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Is It a Living Organism?
Is It a Living Organism?
• The following slides show examples of living and
nonliving things.
• Based on the characteristics of life outlined on the
next slide, 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.”
Characteristics of Living Things
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Living things are based on a universal genetic code.
Living things grow and develop.
Living things respond to their environment.
Living things are made up of cells.
Living things reproduce.
Living things maintain a stable internal environment.
Living things get and use material and energy.
Taken as a group, living things evolve.
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
Mushroom
21
Potato
22
Leaf
23
Chloroplast
24
Butterfly
25
Pupae
26
Fossil
27
Hibernating Bear
28
Virus
29
Mitochondria
30
Answers to
Is it a living organism?
Characteristics of Living Things
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Living things are based on a universal genetic code.
Living things grow and develop.
Living things respond to their environment.
Living things are made up of cells.
Living things reproduce
Living things maintain a stable internal environment.
Living things get and use material and energy.
Taken as a group, living things evolve.
Tree
Yes
Rock
No
Slime mold
Yes
Fire
No
River
No
Wind
No
Rabbit
Yes
Cloud
No
Coral
Yes
Feathers are
produced by
living cells
located in
small pit-like
follicles in a
bird’s outer
skin layer.
Feather
As it’s
produced
keratin is
protruded
straight out
from the skin
follicle,
enlarging the
feather.
No
Grass
Yes
Seed
Seeds may lay
dormant for years
before conditions
become favorable for
germination.
Yes
Chicken Egg (unfertilized)
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.
No
Zygote
Yes
Spore
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.
Yes
Bacteria
Yes
White Blood Cell
Yes
Molecule
No
Shelf Fungus
Yes
Sun
No
Mushroom
Yes
Potato
One potato can yield
many plants. Just cut it
into pieces so that each
piece contains a bud.
Place a potato piece cutside down in a hole,
cover it with dirt and
apply water. In time, a
potato plant will grow.
Yes
Leaf
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.
Yes
Chloroplast
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.
No
Butterfly
Yes
Pupae
Yes
Fossil
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.
No
Hibernating Bear
Yes
Virus
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.
No
Mitochondria
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.
No