• the surface or outer region
• the nucleus
• the cytoplasm

The cell wall functions to separate and protect the inner workings of the cell from the outside environment. The wall is semipermeable, allowing osmosis to take place. This is the process by which the concentration of a solution on either side of the cell wall may become balanced through the passing of the solvent, but not the solute, through the wall. For example, in a salt and water solution, the salt is the solute and water is the solvent. The water may pass through the wall, but the salt molecules are too large.

The cell wall may have up to three layers, including:

• Middle Lamella: the outermost layer of the cell wall and consisting of a set of polysaccharides (pectin) that allow neighbouring cells to stick together.
• Primary Cell Wall: formed when the plant is still growing, it consists of cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin.
• Secondary Cell Wall: often formed on the inner-facing side of a mature cell, it is composed primarily of cellulose (depending on the role the wall is playing).

A semipermeable layer just under the cell wall, it is composed of lipids and proteins. Functions centre on regulating cell interaction, filtering what enters and exits the cell, and providing shape to the cell.

A double layered barrier (space between is called the perinuclear space) between the genetic material of the nucleus and the cell's cytoplasm. Molecules may pass through pores in the membrane.

The nucleolus is a tiny round body housing the cell's RNA (ribonucleic acid) and proteins. The nucleolus is also responsible for producing ribosomes.

Housing the genetic code, a chromosome is composed of a single molecule of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), which describes the characteristics of the plant, and proteins, which compact the DNA.

A plant cell can have as few as one and as many as 100 chloroplasts. They serve to generate food and energy for the cell through photosynthesis. The latter is a process whereby sunlight energy is taken in by chlorophyll-laden proteins residing in the chloroplasts. To simplify a more complex process, the stored energy is used to convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds the plant can use, such as sugars, water, etc.

As the name implies, the cytoskeleton does serve to give structure to a cell, but it also assists in cell movement (both of the cell as a whole and of the parts within the cell), and in cell shape change. The cytoskeleton is comprised of a few important protein filaments (bundles of protein strands):

• Actin Filaments or Microfilaments: found in highest concentration just under the cell's plasma membrane, they are flexible and the thinnest of the protein strands found in the cell. They facilitate the movement of motor proteins.
• Microtubules: hollow structures important to the movement of organelles within the cell. They also maintain cell shape by withstanding compression.
• Intermediate Fibers: heartier than actin filaments, these tension-bearing fibers serve to maintain cell shape.

Physically supported by the cytoskeleton, the ER is a network of membranes. ER are not static organelles - their function changes according to the needs of the cell and the corresponding attachment or detachment of ribosomes to them.synthesize chemically create

• Rough ER: Ribosomes attached to the ER give it a 'rough' appearance and only bind to the ER when the latter begins to synthesize proteins to be expelled from the cell (process is called the 'secretory pathway' and begins in the ER.
• Smooth ER: attached to the nuclear membrane, the smooth ER is capable of a number of functions, including lipid and carbohydrate synthesis.

Important to the 'secretory pathway' (process through which proteins are exported from the plant cell), this organelle is in charge of packaging protein, lipid and other molecules for transport within or out of the cell. It takes the form of a stack of flattened membrane-covered sacs. The packages are called 'vescicles'.

They are not at all common in plant cells. They function to process waste. In plants, it is more common for this function to be taken on by specialized vacuoles.

The mitochondrion's chief role is to produce energy for the cell. It is the prime generator of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The mitochondrion uses light energy captured by the chloroplast to create chemical energy (ATP). It also is responsible for several processes important to the life cycle of the cell, including cell growth and death.

Ribosomes are composed of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and proteins, and they serve to manufacture proteins from messenger RNA.

Surrounded by a membrane called a 'tonoplast', vacuoles are transportation and storage organelles. Basically large sacs that take up a large amount of space in a plant cell. As plants create their own food/energy, these organelles are especially important, but vacuoles may also contain water or waste products in addition to nutrients.