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9th grade Cell theory and how it was discovered worksheet

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Cell theory and how it was discovered

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Ari combines events A and B. Which part of cell theory do they support together, and why?

    • Part 3, because both scientists watched cells divide under the microscope
    • Part 1, because Schwann alone showed it in 1839 with animal tissue
    • Part 1, because plants and animals were both found to be made of cells
    • Part 1, because Hooke had already finished it in 1665
  2. Esme combines events A and B. What had scientists seen by 1674?

    • Living cells fill cork tissue, and Hooke watched them move in 1665
    • Cells come from cells, shown by the 1674 organisms
    • The full cell theory, finished by the two of them together by 1674
    • Cork is built of box-like cells, and single cells can live alone
  3. Jun writes: Hooke discovered that all living things are made of cells. What is wrong with this claim?

    • Nothing is wrong with it, because Hooke saw living cells in his cork slices
    • Hooke named cells, but Virchow alone completed the theory
    • Hooke worked in 1855, after Virchow's essay, so he could not have said it
    • Hooke named cork cells in 1665; plants and animals came in 1838 and 1839
  4. Kira writes: Virchow's essay came before Schleiden's work, so Virchow started cell theory. What is wrong with this claim?

    • Virchow's essay was about plants, not about cells
    • Schleiden worked alone, so Virchow had no part in the theory
    • 1855 is earlier than 1839, so Virchow's essay came before Schwann's work
    • 1855 is later than 1838, so Virchow's essay came after Schleiden's work
  5. Luz writes: Cell theory is just a theory, so scientists have not tested it. What is wrong with this claim?

    • Theories get tested after they become laws
    • A theory is a tested and confirmed explanation
    • Cell theory is a hypothesis until scientists vote
    • A theory is a guess that waits for its first test
  6. Noah reads that Schleiden thought cells formed like crystals and that Remak later showed cell division. Which statement fits?

    • Cells arise by division, so Schleiden's idea about crystals was corrected
    • Cells form like crystals, so Remak's evidence confirmed Schleiden
    • Cells divide, but Remak's 1852 evidence came before Schleiden's 1838 idea
    • Cells divide, which Schleiden had already shown alone in 1838
  7. Pia reads that some historians say Remak deserves credit. Which timeline fact supports them?

    • Virchow alone gathered the evidence, so Remak had no part
    • Remak published his evidence in 1852, three years before Virchow's essay
    • Remak published his evidence in 1862, seven years after Virchow's 1855 essay
    • Virchow credited Remak by name in his 1855 essay
  8. Ren's class imagines a newly found organism made of one swimming cell. Does it fit cell theory, and why?

    • No, because a basic unit of life must have many cells
    • Yes, because it formed from nonliving water
    • Yes, because one or more cells make up living things
    • No, because cell theory covers just plants and animals
  9. Tala asks why cell theory grew after Hooke's time. Which claim and reason are best supported?

    • Hooke's lens already showed living cells, so the theory was complete
    • One scientist's new lens alone supplied the whole cell theory in one step
    • Better lenses and stains showed parts inside cells, which added evidence
    • Cell theory came before microscopes, so lenses did not matter
  10. A museum sign says cell theory was finished in 1665. Zee checks the timeline. Which claim fits best, and why?

    • It was finished in 1665, because Hooke alone named cells
    • It is a guess, because it has an old date and no one has tested it
    • It was finished by Virchow in 1855, before Remak's work
    • It built up over time, with parts added in 1838, 1852 and 1855
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9th grade Cell theory and how it was discovered worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Cell theory and how it was discovered. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can put the main events of cell theory in order with their years: Hooke 1665, Leeuwenhoek 1674, Schleiden 1838, Schwann 1839, Remak 1852, Virchow 1855.
  • I can say who found what, and why no single scientist built cell theory alone.
  • I can state the three parts of cell theory and say which part a described observation supports.
  • I can say why Hooke's cork "cells" were empty walls, not living cells, and what better lenses and stains let scientists see.
  • I can read a timeline: find the gap between two events and which came first.
  • I can say what a scientific theory is (a tested and confirmed explanation, not a guess), and tell it from a hypothesis.

Standard: none (FL)

Words to know

cell: The basic unit of life; the smallest unit of a living thing

cell theory: One or more cells make up living things; the cell is life's unit; cells come from cells

microscope: A tool with lenses that makes tiny things look bigger

magnification: How many times larger a microscope makes something look

resolving power: A microscope's ability to show two nearby structures as separate

single-celled organism: A living thing made of just one cell

spontaneous generation: The old idea that living things arise from nonliving matter

hypothesis: A suggested explanation for an observation that can be tested

Common mistakes

Your child put cell-theory events in the wrong order or mixed up which came first. Ask which year is smaller, and why the smaller year comes first on a timeline.

Your child thought one scientist built cell theory alone. Ask who named cells, who studied plants and animals, and who said cells come from cells.

Your child thought Hooke saw living cells. Ask what was left of the cork cells (only the walls) and why walls alone are not a living cell.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with cell theory and how it was discovered?

Your child put cell-theory events in the wrong order or mixed up which came first. Ask which year is smaller, and why the smaller year comes first on a timeline.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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