Biology Essay Examination

BIOLOGY ESSAY EXAMINATION Name Institution Affiliation Course Date of Submission Question 1 Since the time frame to study the unfamiliar subject matter is short it will not be entirely possible to establish if an organism is living or not. There are some properties that are exclusive to life that shall not be able to be established immediately and they include reproduction, growth and heredity. When a genetic system is transferred from one being to another through DNA then heredity is said to have occurred. Since the time available is also too short, the level of growth may not be immediately recognized because it may be too low or negligible enough not to establish how far an organism may have grown within the three days provided to study the sample. Take for example the bristlecone pine which only reproduces once every 4,600 years, it is almost entirely impossible to establish its reproductive capability within the first few days of encountering this organism. Al these only pushes focus on the manner in which the cells are organized, the complexity of processes such as metabolism and homeostasis in order to determine whether the samples of the organisms are living or non-living (Kreitzman & Foster, 2011). In order for an organism to be classified as a living organism it must consist of at least one cell, which is a small compartment housed within a membrane or two. Cells of different organisms vary from complex to simple and the metabolism as a process is central to the survival of all these cells in order to reproduce, move, and grow. In order to get energy to carry out all these activities there must be another animal or plant consumed. In plants, this process or generating food and energy is possible through a process called photosynthesis. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) moves this newly captured energy around and within the cell from one place to another. In order to ascertain these I will also need to check the suspect organism for waste products such as carbon dioxide, oxygen in the oxygen and carbon cycle. Through processes such as homeostasis these living things must maintain constant internal conditions such as temperature and pH and all these must be appropriately coordinated. These are just some of the pointers as a scientist I would like to scrutinize in order to establish evidence of life. Question 2 What happens if an atom of an element gains or loses electrons? What happens if an atom of an element gains or loses neutrons? What happens if an atom of an element gains or loses protons? When an atom in an element loses or gains one or more electrons it becomes an ion that is either positively or negatively charged. An isotope of an element is what becomes of an element when it loses or gains neutrons. Isotopes of elements usually weigh a little less or more than the average weight of the element. Meanwhile an atom of an element that loses or gains protons is no longer considered to be that element in any way. Chemically, it is considered to have become the element next or previous of the periodic table depending on whether it is a loss or a gain of the proton. This particular process is possible in the laboratories but it requires a high level of energy to perform (Kean, 2011). Question 4 Compare the cellular organelles and other structures to the parts of a city. For example, the nucleus is city hall and the DNA is all the city`s laws and instructions. Since examples may vary, the comparisons made here are purely based on functions of the cellular organelles. The Chloroplasts can be compared to the city`s power plant because in plants the chloroplasts are in charge of taking sunlight in order to generate energy for the rest of the plant. A solar power facility may vary a little in functionality from this but is close enough to achieve similarity in functions. The Vacuole can be compared to the city`s granary. The cell stores energy in the vacuole and releases it when in time of need so as to supply the body with energy. Similarly the city`s food can be stores in the granary or reserve and released w...