Question

Elizabeth was studying the history of the cell theory and the contributions of different scientists. She made this table to compare two of the scientists.

A) Schwann and Hooke
B) Hooke and Schleiden
C) Hooke and Leeuwenhoek
D) Virchow and Schwann

Answer 1

The cell theory was consolidated through the contributions of Robert Hooke who coined 'cell', Anton van Leeuwenhoek who discovered bacteria and protozoa, and later, Theodor Schwann, Matthias Schleiden, and Rudolf Virchow who established the three tenets of the cell theory.

Step-by-step explanation:

The cell theory is a foundational concept in biology, detailing the properties of cells as the basic unit of life. Robert Hooke, an experimental scientist, was pivotal in coining the term 'cell' when he observed box-like structures in cork tissue—these observations were published in his 1665 work, Micrographia. Anton van Leeuwenhoek made groundbreaking discoveries of bacteria and protozoa in the 1670s, advancing our understanding of microscopic life. Later in the 19th century, Theodor Schwann, a zoologist, and Matthias Schleiden, a botanist, proposed that all living things are made up of cells, which was a key contribution to the formulation of the unified cell theory. Rudolf Virchow, a German doctor, further contributed to this theory by observing that cells divide and that new cells arise from existing ones.

The collaborations and cumulative observations of these scientists—Schleiden, Schwann, and Virchow—led to the establishment of the three tenets of the cell theory:

• All organisms are made up of one or more cells.
• The cell is the basic unit of structure and function in all living organisms.
• All cells arise from pre-existing cells.