Year 7 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 06
Challenge Worksheet
Learning Goals
What if…?
Scenario
What if Robert Hooke's microscope had been 100 times more powerful when he first looked at cork in 1665? Instead of seeing only empty cell walls, he would have been able to see the internal structures of living cells — the nucleus, mitochondria, and (in plant cells) chloroplasts — nearly 200 years before scientists actually discovered them. This means that one person, in the 1660s, would have had evidence that most scientists did not obtain until the 1830s–1860s.
Using what you know from this lesson, predict and explain how the history of cell theory and modern medicine might have developed differently in this scenario. In your answer, consider: how the three tenets might have been established earlier; whether one scientist making all the discoveries would have been accepted by the scientific community; and what medical advances might have come sooner. Use scientific terms in your answer.
1. Viruses are not made of cells — they are tiny packages of genetic material surrounded by a protein coat, and they can only reproduce by hijacking a living cell. Evaluate whether viruses challenge or support the three tenets of cell theory. In your answer, address each tenet separately and reach an overall conclusion.
2. Cell theory took about 200 years to be fully established — from Hooke's 1665 observation to Virchow's 1855 addition. Explain why building a scientific theory takes so long, and what this process tells us about how science works. Use specific examples from cell theory's history to support your answer.
Wrap Up
In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?