Question

Van Helmont believed that mice originate from wheat grains and dirty clothes. He, therefore, favored the theory of
a) Biogenesis
b) Spontaneous generation
c) Pangenesis
d) Cosmozoic

Answer 1

Hint: The production of organisms from the non-living matter present in the surrounding was very popular. Many scientists believed the fact that life originated on Earth due to the pre-existing compounds present on the surface which lead to the formation of cellular organisms and changed into more complex organisms.

Complete answer:
Van Helmont believed the fact that mice originated from wheat grains and dirty clothes. To prove this, he gave an experimental proof that wheat grains are kept along with the cheese curds in the sweat-soaked shirt for about 20 days and are left in the open in a container. Then, days later due to a combination of seat and wheat grains baby mice would appear. This was the idea of spontaneous generation which was believed by many of the scientists present in that era.

Additional information:
The law of biogenesis was given by Louis Pasteur who said that the living forms only exist from the Louis pre-living forms. We can say that the parent organism can only give rise to their offspring either through eggs or through direct birth. He argued that life didn’t come from the non-living components present. Pangenesis was given by Charles Darwin. He said that every living organism shed their cells which are known as the gemmules and these gemmules then circulate in the body and then congregate in the gonads. The theory of the cosmozoic was that the life forms on the earth were transported by the meteorites and other heavenly bodies.
So, the answer is ‘b) Spontaneous generation’.

Note: There are various theories regarding the origin of the lifeforms but none was accepted as they didn’t provide any logical reasons. The theory of biogenesis was considered valid as only one living organism is able to reproduce its progeny.