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Name-_______________________________ Chapters 1-5 Questions “Life” is easy to recognize but difficult to define. The dictionary defines life as “the state or quality that distinguishes living beings or organisms from dead ones and from inorganic matter, characterized chiefly by metabolism, growth, and the ability to reproduce and respond to stimuli.” Biology textbooks usually elaborate slightly; for example, according to a popular text, living things: Are highly organized compared to natural inanimate objects. Display homeostasis, maintaining a relatively constant internal environment. Reproduce themselves. Grow and develop from simple beginnings. Take energy and matter from the environment and transform it. Respond to stimuli. Show adaptation to their environment. Score yourself, a car, and a cactus with respect to these characteristics. Is there any grey area? In the context of what you just did, why could defining life be an elusive business? In 1944, at the beginning of he book, What is Life, the great physicist Erwin Schr?dinger (of cat fame) asked the following question: “How can the events in time and space which take place within the spatial boundary of a living organism be accounted for by physics and chemistry?” What would be your answer today? Do you think there are peculiar properties of living systems that disobey the laws of physics and chemistry? Explain your answer. It seems to be human nature to try and group living things into categories. These groupings have helped philosophers and naturalists better understand the living world around them. A taxon is the name given to any specific level of organization in our current classification system. Identify the taxonomic levels that biologists most frequently use. How are they organized? Can taxonomic systems be used to show phylogeny (aka evolutionary relationships) of organisms? Chapter 1 includes heredity (i.e. DNA and genes) as well as evolution. Discuss the connection between hered