Microworlds Study Guide

 He was the first person to make and use over 240 microscopes.  Leeuwenhoek lived in the 1600’s in the Netherlands.  Most of his microscopes were very small, just 1”x2”.  He was the first person to ever see one celled plants and animals.  He discovered bacteria when he scraped plaque from his teeth.  He also discovered that mammals have round blood cells while birds and fish have oval blood cells.  Only 9 of Leeuwenhoek’s 240 microscopes remain today.

Robert Hooke  Robert Hooke lived in the 1600’s in England.

 One of the differences between Leeuwenhoek and Hooke was that Hooke drew what he saw under the microscope.

 Hooke invented the Barometer. Meteorologists use them to detect air pressure.

 Hooke also worked to improve microscopes. He learned that making the lenses MORE round makes them more powerful.

Volvox

 Commonly found in ponds.  It is part of a group of organisms called green algae.  A Volvox doesn’t have roots, stems, or leaves, but they are like green plants because they make their own food. This process is called photosynthesis.  They live in a colony of 1,000 to 3,000 similar cells.  The Volvox forms a sphere. They live in a jelly-like substance.  Each cell has two tails called ______. These tails are what move the Volvox through the water. It rolls like a ball.  There are daughter colonies that split from the parent colony when they are big enough to begin their own Volvox colony.

Blepharisma

 Commonly found in ponds.  It is a single celled pear shaped organism.  It has a rosy coloration.  It usually eats bacteria, but if it eats other microbes it becomes a giant Blepharisma.  The giant Blepharisma becomes a cannibal and eats its own kind.  It is covered with tiny hairs called cilia. The cilia are used like paddles for swimming or to push food in its mouth.  To reproduce, the Blepharisma splits itself in half to produce twins. This is called binary fission.  Commonly called a Paramecium.

Draw a diagram of binary fission (when the nucleus splits in half to reproduce)

Vinegar Eels

 The vinegar eel is a harmless round worm. It is about 2mm long.  Its body is almost transparent and you can see some of their organs.  Vinegar eels are made of many cells.  It is one of the lowest animal forms that can digest food. It has a mouth and an anus.  Females have their babies lined up inside of them by age.  Vinegar eels are only found in unpasteurized vinegar. Pasteurization is a process where a liquid is heated to a very high temperature. This sterilizes the vinegar, which kills all the microbes.

Identify the cell terms

 Cell Wall: the thick covering of a plant cell made from non-living fibers

 Cell Membrane: a thin, living cell covering (lets gases in and out)

 Nucleus: the cell part that controls activities of other cell parts (the brain of the cell)

 Vacuole: storage sacs in a cell (stores water and waste)

 Cytoplasm: the jelly-like fluid between the cell membrane and the nucleus. (jello)

 Choloroplasts: the green cell part that traps sunlight. (jellybeans)

 Mitochondria: the powerhouse of the cell that releases energy.

All living things are made up of cells. Draw, label, and color a plant cell

Draw, label, and color an animal cell

How are plant and animal cells different.

1. Animal cells do NOT have a cell wall.

2. Animal cells do NOT have chloroplasts.

3. Animal cells have smaller vacuoles.

Volvox Blepharisma Vinegar Eels