Question

Living cells were first observed by

A. Robert Hooke

B. Schleiden

C. Schwann

D. Leeuwenhoek

Answer 1

Hint: Cell is known to be the basic unit of life. It is also said to be the “building blocks of life”. Cells are very small to be viewed by naked eyes. Discovery of cells began along with the discovery of microscopes.

Complete answer:

In 1665, the presence of the cell was discovered for the first time by Robert Hooke. Robert Hooke was very eager to know the theory and concept applied behind the floating corks. He took a thin slice of cork to be observed under the microscope, and was astonished to see that the structure resembled much to that of a honeycomb. He saw that it had many tiny hollow chambers, which reminded him of monasteries in earlier days that had tiny rooms just similar to cork cells.

Living cells were first observed by Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek in the pond water with his improved microscope. In 1674, he observed the free living cells of Spirogyra. 

So, the correct answer is option (D).

Additional Information: Not very late, after discovery of cork cells by Robert Hooke, Anton van Leeuwenhoek, a scientist from Holland, successfully discovered remaining aspects of life, using a microscope, for which he created his own lenses for microscopes. It is said that the microscope made by Leeuwenhoek was competitively more potent than other microscopes of his times.

Note: Cork can better be known as an impermeable floating substance. Further, the cell theory was established by Schleiden, Schwann and Virchow in between 1838 to 1855.