Characteristics of
Life
Life
How many characteristics of life does something need to be considered living?
What do C, E, and R stand for?
Claim, evidence, reasoning.
Water is _______ (living or nonliving) and fire is _______ (living or nonliving)
nonliving, nonliving
You notice when looking through a microscope that your sample is made of cells. Does this lead you to believe it is living or nonliving?
Living!
All cells come from pre existing cells, cells are the basic unit of life, all living things are made of cell(s).
Bacteria create offspring using a process called binary fission. This is an example of which characteristic of life?
Reproduction (Asexual)
Every CER paragraph should start with a _______ and end with a ___________.
claim sentence, conclusion (restating claim).
Explain the difference between adapting and evolving and growing and developing.
Adaptations happen across generations while growth and development will occur in one lifetime.
Viruses contain genetic code, and adapt to their environment. However, they are made of a capsid rather than cells. Are viruses living or nonliving?
Nonliving
How many parts of the cell theory are there?
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
D. 1
A
Bacteria is unicellular. What does unicellular mean and which characteristic of life does this demonstrate?
Made of one cell, made of cell(s).
Evidence come from _______, while reasoning comes from _______.
the passage, your own words.
Your friend is attempting to convince you that their Alexa is a living thing because it communicates and uses energy. What would be the best argument against your friend?
A. It is not living because it does not use energy.
B. It is not living because it does not move.
C. It is not living because it does not reproduce on its own.
D. It is not living because it isn't a human being.
C
You pull out your bread to make a sandwich and notice something has started to grow all over it. Your friend states that is not living because it doesn't have organs. What is the best statement to prove him wrong?
A. It is living because it moved from one end of the bread to the other.
B. It is living because it started small in amount and reproduced to create more spores on the bread.
C. It is living because it is eating bread.
B
Which one of these does NOT belong in the three main principles of cell theory?
A. All living things have more than one cell
B. All cells come from pre existing cells
C. Cells are the basic unit of life
A
Humans are able to keep a consistent blood pressure (that falls somewhere around 120/80). This is an example of what characteristic of life?
What is the first step of writing a CER?
Determining what your PROBLEM is!
Which question would be most helpful in determining if something is living or nonliving?
A. Does it move?
B. Does it breathe?
C. Does it eat?
D. Does it have DNA?
D
We've established the blob in Mr. Nelson's beaker is not living. What is the most clear evidence to prove it is nonliving.
A. It does not have a heart
B. It cannot move on its own
C. It can not keep an internal balance
D. It feels squishy
C
TRUE OR FALSE
All cells arise from pre existing cells. Therefore, all living things are made of many cells.
FALSE
List all eight characteristics of life:
made of cell(s), exchanges energy, grows and develops, maintains homeostasis, adapts and evolves, reproduces, responds to stimuli, has DNA or genetic code
What is this CER missing?
I believe viruses are nonliving. The first reason is that virus cannot reproduce on their own, they need a host. Secondly, they can not grow and develop. Finally, they do not exchange energy. These are the reasons I believe viruses are not living.
Reasoning
ex: The first reason is viruses cannot reproduce on their own. This means viruses are not living because all living things are capable of reproduction.
You are allowed to ask three questions to determine if an object is living or nonliving. What are your three questions?
All three questions have to be regarding the 8 characteristics of life.
You come across a specimen in the wild. You notice it moving around and making noise. It starts crawling under a tree when it starts to rain to protect itself. Based on your observations, is this living or nonliving? Explain WHY!
Living because it responds to a stimulus.
List all three principles of cell theory:
All cells come from pre existing cells, cells are the basic unit of life, all living things are made of cell(s)