Question

RE AND FUNCTIONS
These boxes appeared like a honey
comb. He also noticed that one box was
separated from the other by a wall or
partition. Hooke coined the term 'cell
for each box. What Hooke observed as
boxes or cells in the cork were actually
dead cells.
Cells of living organisms could be
observed only after the discovery of
improved microscopes. Very little was
known about the cell for the next 150
years after Robert Hooke's observations.
Today, we know a lot about cell
structure and its functions because of
improved microscopes having high
magnification.
f
8.2 The Cell
1
1.
Both bricks in a building and cells in
the living organisms are basic
structural units [Fig. 8.2(a), (b)l. The
buildings, though built of similar bricks,
have different designs, shapes and sizes.
Similarly, in the living world, organisms
differ from one another but all are made
up of cells. Cells in the living organisms
are complex living structures unlike
non-living bricks.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

Introduction to Cells

You have already learnt that things around us are either living or non-living. Further, you may recall that all living organisms carry out certain basic functions. Can you list these functions?

Different sets of organs perform the various functions you have listed. In this chapter, you shall learn about the basic structural unit of an organ, which is the cell. Cells may be compared to bricks. Bricks are assembled to make a building. Similarly, cells are assembled to make the body of every organism.

Discovery of the Cell

Robert Hooke in 1665 observed slices of cork under a simple magnifying device. Cork is a part of the bark of a tree. He took thin slices of cork and observed them under a microscope. He noticed partitioned boxes or compartments in the cork slice.