Chapter 1: What is Life?

Question 1

What elements are we made of?

Answer 1

.

Question 2

What are the necessary qualifications for life?

Answer 2

• Homeostasis
• Organization: being structurally composed of one or more cells.
• Metabolism
• Growth

Question 3

What category do viruses fall under and why?

Answer 3

Viruses are smaller than cells, but they are NOT the smallest unit of life.
Don’t meet the qualifications because they aren’t able to harness energy from the environment.

Question 4

What is the basic unit of life?

Answer 4

CELLS: the simplest self-replicating entity that can exist as an independent unit of life.

Question 5

Where does the energy to support life come from?

Answer 5

The sun

Question 6

What are the essential features of a cell?

Answer 6

.

Question 7

What is the scientific method and how does it work?

Answer 7

Observation -> hypothesis -> predictions -> experiments (or new hypothesis) -> theory

Question 8

Understand the concepts of evolution and variation.

Answer 8

Variation: can be genetic or environmental. Its source is mutation.
Changes for the organisms benefit will be passed down to the next generation, helping the species improve and evolve over time.