaurant. The milk is in a big box, but inside the box is a sturdy plastic liner. The liner is the cell membrane, and the box is the cell wall.

Don't forget - every cell has a cell membrane. It's just that plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi have a cell wall outside the cell membrane for support and extra protection. You couldn't have a cell wall covered cell without its cell membrane because the insides of the cell would leak out through the cell wall -- just like the milk would leak out through a cardboard box if the plastic bag were not in the box.

Answer 2

The cell wall is just outside the cell membrane. While the cell membrane is a very thin lipid bi-layer with many proteins in it, the cell wall is much thicker, made of primarily cellulose, and is outside the cell membrane to provide rigidity, strength and resistance to osmotic pressure of the cell.

Answer 3

it would be the cell wall