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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper discusses the differences between living and nonliving things and how we can tell them apart; it also discusses the fact that people argue fire is alive, and how it's possible to demonstrate that it is not. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVLivNot.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
we can tell something is living. In the second instance, we want to investigate fire. Some people argue that fire is alive and we need to determine what supports their
argument and how we can tell that fire is not living. Living things have six characteristics: "growth, cells, movement, respiration, complex chemical reactions, and reproduction" (Richmond, 1999). Another source also
lists six characteristics although they are slightly different: it says "living things are made of cells ... obtain and use energy ... grow and develop ... reproduce ... respond to
their environment ... adapt to their environment" (Westbroek, 2005). The first source lists respiration and complex chemical reactions which the second does not; but the second mentions the environment but
the first does not. Lets see if we can find a more scholarly authority to settle this. A much more comprehensive definition is provided in an article entitled "Functional characteristics
of living things"; the characteristics include reproduction, because species survival depends upon it (Lerner, 2002). Second, "all living things show an ability respond to environmental stimulation" (Lerner, 2002). The response
may be gross or subtle, but some change will occur (Lerner, 2002). Next, all organisms "must be able to assure the integrity of their structure and physiology by maintaining some
sort of boundary to the external environment" (Lerner, 2002). This boundary may be as small as a cell membrane or as large as the entire skin system (Lerner, 2002). Next,
living organisms use boundaries to maintain "homeostatic balance" (everything in the body is balanced-temperature, blood pressure, etc.) (Lerner, 2002). Lerner writes, "[R]egardless of how they physically obtain nutrients, all
organisms must possess the appropriate metabolic biochemical apparatus to accomplish digestion and to convert and utilize the chemical energy contained in nutrients" (Lerner, 2002). Taking in and using nutrients allows
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