What is life?
“What is life,” this may be a thought that many people ponder? Everyone holds a different perspective on life, I remember once my chemistry teacher telling me that “life is nothing but the transferring of electrons,” but a biologist or a poet might tell you otherwise.” According to the dictionary life is “ The condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to the environment through changes originating internally.” I believe that the best way to analyze what life is by distinguishing the differences of a livening and a non living organism as a living organism has life and a non living organism does not. Living organisms acquire six characteristics; they are able to reproduce, respond to the environment, they require organizations, they take in material and produce waste, they grow and develop and they require energy. Therefore life is just a name given to an organism that posses all the characteristics listed above. For example a plant responds to the environment by moving towards the sunlight to absorb the energy or by the opening up its leaves, it has the ability to reproduce through its seeds, plants need other organisms in order for it to survive, plants take in oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide, plants grow and they require the suns energy in order to survive. Therefore we would say that a plant is alive or has “life.”
How do we study life?
Life is studied in biology, biology is the study of life because in biology we analyze specimens, like micro organisms and bigger organisms like the human body through microscopes. We also further analyze the 6 characteristics of life in biology. By experimentation, and observing various things like cells and animals, and trying to establish fact by finding a pattern..
Why do we study about life in biology?
Well we study life to understand the basic reason why were here and how it developed in the single planet earth, Also to understand the interaction that happen between species and to help with the health field.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Living things are made up of cells (based on a universal genetic code), they obtain and use materials and energy to grow, develop, reproduce, respond to the environment, maintain a stable environment, and change over time.…
- 463 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
This chart contains a grid for different philosophical anthropologies that answer the question of personhood.…
- 684 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Plants and human beings, in fact, all things living, must possess certain things in order to live and to grow. Living things are made up of cells, which I imagine is like a design inside the body. To be a living thing, an organism can have just one cell, where as human beings are much more complex living things and have millions of cells in their bodies but five…
- 752 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
There are many types and brands of protein out on the market today, and all of them say they are the best. But, how do we really know which ones are the best for us? The fundamentals of chemistry in biology can help you determine which protein supplement will best be suited for your needs. The magazine “Men’s Health” consistently discusses this topic every month, to help us, the average person…
- 496 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
How can we tell if an organism is alive or not? Is a virus , prion, virod, or a rock a living organism? What is life? Biologist have studied what makes organism alive for many years and have come to the conclusion the there are nine characteristics of life. Each characteristic has a property which applies to how and organism is alive. Life characteristics are as follows: order, metabolism, motility, responsiveness, reproduction, development, heredity, evolution, and adaptation. All of the characteristics of life together are what makes an organism alive.…
- 1038 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
What is biology? the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution.…
- 4655 Words
- 19 Pages
Good Essays -
What is the meaning of life? The answer to this question has sought over since mankind became capable of exercising their brain capacity past a level of primal instinct. In general life is rather meaningless, we all simply exist together on this planet. But before one dwells on the pointlessness of human existence, they should think about the purpose of each individual person in our society. We create goals for ourselves; we all have a role to play in our society. In a sense, we choose our future and in doing so, give ourselves a purpose to live. The purpose of human existence in general may be absent, but in our society and through our goals and achievements, I believe each individual creates their own purpose.…
- 593 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Consider biological life for a moment. Science still wrestles with the definition of "life" itself,…
- 815 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
According to Saint Exupery in The Halo (2006), “Each man must look to himself to teach him the meaning of life. It is not something discovered: it is something moulded.” The meaning of life has a no specific definition; it depends on how each individual give meaning to their lives. It is a natural thing for an individual to curiously know about their life since their birth till death. Moreover, human beings are also curious to find out why they were put in this earth that is why babies keep touching everything in order to experience all their surroundings from the very beginning (Taylor, 2000). In this essay, the concept of meaning will be significantly analysed. Firstly, by defining the meaning which will secondly be followed by discussing the different types of needs an individual must meet to experience the meaning of life. Thirdly, the types of things that enhance and curb the experience of the meaning of life will be highlighted. Lastly, various practical steps will be described to enhance the experience of the meaning of life. This essay will be intertwined with personal reflections and aspirations that have enhanced the meaning of life for the writer.…
- 1615 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
No general full fledged definition for life has been articulated since time, but lists of properties have been suggested to discern ‘the inert/non-living’ from ‘the living’ of which a an organism has to posses in order for it to be considered as a living being. These include self organization or movement, growth, reproduction, inheritance, feeding, excretion, sensitivity and adaptation. Moreover, the question of what life is takes us back to evolution, that is, for an organism to be considered living, it has to be part of the fossil record. Even so, there are living organisms which do not show some of these characteristics of life.…
- 858 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
What is the meaning of life? Well known Greek philosphers such as Socrates and Plato believed that our purpose in this life was to gain knowledge in preparation for the next life. Other Philosophers such as Epicurus believed that pleasure is the main goal in life. After giving these ideas lots of thought, I have come to my own conclusion that the true meaning of life is far more complex than either of these; far too complex for any human to fully comprehend. In fact these two different philosophies are only part of the grand picture. If it were that easy for men to figure out our lives wouldn't be so messed up now. The meaning of life revolves around many different things. I think these things include: self-understanding, development of mind and soul, and an afterlife.…
- 1401 Words
- 6 Pages
Powerful Essays -
“The Meaning of Life” is an excerpt from Richard Taylor’s book Good and Evil: A New Direction, with this book Mr. Taylor was thought to have adopted a radical subjectivist view of ethics. In this excerpt he explains why existence and life is meaningless and he sheds light into the meaning of life. Throughout his explanations Richard uses an example from an ancient Greek myth. The myth is about Sisyphus a Greek man who offended the gods and was sentenced to roll a large stone up a hill for all of eternity.…
- 1259 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Life is defined as a characteristic that distinguishes that have signaling and self sustaining processes from those that don’t. If an organism can perform certain functions such as movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, and nutrition, it is classified as a living organism. Life began from the basic building block of all living things, called cells. All organisms derived from single celled organisms. Cells are the basic building blocks of life and are found in all living things. For example, a group of cells would form a tissue, a group of tissues would form an organ, a group of organs would form an organ system an a group of organ systems would form an organism.…
- 582 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Life can be compared to learning how to ride a bike for the very first time. Life is the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally. So you might be asking how is living life compared to learning how to ride a bike, which is inorganic? When learning to ride a bike you will most likely fall as in life but you have to get back up. Likewise, you have to put forth some effort in life like pedaling a bike or you will get nowhere.…
- 1217 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
The study of life is Ayurveda (‘Ved’ means to know, ‘Ayur’ is life). Life has four characteristics - it exists, evolves, expresses and extinguishes. For this, it depends on five elements: the earth, water, air, ether and fire. To make it easier to understand, we can bring in the five senses and its objects: sight, smell, taste, sound and touch.…
- 399 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays