Chapter 1 - Study of Life and the Scientific Method

Which of the following characteristics of living things best explains why humans sweat when they get hot?

• Growth and development
• Using energy
• Maintaining a stable internal environment
• Ability to reproduce

Which of these do living things NOT need for a species to survive?

• Ability to use energy
• Ability to reproduce
• DNA/RNA
• Ability to make a permanent home
• Ability to respond to change

Which of the following lists represents characteristics of living things?

• Made of cells, has lungs, can reproduce
• Made of cells, grows and develops, uses energy
• Grows and develops, responds to surroundings, can move
• Has similar chemicals, makes noises, made of cells

What is the most basic unit of life?

Define homeostasis. Give an example that illustrates an organisms ability to maintain homeostasis.

What is the correct order of organization in living things from simple to complex?

• Organ system, organ, tissue, cell, organism
• Cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism
• Organism, cell, tissue, organ, organ system
• Cell, organ, tissue, organ, organism, organ system

The correct order of practice in the scientific method of research is:

• Hypothesis, predict, observe, report, test

• Observe, hypothesis, predict, test, report

• Observe, test, hypothesis, predict, report

• Predict, observe, hypothesis, report, test

You are a field scientist and discovered what you think is a new organism. You

are not sure though and want to see if you can categorize it as living or nonliving.

After some testing, observations, and experimentation, the creature you found

has the following characteristics:

1) Body temperature fluctuates with the changes in the environment.

2) The creature is made up of some variant of the DNA.

3) The creature cannot divide on its own unless there is external support (i.e. the

creature can only divide when it is using the resources of another organism).

4) The creature does appear to have some order to it, as you found some structures

resembling cells when you looked at it under a microscope.

Based on the characteristics described above, would you say this organism is

living or nonliving? Why? Support your response with evidence as it relates to the 8

characteristics of life.

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A scientist wishes to test a new antibiotic’s ability to treat stubborn bacterial

infections. He tests his hypothesis that the antibiotic works better than existing

treatments by giving bacterial infections to mice and treating them with the

antibiotic. He then determines how many of the mice recover from their

infections. What is missing from his experimental design?

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Which of the following is a true statement?

• All living organisms contain a nucleus.

• All living organisms are multicellular.

• All living organisms have a cell well.

• Cells are the basic unit of structure and function.