Textbook Question
What is the difference between growth and reproduction?
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Ch. 3 - Cell Structure and Function
Bauman6th EditionMicrobiology with Diseases by TaxonomyISBN: 9780134832302
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Table of contents
- Ch. 1 - A Brief History of Microbiology31
- Ch. 2 - The Chemistry of Microbiology28
- Ch. 3 - Cell Structure and Function39
- Ch. 4 - Microscopy, Staining, and Classification25
- Ch. 5 - Microbial Metabolism51
- Ch. 6 - Microbial Nutrition and Growth37
- Ch. 7 - Microbial Genetics51
- Ch. 8 - Recombinant DNA Technology21
- Ch. 9 - Controlling Microbial Growth in the Environment36
- Ch. 10 - Controlling Microbial Growth in the Body: Antimicrobial Drugs21
- Ch. 11 - Characterizing and Classifying Prokaryotes29
- Ch. 12 - Characterizing and Classifying Eukaryotes34
- Ch. 13 - Characterizing and Classifying Viruses, Viroids, and Prions23
- Ch. 14 - Infection, Infectious Diseases, and Epidemiology35
- Ch. 15 - Innate Immunity34
- Ch. 16 - Adaptive Immunity21
- Ch. 17 - Immunization and Immune Testing29
- Ch. 18 - Immune Disorders22
- Ch. 19 - Pathogenic Gram-Positive Bacteria25
- Ch. 20 - Pathogenic Gram-Negative Cocci and Bacilli28
- Ch. 21 - Rickettsias, Chlamydias, Spirochetes, and Vibrios25
- Ch. 22 - Pathogenic Fungi47
- Ch. 23 - Parasitic Protozoa, Helminths, and Arthropod Vectors44
- Ch. 24 - Pathogenic DNA Viruses23
- Ch. 25 - Pathogenic RNA Viruses30
- Ch. 26 - Applied and Industrial Microbiology29
- Ch. 27 - Microbial Ecology and Microbiomes22
Bauman6th EditionMicrobiology with Diseases by TaxonomyISBN: 9780134832302Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 3, Problem 5
A local newspaper writer has contacted you, an educated microbiology student from a respected college. He wants to obtain scientific information for an article he is writing about “life” and poses the following query: “What is the difference between a living thing and a nonliving thing?” Knowing that he will edit your material to fit the article, give an intelligent, scientific response.
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Begin by defining what constitutes a living thing in scientific terms: living organisms exhibit characteristics such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, and homeostasis.
Explain that living things are composed of cells, which are the basic units of life, and they carry genetic information in the form of DNA or RNA.
Contrast this with nonliving things, which do not show these characteristics; they do not grow, reproduce, metabolize, or respond to their environment.
Highlight that nonliving things can be made of matter and may undergo physical or chemical changes, but these changes are not driven by biological processes.
Summarize by stating that the key difference lies in the presence of biological processes and cellular organization in living things, which nonliving things lack.
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Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Characteristics of Living Things
Living things exhibit key features such as growth, reproduction, metabolism, response to stimuli, and cellular organization. These characteristics distinguish them from nonliving things, which do not perform biological processes or maintain homeostasis.
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Cellular Organization
All living organisms are composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life. Cells carry out essential functions like energy production and genetic information storage, whereas nonliving things lack cellular structure.
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Metabolism and Energy Use
Living organisms undergo metabolism, a set of chemical reactions that convert energy to sustain life processes. Nonliving things do not metabolize or use energy to maintain internal order or grow.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
Which of the following is true of Svedbergs?
a. They are not exact but are useful for comparisons.
b. They are abbreviated “sv.”
c. They are prokaryotic in nature but exhibit some eukaryotic characteristics.
d. They are an expression of sedimentation rate during high-speed centrifugation.
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Textbook Question
Which of the following is not a function of a glycocalyx?
a. It forms pseudopods for faster mobility of an organism.
b. It can protect a bacterial cell from drying out.
c. It hides a bacterial cell from other cells.
d. It allows a bacterium to stick to a host.
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Textbook Question
Which of the following is most associated with diffusion?
a. Symports
b. Antiports
c. Carrier proteins
d. Endocytosis
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Textbook Question
Which of the following is not associated with prokaryotic organisms?
a. Nucleoid
b. Glycocalyx
c. Cilia
d. Circular DNA
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Textbook Question
The term fluid mosaic has been used in describing the cytoplasmic membrane. How does each word of that phrase accurately describe our current understanding of a cell membrane?