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Our initial hypothesis was that cell size corresponds to organism size; in other words, a "small" organism will have smaller cells and a "larger" organism will have larger cells. Our hypothesis was obliterated as follows:

We observed five specimens in total:

Pig intestine: cell size ranged from approx. 2.5 - 40 microns at 40x magnification

Human uterus: cell size ranged from approx. 20 - 30 microns at 40x magnification

Worm: cell size ranged from approx. 10 - 15 microns at 40x magnification

Buttercup stem: cell size ranged from approx. 2.5 - 60 microns at 40x magnification

Prepared stem slide: cell size ranged from approx. 30 - 50 microns at 40x maginification

Basically, cell size has nothing to do with organism size. This is clearly exhibited by the difference in cell size between buttercups and humans. This fact combined with the high variability of cell size and shape within an organism pointed us to the conclusion that cell size is largely dependent on the specific function of that cell as opposed to the organism it belongs to.

Also, a note on plant cells: they are more clearly defined/ more easily seen because, unlike animal cells, they are bounded by cell walls.

-David R & Janice L