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Junior Cycle · Junior Cycle Science

Junior Cycle Science: Cells & microscopes

How often Cells & microscopes comes up on the Science papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

CL Asked on 5 of the last 6 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Cells & microscopes, Common Level(6 marks)

Quick ones on Cells & microscopes.

(a)Which structure is found in plant cells but not in animal cells?
  1. Cell membrane
  2. Cell wall
  3. Nucleus
(b)What is the main job of the nucleus in a cell?
  1. Lets substances in and out of the cell
  2. Makes food using sunlight
  3. Controls the cell's activities
(c)In which part of a cell does most respiration take place?
  1. Mitochondria
  2. Cell wall
  3. Nucleus
Show the answers

(a) Cell wall

(b) Controls the cell's activities

(c) Mitochondria

Your turn: Common Level questions on Cells & microscopes.

Common Level

Asked on 5 of the last 6 Common Level papers, most recently in 2026. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q12
2025Q14
2024Not asked
2023Q1
2022Q12
2019Q1

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Cells & microscopes questions

Cells & microscopes, 3 marks

A microscope has a x10 eyepiece and a x40 objective lens. What is the total magnification?

  1. 4000 times
  2. 50 times
  3. 400 times
Show the answer

400 times

Total magnification = eyepiece × objective = 10 × 40 = 400. Adding them gives 50, a common mistake. Higher magnification shows more detail of a smaller area.

Cells & microscopes, 3 marks

Why is a stain such as iodine added to cells on a microscope slide?

  1. To make cells grow
  2. To make parts easier to see
  3. To kill any bacteria
Show the answer

To make parts easier to see

Most cell parts are almost see-through. A stain colours them, e.g. iodine makes the nucleus of onion cells stand out, so structures show up clearly.

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