Q1. What is life? Research six specimens from the list below, describe them as living, nonliving, or dead and give support for why each belongs in their respective category.
Brown grass Whale sperm HIV virus
Fertilized chicken egg Hair from human head Prion
Egg from grocery store Skin cell from back of hand Amoeba
Blood cell Mushroom Coral reef
Q2. What traits did you list as characteristics of living things, but were not easily observable?
Q3. List several processes that occur while an organism is alive, but cease when it is dead.
Q4. Did any nonliving things possess some of the same characteristics as living things? Which ones?
Q5. How do plants differ from animals in their life activities?
Q6. Define the word dormant. What factors influence whether something is considered dormant?
Q7. Research one of the following controversial discoveries: nanobacteria (Young & Martel, 2009), the “fossilized Martian bacteria” observed on the meteorite ALH84001 (McKay et al., 1996), or Craig Venter’s 2010 announcement of the first creation of “synthetic life” (Gibson et al., 2010). Review the claims made by the researchers who announced the discovery. Do the organisms fit the definition of life? How so?
Instructions
Organize this essay assignment using subtitles that summarize the topic from each question above. For example, to answer Question 1, use a descriptive subtitle like the following: What is Life?
Your essay should be approximately 2-3 pages in length. Answer each question under the subtitle using complete sentences that relate back to the question. Be sure to use APA formatting throughout your essay with 1-inch margins, 12-point type and double spacing throughout. Include a title page, introduction, answers to the questions with subtitles and concluding paragraph. Remember to include in-text citations within the body of the essay referencing your resources (i.e. Murray, 2014). Also, be sure to include a reference section at the end of your assignment listing all required readings and any additional resources you used to complete your essay.
Back ground readings
OpenStax; Fowler, Samantha; Roush, Rebecca; and Wise, James, “
Concepts of Biology
” (2013). Open Educational Resources Collection.
Chapter 1 Introduction to Biology
Lexis, L., Julien, B., & Open Textbook Library (2022).
How to do science (Revised ed.). University of Southern Queensland. Chapter 1: Science and the Scientific Method
Bishoyi, A. K. (2020).
General biology. Delve Publishing.
Chapter 1 Fundamentals of Biology
Bartee, L., Anderson, C., & Open Textbook Library. (2018).
General biology I: Survey of cellular biology. Open Oregon Educational Resources.
Chapter 2 The Process of Science
Chapter 3 Themes and Concepts of Biology