Homeostasis: Yes
Organization: Yes
Metabolism: Yes
Growth: Yes
Adaptation: Sort of
Response to stimuli: Yes and No
Reproduction: Yes
Here, i'll give you a guide.
My heart (cell) is a human (organism) heart (Cell). It is not a human (Organism). Even if there were floating sentient heart beings (Single Celled Organisms), my heart (Cell) would still not be human (an Organism.)
Gender: Unspecified Location: One for the other hand
Your list...
1. Homeostasis: Regulation of the internal environment to maintain a constant state; for example, sweating to reduce temperature.
2. Organization: Being composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.
3. Metabolism: Consumption of energy by converting nonliving material into cellular components (anabolism) and decomposing organic matter (catabolism). Living things require energy to maintain internal organization (homeostasis) and to produce the other phenomena associated with life.
4. Growth: Maintenance of a higher rate of synthesis than catalysis. A growing organism increases in size in all of its parts, rather than simply accumulating matter. The particular species begins to multiply and expand as the evolution continues to flourish.
5. Adaptation: The ability to change over a period of time in response to the environment. This ability is fundamental to the process of evolution and is determined by the organism's heredity as well as the composition of metabolized substances, and external factors present.
6. Response to stimuli: A response can take many forms, from the contraction of a unicellular organism when touched to complex reactions involving all the senses of higher animals. A response is often expressed by motion, for example, the leaves of a plant turning toward the sun or an animal chasing its prey.
7. Reproduction: The ability to produce new organisms. Reproduction can be the division of one cell to form two new cells. Usually the term is applied to the production of a new individual (either asexually, from a single parent organism, or sexually, from at least two differing parent organisms), although strictly speaking it also describes the production of new cells in the process of growth.
Homeostasis: How does a cell regulate a constant state?
Organization: Corrected (I missed the or in the statement)
Growth: How does a cell grow? I’m not talking about taking on matter but growing, it divides yes but it does not grow.
Adaptation: How does a cell change over a period of time in response to the environment?
And I still have no clue what your analogy has to do with the debate??? A dog is not a cat, so what?
Homeostasis: It absorbs and releases salts and water as well as proteins to remain in a constant state.
Growth: It gains more organelles and replicates it's DNA, as well as creates and brings in new proteins. If it divided without growing it would just keep getting smaller and smaller.
Adaptation: I'm not sure actually, you could be right.
My analogy explains how cells can be alive without actually being living organisms.
Gender: Unspecified Location: One for the other hand
Homeostasis: A cell itself does not perform Homeostasis but the host body does.
Growth: That is part of the division and replication process and not part of the growth cycle of a cell. This would be like saying that a baby grows up to an adult, splits in two and now there are two babies again. Now I could be wrong but this is the way that I read and understand the definition of growth that you are using.
No... whether you are considered a "living organism" is determined by the species, i.e. if you are sterile you are still a living organism since humans as a whole can reproduce.
KMC Community Forums
Apr 25th, 2008 04:00 AM
