Is It a Living Organism? Take out a sheet of paper and number it 1-30

Is It a Living Organism? The following slides show 30 examples of living and nonliving things. Based on the characteristics of life your group came up with, decide if each example represents a living organism. If the object shown is a living organism, write “Yes.” If the object shown is nonliving, write “No.”

Tree 1

Rock 2

Slime mold 3

Fire 4

River (the flowing water) 5

Wind 6

Rabbit 7

Cloud 8

Coral 9

Feather 10

Grass 11

Seed 12

Egg (unfertilized) 13

Zygote 14

Spore 15

Bacteria 16

White Blood Cell 17

Molecule 18

Shelf Fungus 19

Sun 20

Probiotic Yogurt 21

Potato 22

Leaf 23

Chloroplast 24

Butterfly 25

Pupa 26

Fossil 27

Hibernating Bear 28

Virus 29

Mitochondria 30

Answers to Is it a living organism?

Characteristics of Living Things 1.Living things are based on a universal genetic code. 2.Living things grow and develop. 3.Living things respond to their environment. 4.Living things are made up of cells. 5.Living things reproduce 6.Living things maintain a stable internal environment. 7.Living things get and use material and energy. 8.Taken as a group, living things evolve.

Tree Yes 1

Rock No 2

Slime mold Yes 3

Fire No 4

River No 5

Wind No 6

Rabbit Yes 7

Cloud No 8

Coral Yes 9

Feather No Feathers are produced by living cells located in small pit-like follicles in a bird’s outer skin layer. As it’s produced keratin is protruded straight out from the skin follicle, enlarging the feather. 10

Grass Yes 11

Seed Yes Seeds may lay dormant for years before conditions become favorable for germination. 12

Chicken Egg (unfertilized) No The yellow yolk is not the egg, but food for the egg. The egg is a tiny single haploid cell found in the egg white. The unfertilized egg is not capable of reproducing or evolving. 13

Zygote Yes 14

Spore Yes Spores are usually haploid and unicellular. Once conditions are favorable, the spore can develop into a new organism which produces gametes. Spores are part of the life cycle of a diploid organism. They are every bit a living organism as the organism that produces them. 15

Bacteria Yes 16

White Blood Cell Yes 17

Molecule No 18

Shelf Fungus Yes 19

Sun No 20

Probiotic Yogurt No 21 While yogurt contains live cultures of bacteria, the yogurt itself is not alive.

Potato Yes One potato can yield many plants. Just cut it into pieces so that each piece contains a bud. Place a potato piece cut- side down in a hole, cover it with dirt and apply water. In time, a potato plant will grow. 22

Leaf Yes Many leaves can be cut at the stem and placed back into soil to grow new roots. This is known as propagation. In some cases, the stem isn’t even needed. 23

Chloroplast No There is evidence that the ancestor of chloroplasts was once a free-living cyanobacterium that formed a symbiotic relationship with another cell. This merger is believed to have happened about 1 billion years ago. 24

Butterfly Yes 25

Pupa Yes 26

Fossil No Fossils are a remnant or trace of an organism of a past geological age embedded and preserved in the earth’s crust or some natural material. 27

Hibernating Bear Yes 28

Virus No Although viruses have genes and can evolve, they do not have a cellular structure. In addition, viruses do not have their own metabolism, and require a host cell to make new products. 29

Mitochondria No There is evidence that the ancestor of mitochondria was once a free-living bacterium that formed a symbiotic relationship with another cell. This merger is believed to have happened about 2.5 billion years ago. 30