Question

Anton van Leeuwenhoek called the cells that he saw through his microscopes animalcules, or little animals, because the cells had structures that enabled them to move on their own. Based on this information, what type of cells was Leeuwenhoek probably looking at?

A. animal
B. plant
C. bacteria
D. flagellum

Answer 1

The cells that Leeuwenhoek likely observed were protozoa, single-celled organisms that can move independently, often using structures like flagella or cilia.

Step-by-step explanation:

Anton van Leeuwenhoek termed the moving organisms he observed through his early microscopes as "animalcules," implying they were tiny animals. Since he noted that these cells had structures that enabled them to move on their own, we can deduce that he was likely observing a type of single-celled organisms known as protozoa. Protozoa often have structures like flagella or cilia that allow for movement, distinguishing them as motile compared to other cell types such as most bacteria and plant cells which typically do not have these specialized structures for locomotion.

Therefore, the cells that Leeuwenhoek probably saw were not animal cells (A), plant cells (B), or bacteria (C) as these do not broadly share the characteristic of autonomous movement. While flagellum (D) is a structure for movement, it is not a cell type but a part of a cell. Consequently, the type of cell he was probably looking at could be best described as a protozoan, and this option should have been listed as an alternative to the given answers.