What is the difference between a living nightingale and a non-living one? How do living species differ from nonliving species?

Answers to school textbooks

All the abundance of living things is divided into the following kingdoms: Bacteria, Protozoa, Fungi, Plants, Animals.

2. What is common in the structure of all living organisms?

Despite the variety of forms, all living organisms have cellular structure and similar set chemical elements and the substances that make up their body. So, both an elephant and a mosquito are made of cells. A cell is an elementary living system, the basic structural unit of living organisms; it was discovered in 1665 by the English scientist R. Hooke.

3. How do plants differ from animals?

Plant growth is not limited, i.e. they can grow for almost their entire life. Most of animals grow to a certain age.

Animals are mobile. Plants are capable of only limited movements of leaves and stems.

4. How do plants feed?

Plants produce their own nutrients using light energy. This complex and multi-step process is called photosynthesis. In the process it is made from carbon dioxide and water with the participation of energy sunlight Nutrient organic substances (carbohydrates) are formed and free oxygen is released.

5. List the main signs of living things.

Living things are characterized by metabolism, nutrition, respiration, excretion, irritability, mobility, reproduction, growth and development.

6. What is metabolism?

Metabolism and energy is the most important function of a living organism and one of the most important signs of life. Between the body and the external environment, the exchange of substances and energy occurs constantly. It begins with the entry of water, food and oxygen into the body and ends with the removal of the resulting decay products from it. During the metabolic process, the body receives the substances necessary to build and renew the structural elements of cells and tissues, and energy to support life processes.

7. What is the essence of nutrition?

Nutrition is the process of obtaining nutrients from the environment. Food is necessary for all living organisms, as it serves as a source of energy and substances necessary for the division of body cells, their growth and many other processes.

8. What is irritability?

Irritability is the ability of living cells, tissues or an entire organism to selectively respond to external or internal influences - irritants. Irritability manifests itself at all levels of life development and underlies the adaptation of organisms to changing environmental conditions.

9. Why are the movements of animals more active than the movements of plants?

Animals are mobile and active, as they have to get their own food and escape from enemies. Plants also have mobility, because their leaves must catch the rays of the sun. However, their movements are much slower and less noticeable. For active movement in space, animals have a special motor tissue - muscle tissue attached to skeletal structures. Plant organisms do not have a motor system.

10. What is the role of excretion in the life of organisms?

As a result of metabolism, unnecessary and often toxic substances are formed and accumulated in the body. During the process of excretion they are removed from the body.

11. Are plants capable of movement?

Plants are capable of only limited movements of leaves and stems. This is explained by the fact that plant cells have a strong wall consisting of a special substance - cellulose. The movement of individual parts of plants is caused by changes in the tension of individual cells or their parts - turgor. However, this does not allow plants to actively move in space.

http://testent.ru/
1..Living things differ from non-living things:

A) composition Not organic matter C) metabolism

C) the presence of catalysts D) the interaction of molecules with each other

2. The main substances in living organisms are:

A) Carbohydrates. B) Vitamins. C) Fats. D) Proteins.

3. A biological system is called:

A) a union of homogeneous cells C) several adjacent organs

C) organs of a living organism D) any biological objects

A) At the biogeocenotic level.

B) At the population-species level.

C) At the organismal level.

D) At the biosphere level.

5. The subject of studying biology is:

A) Structure and functions of the body.

B) Natural phenomena.

C) Patterns of development and functioning of living systems.

D) Structure and functions of plants and animals.

6. In 1988, a 4-volume work by A.A. Sludsky and A. Bekenov was published:

A) “Flora of Kazakhstan”.

B) “Reserves of Kazakhstan”.

C) “Biological discoveries of Kazakhstan.”

D) “Mammals of Kazakhstan”

7. Prokaryotes include:

A) plants B) animals C) fungi D) bacteria and cyanobacteria

A) plastids C) cell center

C) mitochondria D) ribosomes

9. Ribosomes are involved in the synthesis:

A) ATP B) proteins C) lipids D) carbohydrates

10. Reproduction is a process: A) increase in the number of cells; C) reproduction of their own kind;

C) all cell proteins are built from 20 amino acids;

C) processes of biological synthesis and decay continuously occur in cells;

D) all living organisms, except viruses, are built from cells.

13. Type of cell division that produces sex cells: A) mitosis; B) meiosis; C) amitosis; D) biocenosis.

14. During which cell division does the number of chromosomes not decrease?
A) mitosis; B) mitosis and meiosis; C) meiosis and amitosis; D) meiosis.

15. Proteins are biological polymers whose monomers are:

16. How many chromosomes does a person have??

A) 46; B) 25; C) 47; D) 48

17. Level being highest level life organization:

A) biosphere; B) biogeocenotic; C) population-specific; D) organismic.

