Learn about prokaryotic cells, their structure, functions, and differences from eukaryotic cells on this educational page.

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Universal features of cells. Characteristics of prokaryotic cells. Surface area-to-volume ratio.

Learn about the similarities and differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

The ability to maintain different environments inside a single cell allows eukaryotic cells to carry out complex metabolic reactions that prokaryotes cannot. In fact, it’s a big part of the reason why …

Eukaryotic cells contain membrane-bound organelles (such as the nucleus and mitochondria), while prokaryotic cells do not. DNA in eukaryotic cells is found inside the nucleus, while DNA in prokaryotic …

Both classes of cells have a plasma membrane, cytosol, ribosomes, and DNA. In prokaryotic cells, the DNA is in the nucleoid region of the cytosol, while eukaryotic cell DNA is in a membrane-enclosed …

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So what I'm going to do here, is I'm gonna diagram out a prokaryotic cell and a eukaryotic one, and we're gonna see both the similarities and differences. So let's just start with the similarities.

Eukaryotic cells, found in multicellular organisms, are defined by their compartmentalization into organelles, each with a unique function. The nucleus, a key organelle, houses genetic material.