Cell Theory

Introduction

          CELL THEORY WEBQUEST              

If I were to tell you that people once believed that maggots came from rotting meat or that fish came from the mud of previously dry lakes,  you would quickly write me off as being bizarre. However, this IS what many people thought until about 250 years ago. These beliefs were based upon an idea called "spontaneous generation." This was the idea that life could come from non-life.  Why did people accept this outrageous idea? How was this idea finally put to rest? It's up to you to find out!

 

During this webquest, you will learn about the scientists who helped pave the way to the development of the Cell Theory and to the rejection of the belief of spontaneous generation. 

Task

Your Task

Find information about the following people using the websites below their names.

        1. Zacharias Janssen 

http://www.history-of-the-microscope.org/hans-and-zacharias-jansen-micr…;    

        2. Robert Hooke

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/hooke.html

        3. Anton van Leeuwenhoek  (lay - ven - hook)

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/leeuwenhoek.html       

        4. Matthias Schleiden

http://cellempire.tripod.com/matthias_jakob_schleiden.html       

        5. Theodor Schwann

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Schwann.html      

        6. Rudolf Virchow

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2603088/

    For each person, record:

            a: How did this person contribute (add to) the cell theory?

            b: When did this person make their contribution (what year)?

            c: If you used a different website than the one provided, record the URL for the website you used (DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA)

        Please remember that each of these people did many things in the scientific world. You are looking for only what they discovered about the cell and the cell theory.

 

Conclusion

1. How did the later scientists benefit from the work of Janssen, Hooke, and van Leeuwenhoek?

2. If these scientists had never discovered the cell and other microorganisms, how do you think that life would have been different? Use an example to support your answer. 

3. The idea of spontaneous generation has been around nearly as long as people. Why do you think that it took so long for people to no longer believe in it? 

Credits