What does it take to be a living organism?
Living things share 8 characteristics that are listed in Chapter 1 of your textbook on page 19. Think of an organism or cell in which all 8 characteristics are not obvious. For example, coral looks like it does not move, red blood cells do not reproduce and have no DNA, frogs freeze in the winter so it seems as if they do not maintain homeostasis, and so on.
Focus your discussion on the following:
Make comparisons between living things and nonliving things that have some of the characteristics that define life.
Compare the following pairs and explain what the differences are using the 8 criteria:
A rock to a snail
A rock to a tree
A dog to a TV
Explain why electricity is sometimes called live, or discuss some of the characteristics fire shares with living things (it can grow, it metabolizes, and so on)
A rock to a snail
Please I too need the answer for this assignment
To determine what it takes to be a living organism, we can refer to the 8 characteristics commonly associated with living things. These characteristics are listed in Chapter 1 of your textbook on page 19. Let's discuss some examples of organisms or cells where all 8 characteristics may not be immediately obvious, and compare them to nonliving things that possess some of these characteristics.
1. Rock vs. Snail:
- Cells: Snails are multicellular organisms, composed of various specialized cells, while rocks are nonliving and do not consist of cells.
- Reproduction: Snails can reproduce and pass on their genetic material, whereas rocks do not reproduce.
- Response to stimuli: Snails can respond to environmental stimuli, such as retracting into their shells when threatened, while rocks do not show any response or sensitivity.
- Homeostasis: Snails maintain internal stability through various mechanisms, such as adjusting their movement and shell position to regulate body temperature. Rocks do not maintain homeostasis.
- Energy utilization: Snails consume food and utilize energy for their metabolic processes, while rocks do not require or use energy in this manner.
- Growth and development: Snails grow and develop from a small size to adulthood through cellular division and differentiation, while rocks do not undergo growth or development.
- DNA: Snails possess DNA, which contains genetic information, while rocks do not contain genetic material.
- Evolution: Snails can adapt to their environment over generations through genetic changes, whereas rocks do not evolve.
2. Rock vs. Tree:
- Cells: Trees, like all plants, are composed of cells, whereas rocks are nonliving and lack cells.
- Reproduction: Trees can reproduce either sexually, through the production of seeds, or asexually through methods such as vegetative propagation. Rocks do not reproduce.
- Response to stimuli: Trees exhibit various responses to stimuli like growing towards light, shedding leaves in winter, and altering growth patterns in response to environmental conditions. Rocks do not show such responses.
- Homeostasis: Trees maintain internal stability through processes like transpiration and nutrient absorption, while rocks do not maintain homeostasis.
- Energy utilization: Trees utilize sunlight for photosynthesis, converting it into chemical energy for growth and survival. Rocks do not utilize energy.
- Growth and development: Trees grow in size, develop leaves, branches, and roots, and undergo stages of development from seed to mature tree. Rocks do not grow or develop.
- DNA: Trees contain genetic material in the form of DNA, which carries the instructions for growth and development, while rocks do not have DNA.
- Evolution: Trees can undergo evolutionary changes over generations, adapting to changing environments. Rocks do not evolve.
3. Dog vs. TV:
- Cells: Dogs are multicellular organisms, composed of specialized cells, while TVs are nonliving and do not contain cells.
- Reproduction: Dogs reproduce sexually, producing offspring through mating, while TVs do not reproduce.
- Response to stimuli: Dogs can respond to various stimuli, such as sound, touch, and visual cues, while TVs do not exhibit such responses.
- Homeostasis: Dogs maintain internal stability through various mechanisms, including temperature regulation and hormonal control, while TVs do not maintain homeostasis.
- Energy utilization: Dogs consume food and convert it into energy through metabolic processes, while TVs do not require or utilize energy in this way.
- Growth and development: Dogs undergo growth and development from birth to adulthood, with changes in size, appearance, and behavior, while TVs do not grow or develop.
- DNA: Dogs possess DNA, which carries genetic information and determines their traits, while TVs do not have DNA.
- Evolution: Dogs can evolve over time through genetic changes, adapting to their environment, whereas TVs do not evolve.
Now, let's discuss why electricity is sometimes referred to as "live" and explore the characteristics fire shares with living things.
Electricity is sometimes called "live" because it possesses certain characteristics that are similar to living organisms but are not fully equivalent. These characteristics include the ability to flow or move along a conductive path, the release of energy, and the potential to cause changes or perform work. However, electricity lacks several fundamental characteristics of living organisms, such as cells, reproduction, response to stimuli, homeostasis, growth and development, DNA, and evolution. Therefore, electricity is not considered a living organism, but rather a flow of energy.
When considering fire, it does exhibit some characteristics similar to living things. For example:
- Metabolism: Fire undergoes chemical reactions, consuming fuel (such as wood or gas) and releasing energy in the form of heat and light.
- Growth: Fire can grow by spreading to adjacent fuel sources, as long as the necessary conditions, such as fuel availability and oxygen supply, are met.
- Response to stimuli: Fire can react and spread in response to environmental factors like wind or additional fuel.
- Reproduction: While fire does produce sparks or embers that can ignite new fires, this is more accurately referred to as propagation rather than reproduction.
However, fire lacks other key characteristics of living organisms such as cells, homeostasis, DNA, and evolution. It is important to note that although fire exhibits some characteristics resembling life, it is fundamentally a complex chemical reaction rather than a living organism.