Living Things Versus Nonliving Things

A. Living things versus Non-living things Most living things can be distinguished readily from non-living by the following characteristics:

1. Form and size. Living things have characteristic form and size within certain limits most of them are also arranged as definite individuals. While in non-living things, materials vary widely.
2. Organization. Living things are made up of cells which are assembled into interrelated system for performing the life processes. They rearrange and combine the chemical elements for their need. Non-living things on the other hand cannot recombine materials and their structure depends on chemicals present and mode of formation.1
3. Movement. Living things can move by themselves while non living things can move with the help of an external force.
4. Growth and life cycle. Living things exhibit internal growth or intussusception while non-living things exhibit external growth or accretion.
Living things grow by the development of new parts between or within older ones and may replace parts during life. Each individual has a definite life cycle-birth, growth, maturity, life span and death. If non-living things grow, they do that by external addition and there is no orderly cycle of change. Example, the salt in the container and the ice in the freezer increase in size because only of the addition of new materials on their surface.
5. Metabolism. The word metabolism is defined as various vital life processes which includes all the changes that the materials taken as food undergoes. There are two phases of metabolism namely: anabolism and catabolism. Anabolism is called as the constructive or building up phase. This includes assimilation or building up of protoplasm from simple compounds and elements which are end-products of digestion. Photosynthesis in plants is an example of anabolism. Catabolism is the destructive or breaking down phase. This involves the release of energy by breaking food substances through respiration.
6. Irritability. Living things react to changes in the environment. These act as stimuli that induce responses by the organism. The degree of response is is often disproportionate to that of the stimulus and the organism is not permanently altered by the stimulus.
In non-living things, there is a definite quantitative relationship between the intensity of the environmental change and the reaction produced as in the expansion of a metal by heat.2
7. Reproduction. This is defined as the ability of the organism to create another one of the same kind.

Living things reproduce by using the materials within their bodies, a characteristic which non-living things do not have.

B. Plants versus Animals

1. Form and Structure –In Plants. The vegetative (somatic) structures of vascular plants include two major organ systems: (1) a shoot system, composed of stems and leaves, and (2) a root system. These two systems are common to nearly all vascular plants, and provide a unifying theme for the study of plant morphology. By contrast, the reproductive structures are varied, and are usually specific to a particular group of plants. Structures such as flowers and fruits are only found in the angiosperms; sori are only found in ferns; and seed cones are only found in conifers and other gymnosperms. Reproductive characters are therefore regarded as more useful for the classification of plants than vegetative characters. In Animals. In order to survive, animals must be able to coordinate the functions of their many specialized cells, take in and digest food, pull oxygen from the air, circulate nutrients and oxygen to their cells, eliminate wastes, move, maintain body temperature, and reproduce. Animals have also developed various behaviours that help them to survive. 2. Metabolism - Green plants "capture" the sun's energy in the process of photosynthesis, and animals then acquire it by eating plants or by eating other animals that eat plants. The energy is used to do the work of building tissues, contracting muscles, processing information in the brain, and powering all the other activities of a living animals. 3. Irritability - Animals use their keen senses [seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling] in order to react on the things that happen around them (e.g. hunt for food, mark in territory). While plants use their peculiar system of sensitivity to light.
In other words plants don't have emotions just like animals and no biologists can ever prove emotional senses from the plants.

C. History of Biology D. PERIOD/STAGES | SCIENTISTS | CONTIBUTIONS | | | | PRIMITIVE PERIOD-characterized by uncritical accumulation of information, mainly derived from the practical necessities of obtaining food, materials for clothing and shelter, substances to cure ailments, and necessary information about the human body.-accumulation of knowledge was not recorded, nor were there scientific method and associated intellectual activities. | | | CLASSICAL PERIOD -began with the Greeks and continued with the Romans, marked by great curiosity about natural phenomena and ability to organize biological knowledge and record it. | Hippocrates – “Father of Medicine” Aristotle – “ Greatest Ancient Scientist” - “Father of Biology” TheophrastusGalen- “Last Great Biologists of Antiquity” - Greek physician | -stated that diseases have natural causes & the body has the power to repair itself.-most significant biological contributions, studied hearts and brains of animals.-excelled in making observations-studied almost all areas in science.-pupil of Aristotle-carried on pioneers studies on the nature of plants-his works are the most complete biological treaties to reach us from classical period.-began to study human anatomy and carried out the 1st physiological experiments in animals. | RENAISSANCE PERIOD-took place during the 14th to 16th century curiosity about the structure of living things were rekindled-by the middle of renaissance, anatomy, physiology, botany and zoology were established. | Leonardo da Vinci Michael Angelo Andreas Vesalius- founder of modern anatomyWilliam Harvey | -both made accurate studies in plants and animals and human anatomy.-published his book, ”The Structure of the human Body”-described the blood circulation in man which contributed to physiology. | MODERN PERIOD-marked by the introduction of microscope at the beginning of the 17th century.20th century | Robert HookeMatthias Schleiden- botanistTheodore Schwann-zoologistAnton van LeeuwenhoekFrancesco RediLazzaro SpallanzaniCarolus Linnaeus-“Father of Taxonomy”Jean Baptiste LamarckCharles DarwinLoius Pasteur-“ The Father of Modern Microbiology”Claude Bernard and Johannes MullerKarl von BaerGregor MendelHugo de VriesE.H. StarlingCowla(botanist),Clements(botanist)Shelford(zoologist) | -formulated/conceptualized the Cell Theory-made the first microscope-disapproved the spontaneous origin of life from non living matter-experimented on the idea of Francesco Redi.-established the system of nomenclature in which all living things are arranged by genera and species.-proposed the theory of evolution-most outstanding contribution in evolution-proposed the Natural Selection as an explanation by which evolutionary changes take place.-laid the foundation of modern microbiology.-established comparative physiology.-founded comparative embryology-made studies on genetics-formulated the mutation theory-his work increased our knowledge on hormones under endocrinology.-they put ecology on a modern basis. |