The difference between plant and animal comes down to cell structure. Plants have a tough, cellulose wall and animals don’t. Plants have chloroplasts that photosynthesize matter from carbon dioxide and sun. Also, plants take in carbon dioxide to help create plant material and give off oxygen as a byproduct, whereas animals take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide as a byproduct. Plants use the energy from the sun to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into simple sugar to build its body. Lastly, most plant cells and some animal cells have a vacuole; an organelle responsible for removing and storing waste, keeping the cell from collapsing in upon itself, and maintaining pH; acid/base balance.

Animals are able to move, while plants remain stationary. Animals also have a complex nervous system that can perform many tasks, while plants lack a brain and all the organs that animals have to carry out metabolic function as animals take their carbon from organic substances and plants take their carbon from the air. Animals have a fixed growth, whereas most plants can grow indefinitely, branching out in many directions.