AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Hooke detailed his observations of this tiny and previously unseen world in his book, Micrographia. To him, the cork looked as if it was made of tiny pores, which he came to call “cells” because they reminded him of the cells in a monastery.

Detailed explanation-2: -Abstract. In 1665, Robert Hooke was the first to observe cork cells and their characteristic hexagonal shape, using the first optical microscope, which was invented by him at that time.

Detailed explanation-3: -In the 1660s, Robert Hooke looked through a primitive microscope at a thinly cut piece of cork. He saw a series of walled boxes that reminded him of the tiny rooms, or cellula, occupied by monks. Medical historian Dr. Howard Markel discusses Hooke’s coining of the word “cell."

Detailed explanation-4: -Robert Hooke in 1665 observed thin slices of cork under a simple magnifying device. He observed box-like structures and coined the term “cells” for them as these reminded him of the cells in a monastery.

Detailed explanation-5: -Robert Hooke had discovered the small-scale structure of cork. And he concluded that the small-scale structure of cork explained its large-scale properties. Cork floats, Hooke reasoned, because air is sealed in the cells. That air springs back after being compressed, and that’s why cork is springy.