Using the Mental Models Theory of Johnson-Laird as the theoretical reference, representational drawings produced by pre-university course students are analyzed, aiming to establish deductions and inferences about the possible mental models generated as internal representations. In this analysis, the ways in which students see the Cell are studied and compared with what is shown in textbooks. From this, it is deduced that the representations generated are iconic, that they are diverse, and that what curricular materials do offer, can produce a negative influence on the ways of building those internal representations relating to the cell and its understanding.
representation; image; mental model; cell