Biology Test 1 Review: Cell Theory, Microscopes, and Cell Division

Flashcards covering the history of cell theory, microscopic technology, the eukaryotic cell cycle, and types of cell division.

Robert Hooke

English scientist who in $1665$ used a compound microscope to examine cork, observed box-like compartments, and coined the term "cells."

Micrographia

The landmark book published by Robert Hooke containing his detailed observations and discovery of cells.

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

Dutch scientist ($1632$–$1723$) who used a simple microscope to first describe living microorganisms such as bacteria and protists.

Animalcules

An archaic term meaning "little animals" used by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek to describe microscopic organisms in water and plaque.

Matthias Schleiden

German botanist who stated in $1838$ that the cell is the basic building block of all plants and that all plant tissues are made of cells.

Theodor Schwann

German zoologist who concluded in $1839$ that all animals are composed of cells, helping to establish the unified cell theory.

Rudolf Virchow

German physician who in $1855$ proposed that all cells come from pre-existing cells, expressed by the maxim "Omnis cellula e cellula."

Cell

The basic unit of structure and function in living organisms that carries out essential life processes.

Unified Cell Theory

The theory stating all organisms are composed of one or more cells, the cell is the basic unit of life, and cells arise from pre-existing cells.

Light microscope

Also known as an optical microscope, it uses visible light and glass lenses to magnify and focus small specimens.

Electron microscope

A microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons to create high-resolution images of objects like viruses and atoms, achieving much greater magnification than light microscopes.

G1 phase

The First Growth phase of interphase where the cell grows larger, copies organelles, and makes proteins before DNA replication.

S phase

The synthesis phase of the cell cycle during which the cell copies its DNA so each new cell receives a full set of chromosomes.

G2 phase

The final part of interphase where the cell double-checks duplicated chromosomes for errors and prepares for mitosis.

Cell Growth Checkpoint

Occurs toward the end of G1 to check if the cell is large enough and has proper proteins; if not, the cell enters a resting period called G0.

DNA Synthesis Checkpoint

Occurs during the S phase to check whether DNA has been replicated correctly before continuing to mitosis.

Mitosis Checkpoint

Occurs during the M phase to check whether mitosis is complete before the cell divides.

Mitosis

The process of nuclear division in eukaryotic cells that divides copied DNA into two separate nuclei, resulting in two genetically identical daughter cells.

Cytokinesis

The process occurring near the end of nuclear division that divides the cytoplasm into two daughter cells.

Binary Fission

A fast form of asexual reproduction used by prokaryotic organisms like bacteria where a parent cell splits into two identical daughter cells.

Metaphase

The stage of mitosis where replicated chromosomes condense and line up along the middle of the cell at the metaphase plate.

Anaphase

The stage of mitosis where sister chromatids separate and are pulled by spindle fibers to opposite poles of the cell.

Telophase

The final stage of mitosis where new nuclear membranes form around separated chromosomes at opposite ends of the cell.

Cell membrane

A protective barrier that separates the inside of a cell from the environment and controls the movement of nutrients and waste.

DNA replication

The biological process where a cell makes an exact copy of its DNA using enzymes to unzip the double helix and build matching strands.