I don't know.

What are you?

One day, Sally the cell was walking along when someone asked her, "What are you?" "I'm Sally," she said. "No, I mean what are you made of?" At that moment, Sally the cell had realized she in fact does not know what she is made of, which made her feel really sad.

A book about the cell and the organelles.

The Cell

By Yasmin and Maime

Sally decided she must do something to learn who she really is, so she read a book on what a cell is made of. The book went a little like this:

Cell membrane

Phospholipid

The Cell Membrane

The cell membrane is a phospholipid bilayer which controls what goes in and out of the cell. The cell membrane transports materials through the membrane in two ways: passive or active transport. Passive transport doesn't need energy while active does. Passive transport is when the cell membrane transports materials from a more concentrated area to a less concentrated area. Active transport is when the membrane moves things from a less concentrated area to a more concentrated area.

Peroxisomes

Peroxisomes are sacs made of a membrane. This sac has enxymes called oxidase enzymes. These enzymes help digest fatty acids and other bad materials in the cell membrane.

Cytoplasm

The Cytoplasm

The cytoplasm is a clear, jelly fluid that is inside the cell and holds all of the organelles in the cell. The cytoplasm moves material through the cell. The cytoplasm contains everything other than the nucleus.

Nucleus

DNA

The Nucleus

The nucleus contains the genetic information of the cell. It contains deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA makes RNA, or ribonucleic acid and RNA makes proteins for the cell. This RNA is located in the nucleolus.

Nucleolus

Nucleus

Messenger RNA

Transfer RNA

Ribosomal RNA

The Nucleolus

The nucleolus is an area within the nucleus. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is located in the nucleolus. There are three types of RNA: messenger RNA which carries information, transfer RNA which helps make proteins, and ribosomal RNA which makes ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is made in the nucleolus.

The Mitochondria

The mitochondria make energy for the cell called adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. To make ATP, glucose molecules are broken down into two pyruvates in the cytoplasm. These pyruvates are further broken down into carbon atoms. Using energy from the breakdowns, the mitochondrion adds a phosphate group to adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to make ATP.

The Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum, or ER. The first one is the smooth ER. It's called the smooth ER becuase it doesn't have any ribosomes attached to it. The smooth ER makes replacement membrane whenever needed. It also makes hormone steroids for the reproductive system.