Question

Which among the following statements are true about the discovery of cells by Robert Hooke?

• A. In 1665, Robert Hooke took thin slices of cork and observed them under a microscope.
• B. He observed living cork cells under the microscope.
• C. He noticed partitioned boxes or compartments in the cork slice.
• D. He observed all the organelles and discovered the nucleus in the cork cell.

Answer 1

Answer: (A), (C)

The correct options are
A In 1665, Robert Hooke took thin slices of cork and observed them under a microscope.
C He noticed partitioned boxes or compartments in the cork slice.

• Robert Hooke in 1665 observed thin slices of cork under a self-designed microscope.
• Cork is a substance obtained from the bark of a tree. It is a dead cell due to suberin.
• The piece of cork was found to have a honey comb structure under the microscope, with a number of box like compartments.
• Each of these boxes had a cavity and was separated from others by a wall or partition. He named these boxes as cells.
• The cells observed by Hooke were dead cells. So, there was no nucleus and organelles.