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Biology 3rd Edition by Peter Russell, Paul Hertz, Beverly McMillan
Edition 3ISBN: 9781133592075Biology 3rd Edition by Peter Russell, Paul Hertz, Beverly McMillan
Edition 3ISBN: 9781133592075 Exercise 2
While walking in the woods, you discover a large rock covered with a gelatinous, sticky substance.What tests could you perform to determine whether the substance is inanimate, alive, or the product of a living organism?
Explanation
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A thing is considered as living if it is able to fulfill all the characteristics of being alive. A living thing is made up of cells which are organized in a particular fashion. Living thing exchanges material from the environment such as light, glucose, air, which they metabolize for their energy needs and return it as waste to the environment.
Living thing grows, develops and reproduces. A living thing is capable of responding to any change or stimuli in their environment. If anything, that fulfills only a few of the above mentioned characteristics cannot be considered as alive. All the above mentioned characteristics must hold true for that living thing.
Considering all features of being alive, one can perform many tests to analyze if a gelatinous sticky substance covering a large rock is alive or not. The tests can be as follows:
1. A small sample of that sticky substance can be taken and is viewed under the microscope. Cellular like morphology should be visible if it is a living thing. Some extracellular space may also b visible. All living things have cell as their basic structural unit.
2. Some DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) staining dyes such as trypan blue can then be added to see if it enters the cell and stain the DNA. It should be viewed under microscope. All living things have DNA or RNA (ribonucleic acid).
3. A small sample of that substance can be taken and kept it in a tightly packed airtight jar for a few days. If it is a living substance, then lack of air or oxygen will bring about some visible changes in the substance. That is, it may die or get darken or produce pungent smell. All living things respire.
4. A small sample of that substance is taken and allowed it to grow in a dark area for an extended period of time, and see if any morphological changes are visible or some smell may be produced. Light may be an important component for its survival.
5. Some part of the sticky substance can be removed from the rock and return to the rock in the woods after a few days to see if that sticky substance has grown back and covered the rock again. Living things reproduce.
6. The substance can be treated with strong detergents to break apart their cell membrane or cell wall. If present, they release their contents and one can check for the presence of proteins, carbohydrates or lipids by simple tests such as Bradford, Benedict's test, and so on. All living things are made up of biomolecules like protein, DNA/RNA, carbohydrates, fats, and so on.
If that gelatinous substance is alive , then all the above tests will give positive results. If the gelatinous substance is an inanimate or non-living thing, then all the above tests will be negative.
If the gelatinous substance is the product of a living organism , then also it will be an organic matter and it will give positive results for a few of the above tests such as on keeping a sample of this substance will lead to decomposition of the substance thereby blackening it and producing pungent smell. Presence of bimolecules will be positive.
Living thing grows, develops and reproduces. A living thing is capable of responding to any change or stimuli in their environment. If anything, that fulfills only a few of the above mentioned characteristics cannot be considered as alive. All the above mentioned characteristics must hold true for that living thing.
Considering all features of being alive, one can perform many tests to analyze if a gelatinous sticky substance covering a large rock is alive or not. The tests can be as follows:
1. A small sample of that sticky substance can be taken and is viewed under the microscope. Cellular like morphology should be visible if it is a living thing. Some extracellular space may also b visible. All living things have cell as their basic structural unit.
2. Some DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) staining dyes such as trypan blue can then be added to see if it enters the cell and stain the DNA. It should be viewed under microscope. All living things have DNA or RNA (ribonucleic acid).
3. A small sample of that substance can be taken and kept it in a tightly packed airtight jar for a few days. If it is a living substance, then lack of air or oxygen will bring about some visible changes in the substance. That is, it may die or get darken or produce pungent smell. All living things respire.
4. A small sample of that substance is taken and allowed it to grow in a dark area for an extended period of time, and see if any morphological changes are visible or some smell may be produced. Light may be an important component for its survival.
5. Some part of the sticky substance can be removed from the rock and return to the rock in the woods after a few days to see if that sticky substance has grown back and covered the rock again. Living things reproduce.
6. The substance can be treated with strong detergents to break apart their cell membrane or cell wall. If present, they release their contents and one can check for the presence of proteins, carbohydrates or lipids by simple tests such as Bradford, Benedict's test, and so on. All living things are made up of biomolecules like protein, DNA/RNA, carbohydrates, fats, and so on.
If that gelatinous substance is alive , then all the above tests will give positive results. If the gelatinous substance is an inanimate or non-living thing, then all the above tests will be negative.
If the gelatinous substance is the product of a living organism , then also it will be an organic matter and it will give positive results for a few of the above tests such as on keeping a sample of this substance will lead to decomposition of the substance thereby blackening it and producing pungent smell. Presence of bimolecules will be positive.
Biology 3rd Edition by Peter Russell, Paul Hertz, Beverly McMillan
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