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Journal 4

Cells: An Introduction
To solve the problem below, you must write a clear and convincing justification for accepting one of the possible answer choices as the best or most appropriate and for rejecting each of the other choices as less appropriate. Your reasons for rejecting choices are just as important as your reasons for choosing the best answer.
A scientist plans to use a microtome to cut sections of a particular type of tissue so thin that typical cell will be cut into about 20 sections. To help him make careful observation of internal cell structures, he considers staining the sections with a dye. Which of the following procedures would give the most complete pictures of the internal structures of a cell?
1
 Look at one section.
2
 Look at twenty sections from twenty different pieces of tissue.
3
 Stain all of the sections then look at twenty sections from twenty different pieces of tissue.
4
 Look at twenty consecutive stained sections of a cell from the same piece of tissue.
5
 Either b or c would be equally good procedures to ensure observation of the complete internal contents of a cell.