Moreno, Aura M.

ZO101 – B074 TTH 8:30 – 12:00

BS PSY III ACTIVITY 3

EVALUATIVE QUESTIONS (assignment 3 via NEO LMS)

1. Nonliving things can have some characteristics of life. True or False? Explain.
TRUE
It is true that non-living things do not have all the properties of the living organisms yet may
have shown some of them. But it is also true that it can have some characteristics of life forms.For
instance, snow crystals are organized; however, it has no cells and is not capable of growth. Thus,
it did not fully meet the criteria considered a living thing. Similarly, a fire can grow, reproduce by
creating new fires, and respond to stimuli. Yet fire is not organized, does not maintain
homeostasis, and lacks the genetic information required for evolution. Another example is robots
like AI (artificial intelligence), which show most of the characteristics of an organism such as
organization, responding to stimuli, using energy to power the circuitry, and even maintaining
homeostasis, with an internal fan or heater that activated when the temperature changed. Yet it
cannot grow, reproduce, or be part of an evolving population and thus would not be considered
alive (Khan Academy, n.d.).

2. A unicellular organism grows by increasing its number of cells. True or False? Explain.
FALSE
A unicellular organism does not grow by increasing its number of cells, rather growth occurs in
the process of reproduction. It consists of a stepwise and ordered increase in the size of the
cytoplasm, including the increase in the number (e.g., ribosomes mitochondria) or duplication of
organelles, (chromosomes, centrosomes, cell nuclei, etc.) (Cabej, 2013). Moreover, the increase of
number of cells only occurs in multicellular organisms.

3. What is true of all organisms? a. Organisms grow and develop; b. Organisms always remain the
same size; c. Organisms grow but never develop; and d. Organisms always shrink and divide.
(CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER AND EXPLAIN)
A. Organisms grow and develop
In the properties of life all organisms grow and develop. By following specific instructions coded
for by their genes which provide instructions that will direct cellular growth and development,
ensuring that a species’ young will grow up to exhibit many of the same characteristics as its parents
(Lumen Learning, 2019).
4. Which of the following characteristics is shared by all organisms? a. All organisms are composed
of two cells; b. All organisms can move; c. All organisms can smell and taste; and d. All organisms
have cells that contain DNA. (CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER AND EXPLAIN)
D. All organisms have cells that contain DNA.
All organisms inherit the genetic information specifying their structure and function from their
parents (Cooper, 2009). The genetic information is made up of DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid.

5. List down the importance of recognizing the different levels of organization in understanding the
existence of various life forms? Enumerate and discuss.

The importance of recognizing the different levels of organization of life are the following:
• Gaining knowledge
It is innate to human to be curious particularly about life and various life forms. Since there are
other living and non-living organisms on Earth it is essential to gain knowledge and understand
the diversity of life.

• Help scientists, biologists, taxonomists

Recognizing the different levels of organization help the scientists, biologists, taxonomists in
understanding the existence of various life forms. It guides them to further their knowledge and
uncover the mysteries of life on Earth.
 References

Cabej, N. R. (2013). 1 - Control Systems in the Living World. ScienceDirect; Elsevier.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780124016675000018

Cooper, G. M. (2009). Heredity, Genes, and DNA. Nih.gov; Sinauer Associates.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9944/

Khan Academy. (n.d.). What Is Life? https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/intro-to-

biology/what-is-biology/a/what-is-life

Lumen Learning. (2019). The Characteristics of Life. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-

wmopen-biology1/chapter/the-characteristics-of-life/