UNIT 1 DISCUSSION FOR PROF ELUID P ONLY

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 therefore 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).