Biology Forum › Cell Biology › cell membrane and the microscope
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- October 9, 2005 at 6:13 pm #2123trekklaParticipant
Can anyone tell me the answer to the question “Why can’t you see the cell membrane in plant cells examined under a compound microscop”.
- October 9, 2005 at 6:29 pm #30688MrMisteryParticipant
1. because it is too thin by comparison with the cell wall.
2. because you would need to use specific dies, whereas in plants we generally use dies to see celulose.. - October 10, 2005 at 5:53 am #30708PoisonParticipant
And it is usually near the cell wall, so it is difficult to identify it. And of course it is thin.
- October 10, 2005 at 11:24 am #30717biostudent84Participant
Cell walls are usually square or rectangular in shape. If you look at the angles of a plant cell, you can usually see the cell membrane in this spot.
*cracks knuckles and attempts ASCII art*
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|/————
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||That’s the best I can do. But where you see the “/” is where you can -sometines- see the cell membrane in plants.
- October 10, 2005 at 6:30 pm #30742MrMisteryParticipant
Maybe, but even so you would need a good microscope. With my dinosaur i am lucky if i see it after i use Sudan III 😀
- October 12, 2005 at 8:35 pm #30854sdekivitParticipant
maybe you can color the celmembrane ?
- October 13, 2005 at 6:25 pm #30900MrMisteryParticipant
You can if you really want to but you will need a high-performance microscope and a lot of luck to see it against the cell wall. If the cell wall is not colored then you will probably see it, providing the dye works
- October 20, 2005 at 6:28 pm #31211February BeetleParticipant
you could always add salt water to the cells… the water will go out of the cell.
*SHRINK* = plasmolysis
you can see the cell membrane crumple to the center of the cell with all the organelles in it but the cell wall doesn’t really move. loss of water, right? then you should be able to see the membrane a lot easier.
you know
if you wanted to. - October 21, 2005 at 5:54 pm #31260MrMisteryParticipant
Great idea. How come i didn’t think of what?*hits himself on the head with a hammer* 😆 😆
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