18. The core is:

A) double membrane structure; B) single-membrane structure; C) non-membrane structure; D) three-membrane structure.

19. Assimilation is a process:

A) catalysis; B) decay; C) biosynthesis; D) hydrolysis.

20. In reactions of decomposition of substances:

A) energy accumulates; B) energy does not change; C) energy is released; D) energy is conserved.

21. One triplet of DNA contains information:

A) about the sequence of amino acids in a protein; C) about one characteristic of an organism; C) about one amino acid included in the protein chain; D) about the beginning of mRNA synthesis,

A) one; At two; C) three; D) four.

23. Autotrophic organisms obtain energy:

A) due to organic substances synthesized from inorganic ones; B) from ready-made organic substances; C) due to the breakdown of inorganic substances; D) due to the breakdown of water.

24. Hormones do not include:

A) insulin; B) oxytocin; C) melanin; D) progesterone.

25. Individual development the body is called:

A) phylogeny; B) ovogenesis; C) metamorphosis; D) ontogeny.

26. All flowering plants experience:

A) double fertilization; B) double pollination; C) simple fertilization; D) triple fertilization.

27. A fertilized egg is called:

A) gamete; B) gastrula; C) blastula; D) zygote.

28. Nervous system, sensory organs, skin epithelium, tooth enamel are formed during organogenesis:

A) from the ectoderm; B) from mesoderm; C) from endoderm; D) from the gastrula.

29. The body’s ability to maintain the constancy of its structure and functionality at the proper level is called:

A) homeostasis; B) irritability; C) ontogeny; D) metabolism.

30. The final phase in mitosis is:

A) anaphase; B) prophase; C) telophase; D) metaphase.

Section 1. Structure and vital activity of living organisms.

The lesson is a generalization of the material studied on the topic “Difference between living and nonliving things.”

The work program was compiled in accordance with the Biology Program for grades 5–9 by the team of authors: I.N. Ponomareva, V.S. Kuchmenko, O.A. Kornilova, A.G. Dragomilov, T.S. Sukhova [Biology: grades 5 – 11: programs./ I.N. Ponomareva, V.S. Kuchmenko, O.A. Kornilova and others - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2014. - 400 p.]. Textbook: Sukhova, T.S. Biology: 5th – 6th grades: a textbook for students of general education organizations / T.S. Sukhova, V.I. Stroganov. – M.: Ventana – Graf, 2014. – 176 p.: ill.).

In the fifth grade, lessons on studying the material on the topic “Difference between living and nonliving” are aimed at developing the concept of the properties of living matter, the relationship between living and inanimate nature, and the substances that make up living organisms. These concepts, being common to the cycle of natural science disciplines, are developed throughout the entire period of studying physics, chemistry, biology and geography at school. Taking these conditions into account, we considered it appropriate to use the technology of the pedagogical workshop, which, through the creation of a creative atmosphere in the classroom, contributes to the formation of such universal learning activities, as the ability to express one’s attitude towards nature through drawings, essays, models, and consciously use speech means in accordance with the task of communication to express one’s feelings and thoughts. Fifth-graders learn to accept and understand the position of their interlocutor, distinguish between opinion (point of view), evidence (arguments), facts, hypotheses, axioms, theories, observe and analyze their own educational and cognitive activities and the activities of other students in the process of mutual verification. The use of modern educational technologies, methods and techniques in teaching biology, based on the methodology of the system-activity approach, becomes an effective tool for understanding the world around us and developing the conceptual theoretical thinking of primary school students.

The main stages of the lesson - pedagogical workshop:

1. Induction is a stage that aims to “include” the child’s feelings, emotions, and subconscious. The inductor can be a word, text, object, sound, drawing, form - anything that can cause a flow of associations.

2. Deconstruction – the stage at which work is carried out with information material, a problem is posed and the known is separated from the unknown.

3. Reconstruction is the creation, in groups or individually, of their own world, text, drawing, project, solution.

4. Socialization is the correlation by students of their activities with the activities of other students and the presentation to everyone of the intermediate and final results of their work in order to evaluate and adjust their activities. At this stage the student learns to speak. This allows the master teacher to teach the lesson at the same pace for all students.

5. Posting is a visual representation of the results of the activities of students and the master. This could be a text, a diagram, a project and familiarize yourself with them all. At this stage, all students defend their creative works.

6. Break - planned in advance by the master. Workshop participants are offered material with paradoxical content for comprehension. First, new knowledge leads students’ thoughts and emotions to a state of impasse, then to find a way out from a dead end and, finally, to “insight” - a “break”.

