Two Main Types Of Cells

by Greg Crowther

Often just one micron long,
(Prokaryotic cells!)
These cells have no nucleus.
(Prokaryotic cells!)
Simplest cell type in this song.
(Prokaryotic cells!)
Some reside within our guts.
(Prokaryotic cells!)

CHORUS:
Prokaryotic, eukaryotic: two main types of cells.
(Prokaryotic, eukaryotic: two main types of cells.)

Other cells have organelles:
(Eukaryotic cells!)
Little rooms for different tasks.
(Eukaryotic cells!)
Chloroplasts trap light quite well;
(Eukaryotic cells!)
Lysosomes dispose of trash.
(Eukaryotic cells!)

CHORUS

Covered with a layer of fat,
(Both main types of cells!)
Holding ribosomes inside.
(Both main types of cells!)
These cells can be round or flat.
(Both main types of cells!)
These are cells that can divide.
(Both main types of cells!)

CHORUS

• sheet music

This song was written for the students in the course "Biological Frameworks for Engineers." The lines in parentheses should be sung by a chorus of students. After each line of the verses, the students sing "Prokaryotic cells," "Eukaryotic cells," or "Both main types of cells," depending on which cells are being described. I distribute the lyrics with these "answers" omitted so that the students have to figure out what to sing.