Animal Cell Labeled: printable labeling worksheet and answer key

The animal cell, labeled

The answer key page is a complete animal cell labeled diagram with fifteen parts and a table of what each one does. Print only that page if you need a labeled reference, or use the interactive diagram on the homepage to tap each part.

• Mitochondrion: Releases energy from food molecules by cellular respiration and stores it as ATP. Plant cells have mitochondria too.
• Rough endoplasmic reticulum: Folded membranes covered with ribosomes. It makes and folds proteins that go to membranes or leave the cell.
• Nucleus: Holds the cell’s DNA and controls the cell by deciding which genes are used to make proteins.
• Cell membrane: A thin, flexible layer of lipids and proteins around the cell. It controls what enters and leaves.
• Vacuole: A membrane sac that stores water, food or waste. Animal cells have a few small vacuoles instead of one large one.
• Smooth endoplasmic reticulum: Tubes without ribosomes. It makes lipids, stores calcium and helps break down some drugs and toxins.
• Lysosome: A small sac of digestive enzymes that breaks down worn-out parts, food particles and germs. Plant cells do most of this in their vacuole.
• Centrosome and centrioles: Organizes the cell’s microtubules near the nucleus. In animal cells it holds two centrioles at right angles, which appear to help separate chromosomes during cell division.
• Vesicle: A small membrane bubble that carries materials between organelles and to the cell membrane.
• Peroxisome: A small sac that breaks down fatty acids and turns harmful hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen.
• Golgi apparatus: A stack of flattened sacs that modifies, sorts and packages proteins and lipids into vesicles.
• Nucleolus: A dense region inside the nucleus where the parts of ribosomes are made.
• Nuclear envelope: A double membrane around the nucleus. Its nuclear pores control what moves between the nucleus and the cytoplasm.
• Cytoplasm: Everything between the cell membrane and the nucleus: a watery gel called cytosol plus the organelles in it. Many of the cell’s chemical reactions happen here.
• Ribosomes: Tiny particles that build proteins by reading messenger RNA. Some float free in the cytoplasm and some sit on the rough ER.

How teachers can use the worksheet

Choose the blank labeling page for a quick check, the parts-and-jobs table for a deeper review, or both. Turn the word bank off for a harder version. The answer key prints as the last page so you can remove it before copying. The worksheet prints in black on white with colored parts, and it still reads clearly on a black-and-white copier.

• Set your own title, such as a unit name or a date.
• Switch to the plant cell for a matching second worksheet.
• Pair it with the ten-question quiz on the homepage for a warm-up.