What is the key difference between plant and animal cell vacuoles?

The key difference highlighted in the correct answer is that plant cells typically contain one large central vacuole, while animal cells have smaller vacuoles. The large central vacuole in plant cells serves several vital functions, including the storage of nutrients and waste products, maintaining turgor pressure to keep the plant rigid, and playing a role in cell growth by absorbing water. In contrast, animal cells may have several smaller vacuoles that perform similar functions, such as storage and transport of materials, but they do not contribute to maintaining structural integrity in the same way that the large central vacuole does in plant cells.

This distinction is crucial for understanding how these two types of cells function differently in their respective organisms.