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The smallest living part of an organism is a cell
All plants, animals and human beings are made of small units called cells
Example
Our body has trillions of cells.
Different cells in our body perform different function
Hence we can say that
Cell is smallest unit of life which has a definite structure and perform different functions
Why is cell called a Basic Structural unit?
It is because they are the basic unit of life
All plants and animals are made up of cells
Just as a house is made of different rooms, different rooms are made of walls and walls are made up of different bricks (non living)
Similarly, our body is made up of different organs and different organs are made up of tissues which are made of different cells (Living organism)
Hence, a cell is a basic structural unit of living organism
Who discovered cells?
It was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665
He discovered cells in cork (bark of oak tree)
He observed cork under a microscope
He saw different compartments which were separated by walls
He called them cells (as they looked like prison cells)
Questions
NCERT Question 1 (c) - Indicate whether the following statements are True (T) or False (F).
The basic living unit of an organism is an organ. (T/F)
NCERT Question 8 - ' Cells are the basic structural units of living organisms’. Explain.
