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BHP Lesson 16: What is Life?

Biologists, the leading experts on life, struggle to agree upon a definition for this simple question. Today, we’re going to talk about what life is... and what it isn’t. By the end, we’ll settle on a definition even the biologists would be proud of! Today you’ll also get to meet our class forest family. Please make an effort to learn all of their names.

Driving Question: What makes life so special?

  • Think about all of the living things around you. As I look out my window, I can see trees, bushes, and some new grass coming to life after a long winter. I’m sure there are ladybugs out there, and I even see my neighbor taking their dog for a walk. All living things. So, what is it that all living things have in common? What makes living organisms different from nonliving ones?

Word of the Day: Life

  • Definition: The condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter.
  • There are four commonly accepted attributes of life. 1) Metabolism: It uses energy from the environment by eating or breathing or photosynthesizing. 2) Reproduction: It makes copies of itself. 3) Adaptation: Over many generations it can change characteristics to adapt to its changing environment. 4) Homeostasis: It can regulate internal conditions in order to maintain a stable state.

Lesson

  • Go to Khan Academy and watch David Christian answer the question What is Life? 
  • Defining life is much harder than it seems. Keep track of those four key attributes of life as you encounter them in the video: metabolism, reproduction, adaptation, and homeostasis.

Historian’s Journal Prompt

  • Are viruses alive?
  • Use your claim testers to evaluate the extent to which the coronavirus fits the four characteristics of life that we’ve learned about today. How does it use energy from the environment? How does it reproduce? Is it adapting to the environment? Has it mutated, and if so, how much? 
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