Eukaryotes and Prokaryotes

• Organisms are made up of cells.
• Most organisms are multicellular and have cells that are specialised to do a particular job.
• Microscopes are needed to study cells in detail.
• Cells of bacteria are called prokaryotic cells.
• Cells of animals, plants and fungi are called eukaryotic cells.
• Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus and prokaryotic cells do not.
• Eukaryotic cells are typically 5 μm – 100 μm in size, while prokaryotic cells are typically 0.2 μm – 2.0 μm in size.
• The outer layers of a eukaryotic cell include the cell membrane, which is surrounded by the cell wall in plants and fungi.
• The outer layers of a prokaryotic cell include the cell membrane, which is surrounded by the cell wall.
• The cell contents of a eukaryotic cell include the cytoplasm, cell organelles such as mitochondria, chloroplasts in plants and ribosomes.
• The cell contents of a prokaryotic cell include the cytoplasm, ribosomes, and no mitochondria or chloroplasts.
• Eukaryotic cells divide through a process called mitosis, while prokaryotic cells divide through a process called binary fission.