What is the absolute difference between animal life and plant life?
Aristotle divided all living things between plants (which generally do not move), and animals (which often are mobile to catch their food). However today we are more scientific in our definition: * The greatest difference between plant and animal cells occurs at the cell membrane. The cell membrane of a typical plant cell is covered with a protective wall of cellulose. The cellulose makes the membrane stiff, and thus the plant cell’s structure is very rigid. This gives plants stiffness, and allows them to grow tall. Cellulose is secreted by the plant cell’s cytoplasm. Thus, the plant cell has a cell wall, while the animal cell does not. The plant’s cell wall may also contain lignin, a component of wood. The cell wall allows a very large pressure to be built up inside the cell, through osmosis. Animal cells, on the other hand, have more flexible membranes. So animal cells are much more diverse in their shapes. * Most of the space inside plant cells is made of of a large vacuole containi
