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Question #13760
18 days ago
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cells of onion peel - #13760

Anya

I am kinda confused about what I learned in bio class last week. We were looking at cells of onion peel under the microscope, and I expected them to look like those perfect little squares on diagrams, right? But when I saw the actual cells of onion peel, they were all wobbly and not even close to being uniform. Is that normal?? I mean, like, do the cells of onion peel always look that way or was there something wrong with my sample? Plus, I thought I’d see more structure, like the nucleus standing out, but it kinda blended in. Did we do the staining right? Maybe my lab partner was rushing and we messed that up, ugh. And when my teacher chatted about the layers and how they’re transparent—I thought, okay, but were we even seeing everything we could? That makes me wonder if all plant cells look that inconsistent or if it's just specific to the cells of onion peel. Do they all have those odd shapes or is it just a quirk of the onion itself? Just feeling a bit lost and would love to hear from all you doctors out there who might know more about this!

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Doctors’ responses

Examining onion peel cells under the microscope can indeed be a bit surprising compared to textbook diagrams. What you observed with the variations in cell shapes and seemingly inconsistent structures is actually quite normal. In reality, onion peel cells don’t appear as perfect squares; they can show some variability in shapes due to the natural arrangement and growth of cells in the plant tissue. This isn’t a sign that anything was wrong with your sample. Regarding the stained appearance, while staining is supposed to enhance the visibility of cell structures like the nucleus, sometimes it can be tricky to achieve uniform staining. Onion cells have a thin cell wall and a clear cytoplasm, so if the stain didn’t take well, the nucleus might not stand out as expected. It’s not uncommon for staining results to vary, especially if it was done in a bit of a rush. In terms of seeing everything, plant cells, including those from onions, can have transparent cytoplasmic layers, making some organelles less distinct unless stained properly. Onion cells, like most other plant cells, usually have cell walls, cell membranes, cytoplasm, and nuclei, but the visibility of each component can depend heavily on the quality of preparation and staining. Not all plant cells look like the ones from onion peel; different plant tissues have different cell structures. The somewhat unique aspect of onion cells is their regular grid-like layout that forms due to how they grow and stack in layers for efficient storage, giving rise to that wobbly appearance under the microscope. If you have further unease about your microscopy skills or lab techniques, it might help to discuss it with a lab instructor, so you can refine your approach and gain more clarity in future observations.

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