Which of the following statements violates the cell theory? a) mitosis produces new cells identical to the parent cell that divided to make them. b) viruses are not considered to be living organisms, because they are smaller than a cell. c) though humans are one organism, they are composed of about 100 trillion individual cells. d) some scientists believe that prions, tiny proteins much smaller than a cell, that can replicate themselves, may be living organisms.

The answer is (d.) Some scientists believe that prions, tiny proteins much smaller than a cell, that can replicate themselves may be living organisms.

Prions are like viruses, they are not alive making statement B to be true. Prions lack the ability to grow and reproduce. they are dependent on the living cells to replicate. Statement A is absolutely correct while Statement C is somehow wrong. According to scientists, the accurate count of cells in a human is 37.2 Trillion. 

When you are making a guess you are forming a hypothesis