PART ONE: the Nature of Science Activity

Name: ______Date: ______Block: ______

PART ONE: The Nature of Science Activity

What are the characteristics of life?

Objective:The purpose of this activity is for you to begin to develop an understanding of the nature of science by observing different living and nonliving specimens to determine those characteristics common to all living or once-living organisms.You will experiencehow all living things can be described using the same general characteristics of life.

Introduction:The word biology means the study of life.Biology is the science that seeks to understand the living world.A biologist is someone who uses a scientificprocess to study living things.The work of biologists can be quite varied because organisms are complex and vary greatly.

The picture on page 16 of your textbook shows both a fire and a firefly.Are the firefly and the fire in Figure 1-14 alive?They are both giving off energy.Describing what makes something alive is not easy.No single characteristic is enough to describe a living thing. In addition, some nonliving things share one or more traits with living things.Mechanical toys, automobiles, and clouds move around, whereas mushrooms and trees live their lives in one spot.Despite the challenges of describing living compared to nonliving things, it is possible to describe what most living things have in common.

Pre-Activity Preparation:Answer the following questions in the space below.

What is life?List some things that you consider living? Consider nonliving?

List several processes that occur while an organism is alive but cease when it is dead.

How do plants differ from animals in their life activities?

How does an organism’s growth compare to the growth of an icicle?

Define the word dormant?What factors influence whether something is considered dormant.

In your pods, generate a list of characteristicsthat you believe a specimen mustpossess in order to be classified as “living”. Then visit each numbered lab station and carefully observe the specimens.In the columns at the top of the table make sure to write the specimen name with the corresponding station number. Checkall of the characteristics that you believe each specimen may have.Once you have had a chance to observe each specimen return to your pod and as a group determine the specimen’s life category by using the follow abbreviations: Living = (L), Nonliving = (NL), or Dead (D). Record this decision at the bottom of your table.

Lab station specimen
Life Categories:
Alive (L)
Alive, but Dormant (L)
Product of a Living Thing (NL)
Never Alive (NL)
Dead (D) / 1. / 2. / 3. / 4. / 5. / 6. / 7. / 8. / 9. / 10.
Characteristic
L, NL, or D?

Name: ______Date: ______Block: ______

PART TWO: The Nature of Science Activity

What are the characteristics of life?

Post-Activity Analysis:Answer in complete thoughts and your own words the following questions in the space provide

How did you determine the difference between a living specimen and a nonliving one?

What is the difference between a nonliving specimen and one that you considered dead?

According to yourdata table, what traits do most living things have in common?

What traits did you pick as characteristics that were NOT helpful (did not necessarily indicate life)?

Referring to your answers for #3, do you think that is an accurate list for what living things have in common? Why or why not? What changes would you make, if any?

What traits did you list as characteristics of living things, but were not easily observable?

Identify and describeinstruments or technologies that might have helped you to determine whether or not some of the unknowns are living or not?

Describe an experiment you could perform to resolve any questions about whether a specimen is living?

Table 1: The Characteristics of Living Organisms

Take notes on the characteristics of living things using section 1.3 in your textbook (pages 16-19). Space is limited; however, the expectation is that you describe key vocabulary and terminology for each characteristic.

Characteristic / Describe the Characteristic

Name: ______Date: ______Block: ______

PART THREE: The Nature of Science Activity

What are the characteristics of life?

Further Analysis:Answer the following questions in complete sentences in the space provided. You should complete them on YOUR OWN and in YOUR OWN words.

What would be the consequence to an organism if its homeostasis is disrupted and not restored? Use an example to support your answer (outside of the one given in class).

For the following specimens, label them as living (L), nonliving (NL), or dead (D) and then give a short one-sentence explanation for why it belongs in this category. This is NOT meant to be a research project. Just answer what you THINK, based on what you have learned after completing this activity. And be ready to defend your claim using evidence from the lab. (Even if you are ultimately wrong, that’s okay, but really think about to which category each item belongs).

a)HIV virus: ______

______

b)Brown grass: ______

______

c)Fertilized chicken egg: ______

______

d)Egg bought in a grocery store: ______

______

e)The skin on the back of your hand: ______

______

f)Hair on a fruit fly’s back: ______

______

g)Whale sperm: ______

______

The Nature of Science Activity: What are the characteristics of life?

30 Point Research Grade

Discussion:Answers the following in complete sentences in a Word document. Upload your responses to turnitin.com by the data assignment by your teacher. Note that research will be required to answer these questions for full credit. The rubric used to the score this discussing can be found on the back. Please cite your sources in APA format. Make sure to include the following in your heading:

Name:

Title of the Activity:

The first samples of the moon’s surface to be brought back by Apollo astronauts were carefully examined for signs of life. What sort of evidence do you think scientists looked for and how did they go about obtaining that information? Were there any signs of life?

9 Points
Proficient: Discussion includes depth, reflection, and excellent articulation of the science behind question and material. An explanation of how the data supported the claim was included with references to their citation. / 6 Points
Intermediate: Communication generally includes some depth and a sense of the topic. Some data was pulled into the discussion based additional research. / 3 Points
Beginner: Communication of the science behind your answer was lacked addition research and was not at an Honors level. Student struggled to communicate the data and showed no real understanding of the content.

Explain why a Venus flytrap is considered living using the following characteristics of life: Using Energy, Growth & Development and Evolution (adaptation).

Why is it so hard to define viruses as living or nonliving? Include several pieces of evidence within your discussion.

9 Points
Proficient: Discussion includes depth, reflection, and excellent articulation of the science behind question and material. An explanation of how the data supported the claim was included with references to their citation. / 5 Points
Intermediate: Communication generally includes some depth and a sense of the topic. Some data was pulled into the discussion based additional research. / 3 Points
Beginner: Communication of the science behind your answer was lacked addition research and was not at an Honors level. Student struggled to communicate the data and showed no real understanding of the content

Citations where included: ______/2ptsCitations where properly formatted: ______/1pts