7. Reflection is a reflection of one’s own attitude, the student’s awareness of his own achievements in the work of the workshop and assessment of the success of the group.

LESSON PLAN:

First stage. Inductor

Students take their seats.

Everyone has a set of work on the table: printed text (Appendix 1), two sheets of writing paper (alternate sheets of green and yellow color so that one half of the children in the class receive sets with green sheets, and the other half - with yellow ones) and a target card (Appendix 2) for reflection.

Greetings from the master teacher.

Video sequence: photos with images of objects of living and inanimate nature, superimposed on a musical fragment.

After watching the video, the master teacher asks the students questions:

1. What did we see? (students list)

2. How to call in one word everything natural that surrounds us? (nature)

4. Was it easy for you to distinguish living objects from inanimate bodies? (Yes)

5. Why did you succeed? (because we know the characteristics of living organisms).

This is what we will consolidate with you today.

How do we formulate the topic of our lesson? (students make suggestions).

Lesson topic: How can you distinguish living from non-living? Let's summarize.

Second phase. Deconstruction and reconstruction.

Deconstruction. A poetic text is offered. Students who received a set with green sheets select words and phrases from the text that relate to living nature. Those guys whose work kit contains yellow sheets - words and phrases related to objects of inanimate nature. Words in the text must be underlined.

Reconstruction. Each student writes his own poetic text (about living or inanimate nature), using underlined words and his own examples.

Third stage. Socialization.

Students read out the words they underlined and justify their choice. Some words (field, forest, meadow) cause a debate between students about whether they belong to living or inanimate nature. The master teacher helps resolve the conflict: these objects can be attributed to both living and inanimate nature, because they are examples of the relationship between living organisms and inanimate nature. The issue is discussed that living organisms consist of organic substances (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids) and inorganic substances (water and mineral salts).

Fourth stage. Advertising.

Presentation of the works of workshop participants (and the Master): students are invited to read their poems. Students read their essays with expression and post them on the board.

Fifth stage. Gap.

Live nature full of secrets. There are many exceptions to the rules of nature. And here is one of them. Scientists are still arguing about whether this object belongs to living or inanimate nature. Let's try to resolve this contradiction. A video clip about viruses is offered.

Sixth stage. Socialization.

Students express their point of view about whether viruses belong to living or inanimate nature. Ultimately, we come to the conclusion that viruses are non-cellular life forms. They exhibit the properties of a living thing only when they enter a living organism. Being in inanimate nature, they are objects of inanimate nature.

Seventh stage Advertising.

Summarizing our work, we formulate conclusions.

1. Nature is divided into living and nonliving.

2. Objects of living nature differ from objects of inanimate nature in that they:

• breathe;
• eat;
• allocate;
• grow;
• develop;
• reproduce;
• have irritability;
• have heredity;
• have variability.

3. Living organisms consist of organic substances (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids) and inorganic substances (water and mineral salts).

4. The presence of inorganic substances in living organisms proves the unity of nature and the relationship of living nature with inanimate bodies.

5. Viruses are a non-cellular form of life. They exhibit the properties of a living thing only when they enter a living organism. Being in inanimate nature, they are objects of inanimate nature.

We evaluate our work in class.

“Reflexive target” method.

A target is drawn on a sheet of paper, which is divided into four sectors.

In each of the sectors, parameters are recorded - questions of reflection on the interaction that took place:

• 4th sector - assessment of one’s contribution to the activities of the class.

Each participant makes a mark in each sector and “shoots” at the target 4 times. If a participant rates the results low, then he puts a mark in the “0 – 5” field on the target; if higher, then in the “5 – 10” field; if very high, then in the “10” field of the target.

After each of the participants in the interaction “shot” (put four marks) at the reflexive target, it is hung up for general viewing and the master teacher organizes a brief analysis of it.

Summing up, grading.

Homework:

1) paragraph 5 in the textbook, printed notebook paragraph 5 page 11 task 2, page 13 tasks 6 and 7, page 14 task 8.

2) draw objects of living and inanimate nature, sign the drawings.

DURING THE CLASSES

Introduction

The first living beings appeared on our planet about 3 billion years ago. From these early forms arose countless species of living organisms, which, having appeared, flourished for more or less long periods of time, and then died out.

From pre-existing forms, modern organisms evolved, forming the four kingdoms of living nature: more than 1.5 million species of animals, 500 thousand species of plants, a significant number of various fungi, as well as many prokaryotic organisms (bacteria).

