A wooden table was once part of a teak tree, and under a microscope its wood still shows the walls…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A wooden table was once part of a teak tree, and under a microscope its wood still shows the walls of the tree's cells. Why is the table not a living thing? Which features of life does it lack?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Growth and reproduction are common features of living things, but not defining ones. Metabolism, a body made of cells, and a response to the surroundings are found in every living organism and in no non-living object.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Cells. The wood shows only the empty walls of dead cells. Nothing inside them is alive.
Step 2. Metabolism. No chemical reactions of life go on in the wood. It has no metabolism.
Step 3. Response. The table does not sense light, touch or water, and it does not respond.
Step 4. Growth. It cannot grow from inside either.
Answer: it is not living, because it has no metabolism and no response; its cell walls are only the remains of a living tree.
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