Labs & Activities › Organelle speed dating

Class Activity: Organelle Speed Dating

Each student becomes an organelle, writes a short “dating profile,” and meets the rest of the cell, one partner at a time. The class matches every profile to the right organelle.

One class period
Whole class
Paper and pencil
Biology BIO.1C.1
Foundations FB.3.2

Goal

Describe the structure and function of the main organelles and explain how they work together so the cell can survive. Plant cells, animal cells, and bacteria have different sets of organelles, so use the profiles to compare them.

organelle
nucleus
ribosome
endoplasmic reticulum
Golgi apparatus
lysosome
mitochondria
chloroplast
vacuole
cell membrane
cell wall
cytoskeleton

Materials

One organelle name card per student (your teacher assigns these, and you keep yours secret)
The profile template below, and a clipboard or notebook
Timer

Directions

Write your profile (10 minutes). Using your textbook and notes, fill in the template for your organelle. Do not write its name. Include its job, the cells it lives in, and one thing it needs from other organelles.
Form two lines (2 minutes). Half the class stands facing the other half. Everyone holds their profile.
Date (3 minutes per round). Read your profile aloud to your partner. Your partner writes a guess for your organelle on a match sheet. Switch roles, then one line shifts one seat. Do 8–10 rounds.
Reveal and match (5 minutes). Reveal your organelle. Check your match sheet and correct any mistakes.
Reflect (10 minutes). Answer the questions below.

Profile template

My dating profile

Looking for:

My job:

Find me in (plant, animal, fungal, bacterial cells):

Works best with (another organelle):

Sample profile cards

Use these as models, as a quick review, or as a teacher-printed deck for classes that need more support. Each profile hides the organelle's name.

Profile 1

Looking for: someone who follows instructions.

My job: I store the cell's DNA and control its activities.

Find me in: plant, animal, and fungal cells. Bacteria do not have me.

Profile 2

Looking for: someone who needs a good builder.

My job: I make the parts of ribosomes, inside the nucleus.

Find me in: eukaryotic cells (inside the nucleus).

Profile 3

Looking for: a message to read.

My job: I build proteins by reading mRNA.

Find me in: every kind of cell, free in the cytoplasm or on the rough ER.

Profile 4

Looking for: someone who needs proteins folded and shipped.

My job: ribosomes cover me. I make proteins and package them for export.

Find me in: eukaryotic cells, connected to the nucleus.

Profile 5

Looking for: a cell with a toxin problem.

My job: I have no ribosomes. I make lipids and help break down toxins.

Find me in: eukaryotic cells, as a network of tubes.

Profile 6

Looking for: a package that needs sorting.

My job: I modify, sort, and package proteins into vesicles for delivery.

Find me in: eukaryotic cells, as stacked, flattened sacs.

Profile 7

Looking for: something old to clean up.

My job: I digest worn-out parts and food with enzymes.

Find me in: animal cells especially.

Profile 8

Looking for: someone with glucose to spare.

My job: I release energy from food as ATP (cellular respiration).

Find me in: nearly all eukaryotic cells, with a double membrane and my own DNA.

Profile 9

Looking for: lots of sunshine.

My job: I carry out photosynthesis and make glucose.

Find me in: plant cells and algae, never animal cells. I have my own DNA.

Profile 10

Looking for: a place to store things.

My job: I store water, nutrients, and wastes. A large central one keeps a plant cell firm.

Find me in: plant cells (one large) and animal cells (small ones).

Profile 11

Looking for: someone who respects boundaries.

My job: I am a gatekeeper. I control what enters and leaves, and I am selectively permeable.

Find me in: every cell, as a phospholipid bilayer.

Profile 12

Looking for: strong, supportive types.

My job: I am a rigid layer outside the cell membrane for support and protection.

Find me in: plants, fungi, and bacteria. Never animal cells.

Profile 13

Looking for: a cell that needs structure.

My job: I am a network of protein fibers that gives the cell its shape and helps organelles and the cell move.

Find me in: eukaryotic cells.

Profile 14

Looking for: a cell that is about to divide.

My job: I help organize the spindle fibers during cell division.

Find me in: animal cells.

Profile 15

Looking for: organelles that need a home.

My job: I am the jelly-like fluid where organelles sit and many reactions happen.

Find me in: every cell.

Reflection

Which two organelles did you find the hardest to tell apart? What clue finally separated them?
Choose three organelles and explain how they work together to make and ship a protein.
Compare a plant cell and an animal cell. Name two organelles that only plant cells have and one that animal cells have but most plant cells do not.
A bacterium has a cell wall, a cell membrane, ribosomes, and DNA, but no nucleus. Which cell type is it, and which of your profiles would not fit it?
Write a claim-evidence-reasoning answer: why does a cell with damaged mitochondria stop working properly?

Teacher notes and answer key

Setup

Write each organelle on an index card and hand them out face down. For a class of 30, use the 15 profiles above and repeat the common ones (nucleus, mitochondrion, ribosome, cell membrane).
Foundations of Biology classes can add the nucleolus, cytoplasm, and nuclear membrane. Biology classes use the organelles listed in BIO.1C.1 and can drop the Foundations-only ones.
Have students keep profiles to one or two sentences each so the rounds stay at 3 minutes.
For an extension, run a second round where students must date a plant cell organelle or an animal cell organelle only.

Key

#	Organelle	Function	Where found
1	Nucleus	I store the cell's DNA and control its activities.	plant, animal, and fungal cells. Bacteria do not have me.
2	Nucleolus (Foundations also)	I make the parts of ribosomes, inside the nucleus.	eukaryotic cells (inside the nucleus).
3	Ribosome	I build proteins by reading mRNA.	every kind of cell, free in the cytoplasm or on the rough ER.
4	Rough endoplasmic reticulum	ribosomes cover me. I make proteins and package them for export.	eukaryotic cells, connected to the nucleus.
5	Smooth endoplasmic reticulum	I have no ribosomes. I make lipids and help break down toxins.	eukaryotic cells, as a network of tubes.
6	Golgi apparatus	I modify, sort, and package proteins into vesicles for delivery.	eukaryotic cells, as stacked, flattened sacs.
7	Lysosome	I digest worn-out parts and food with enzymes.	animal cells especially.
8	Mitochondrion	I release energy from food as ATP (cellular respiration).	nearly all eukaryotic cells, with a double membrane and my own DNA.
9	Chloroplast	I carry out photosynthesis and make glucose.	plant cells and algae, never animal cells. I have my own DNA.
10	Vacuole	I store water, nutrients, and wastes. A large central one keeps a plant cell firm.	plant cells (one large) and animal cells (small ones).
11	Cell membrane	I am a gatekeeper. I control what enters and leaves, and I am selectively permeable.	every cell, as a phospholipid bilayer.
12	Cell wall	I am a rigid layer outside the cell membrane for support and protection.	plants, fungi, and bacteria. Never animal cells.
13	Cytoskeleton	I am a network of protein fibers that gives the cell its shape and helps organelles and the cell move.	eukaryotic cells.
14	Centrosome (with centrioles)	I help organize the spindle fibers during cell division.	animal cells.
15	Cytoplasm (Foundations also)	I am the jelly-like fluid where organelles sit and many reactions happen.	every cell.

Alignment

Biology BIO.1C.1 (develop and use models to explore how specialized structures within cells interact), BIO.1C.2 (compare prokaryotic and eukaryotic, plant, animal, and fungal cells). Foundations FB.3.1 and FB.3.2.
Science and engineering practices: develop and use models; obtain, evaluate, and communicate information.