The Study of Life: Characteristics

The Study of Life [Name of the Student] [Name of the Institution] [Date of Submission] Chapter 1: The Study of Life 1 The Characteristics of Life According to Mader (1976, p. 2) life is present everywhere on planet earth from the geysers of Yellowstone to deepest oceans. There is an overwhelming diversity of life, yet similar characteristics are shared by all living organisms. If the corner of our universe is visited ever by aliens, they will be surprised by looking at the diversity of life present on the out plant. Considered together, an insight into the nature of life is provided by these characteristics and it helps in differentiating between non-living things and living organisms. These characteristics of life are: (a) the capability of adapting to the environment, (b) being homeostatic, (c) responding to stimuli, and (d) capability of developing and reproducing, (e) requiring energy and materials, and (f) being organized. 2 Differences between the Levels of Biological Organization Life has a significant relation with the atomic level to the biosphere. While one of the key units of life is the cell which involves atoms and molecules. The biosphere includes the sum of complete life on the planet. The levels of biological organization are organ, cell, tissue, molecule, atom, biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, organism, and organ system. Composed of neutrons, protons, and electrons, an atom is the smallest unit of an element. Union of two or more atoms of the different or similar elements is referred to as molecule. The cell is the functional and structural unit of all living organisms (Mader, 1976, p. 3). A group of cells with a common function and structure is tissue. The organ is composed of tissues functioning together for a particular task. Organ system comprises of different organs working together. Organ systems are contained by individuals known as organism. Whereas, organisms of the similar species in a specific area is population. Community is populations interacting in a specific area. The ecosystem is the physical environment plus a community. Whereas, the biosphere is the atmosphere inhabited by living organisms, waters, and regions of the earth’s crust. 3 The Importance of Evolution and Adaptation to Life As highlighted above one of the major characteristics of organisms is the capability of adaptation. It is important for organisms to adapt and evolve to life. Adaptations are referred to like the changes in the environment due to which a group of organisms can produce fertile offspring and interbreed successfully. These adaptations also involve the specific features of the organisms that make them well suited to the new environment (Mader, 1976, p. 5). For example, due to hollow bones, the birds can fly and a rabbit can be hunt down by a hawk. In addition, the higher reproductive success that appears to enhance in frequency in a population from one generation to another results from adaptations. Whereas, this significant change in the frequency of traits in species and populations is referred to as evolution. Both the diversity and unity of life are explained by evolution. 1.2.1. Description of how Living Organisms Are Classified Since life is completely diversified, therefore, it is quite helpful to classify organisms into different categories. These categories are species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain. Domain Eukarya, domain bacteria, and domain archaea are three major domains identified by scientists (Mader, 1976, p. 6). Further, bacteria and archaea are classified into kingdoms. Whereas, animals, plants, fungi, and protists are four different types of kingdoms. The other categories that are species, genus, family, order, class, and phylum are partic...