How is life defined?

• The only requirement for life is the ability to reproduce.

• Life is defined through a set of shared characteristics that all living things display.

• A living thing must be able to move.

• Life is determined by neural activity.

Which of the following is not a characteristic of life?

• The ability to reproduce

• The ability to move

• The ability to grow and develop

• The ability to respond to the environment

Fire can move, grow, reproduce, use energy, consume oxygen, and interact with its environment. Why is it not alive?

• It does not have cells.

• It does not consist of complex, well-ordered structures.

• It does not pass on genes for traits to its offspring.

• All of the above are accurate reasons why fire is not alive.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-1

Is a virus considered alive?

• Yes, it possesses all of the requirements for life.

• Yes, it possesses enough of the requirements for life to be considered living.

• No, it does not possess all of the requirements for life.

• No, it does not possess any of the requirements for life.

Certain parasites, such as intestinal tapeworms, cannot survive outside of their host. Why are they still considered alive?

• Survival outside of a host is not a requirement for life.

• Parasites are still considered alive because they are studied by biologists, and biology is the study of life.

• As long as parasites are made of cells, they are considered to be alive.

• Because they cannot survive outside of the host, parasites are actually not considered alive.

A population consists of (a)   .

• living and nonliving components

• interacting populations

• a group of interacting individuals of one species

• a group of interacting individuals from different species

The statement, "There are 628 gray squirrels living on campus," describes the (a)   of gray squirrels on campus.

• species

• community

• population

• ecosystem

What is the smallest unit of life?

• An atom

• A molecule

• A cell

• An organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-1

NGSS.MS-LS1-2

NGSS.MS-LS1-3

If you were to combine all of the ecosystems on the planet, you would obtain the ________.

• ionosphere

• troposphere

• biosphere

• envirosphere

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

A college campus – including the students, birds, trees, sidewalks, and air – makes up one complete ________.

• community

• ecosystem

• population

• organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3