The Fundamental Unit of Life Notes

• Organisms differ from each other structurally and functionally but all are made up of cells.
• All living organisms carry out certain basic functions.
• The basic structural and functional unit of an organ is the cell.

Discovery of the cell:

• Robert Hooke in 1665 observed slices of cork under a simple magnifying device. Cork is a substance which comes from the bark of a tree. He noticed partitioned boxes or compartments in the cork slice. These boxes appeared like a honeycomb. Each box was separated from the other by a wall.

• Organisms are of different shapes and sizes. Their organs also vary in shape, size and number of cells.

Number of Cells:

• Depending on number of cells, organisms could be multicellular or unicellular.

Multicellular organisms: