The living jelly-like part of a cell is called

• A. Cell Membrane
• B. Nucleus
• C. Protoplasm
• D. Cell Wall

Answer: (C)

The living jelly-like substance inside a cell is protoplasm. This term refers to the living content of the cell—the semifluid material that carries out metabolic processes and houses the cytoplasm and the nucleus. It’s described as jelly-like because its flexible, semi-fluid nature allows organelles and molecules to move and interact, enabling the cell to function and respond to its environment. The cell membrane forms the boundary around this living content, not the living substance itself. The nucleus is a component within protoplasm, not the entire substance. The cell wall, when present, is a rigid, non-living layer outside the membrane in many plants and some microbes. For these reasons, protoplasm is the correct term.