Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Practice Test

What is a common characteristic of both animal and plant cells?

1. Both have cell walls

2. Both are prokaryotic

3. Both contain ribosomes

4. Both perform cellular respiration

The correct answer is: Both contain ribosomes

Both animal and plant cells share the characteristic of containing ribosomes, which are essential organelles responsible for protein synthesis. Ribosomes can be found freely floating in the cytoplasm or attached to the endoplasmic reticulum, known as the rough ER. This function is crucial because proteins play vital roles in various cellular processes, including structure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. While plant cells have cell walls and animal cells do not, ribosomes are present in both cell types. Additionally, both plant and animal cells are eukaryotic, meaning they have a defined nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles, distinguishing them from prokaryotic cells like bacteria. Cellular respiration is a process that occurs in both types of cells, but it is specifically associated with the mitochondria in animal cells and can involve chloroplasts in plant cells under specific conditions, making the presence of ribosomes a more universal characteristic.