The world of living beings, including humans, is represented by biological systems of different structural organizations and different levels of subordination, or consistency. From the course of botany and zoology it is known that all living organisms consist of cells. A cell, for example, can be either a separate organism or part of a multicellular plant or animal. It can be quite simply structured, like a bacterial one, but it can also be much more complex, like the cells of single-celled animals - Protozoa. Both a bacterial cell and a Protozoan cell are a whole organism capable of performing all the functions necessary to ensure life. But the cells that make up a multicellular organism are specialized, i.e. can perform only one function and are not able to independently exist outside the body. The elements of the body - cells, tissues and organs - in total do not yet constitute a complete organism. Only their combination in the order historically established in the process of evolution, their interaction, forms an integral organism, which is characterized by certain properties.

The essence of living things, its main characteristics.

Intuitively, we all understand what is living and what is dead. However, when trying to determine the essence of living things, difficulties arise. It is widely known, for example, the definition given by F. Engels that life is a way of existence of protein bodies, the essential point of which is the constant exchange of substances with the external nature surrounding them. And yet, from a physicochemical point of view, a living mouse and a burning candle are in the same state of metabolism with the external environment, equally consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, but in one case as a result of respiration, and in the other as a result of combustion. This simple example shows that dead objects can also exchange substances with the environment. Thus, metabolism is, although a necessary, but insufficient criterion for determining life, as is the presence of proteins.

From all that has been said, we can conclude that it is very difficult to give an exact definition of life. And people understood this a very long time ago. Thus, the French enlightenment philosopher D. Diderot wrote: “I can understand what an aggregate is, a tissue consisting of tiny sensitive bodies, but a living organism!... But a whole, a system, which is a single organism, an individual conscious of himself as a single whole, beyond my understanding! I don’t understand, I can’t understand what it is!”

Modern biology, when describing living things, follows the path of listing the basic properties of living organisms. It is emphasized that only the totality of these properties can give an idea of ​​the specifics of life.

The properties of living things usually include the following:

Living organisms are characterized by a complex, ordered structure. Their level of organization is much higher than in nonliving systems.

Living organisms receive energy from the environment, using it to maintain their high orderliness. Most organisms directly or indirectly use solar energy.

Living organisms actively respond to environment. If you push a stone, it passively moves from its place. If you push an animal, it will react actively: run away, attack, or change shape. The ability to respond to external stimuli is a universal property of all living beings, both plants and animals.

Living organisms not only change, but also become more complex. This is how a plant or animal develops new branches or new organs that differ in their chemical composition from the structures that gave birth to them.

All living things reproduce. This ability to reproduce itself is perhaps the most amazing ability of living organisms. Moreover, the offspring are both similar and at the same time somewhat different from their parents. This reveals the action of the mechanisms of heredity and variability that determine the evolution of all species of living nature.

The similarity of offspring with their parents is due to another remarkable feature of living organisms - to transmit to their descendants the information embedded in them, necessary for life, development and reproduction. This information is contained in genes - units of heredity, the smallest intracellular structures. Genetic material determines the direction of development of the organism. This is why offspring look like their parents. However, this information is somewhat modified and distorted during the transmission process. In this regard, descendants are not only similar to their parents, but also different from them.

Living organisms are well adapted to their environment and correspond to their way of life. The structure of a mole, fish, frog, earthworm fully corresponds to the conditions in which they live.

Generalizing and somewhat simplifying what has been said about the specifics of living things, it can be noted that all living organisms eat, breathe, grow, reproduce and spread in nature, while inanimate bodies do not feed, do not breathe, do not grow, do not reproduce.

From the combination of these characteristics, the following generalized definition of the essence of living things follows: life is a form of existence of complex, open systems capable of self-organization and self-reproduction. The most important functional substances of these systems are proteins and nucleic acids.

And finally, an even more concise definition of life was proposed by the American physicist F. Tipler in his sensational book “The Physics of Immortality.” “We do not want,” he writes, “to tie the definition of life to a nucleic acid molecule, because one can imagine the existence of life that does not fit this definition. If an extraterrestrial being whose chemical basis is not nucleic acid appears in our spaceship, then we will still want to recognize it as alive.” Life, according to Tipler, is only information of a special kind: “I define life as a kind of encoded information that is preserved by natural selection.” But if this is so, then life-information is eternal, infinite and immortal. And although not everyone agrees with this definition, its undoubted value lies in the attempt to highlight from all the criteria of life the ability of living organisms to preserve and transmit information as the main one.

Considering the continuing debatability of the category of life, the analysis of its characteristics should be supplemented by consideration of the structure of living things, their constituent elements, and parts.

Difference between living and nonliving.

There are several fundamental differences in material, structural and functional terms.

In real In terms of life, the composition of living things necessarily includes highly ordered macromolecular organic compounds called biopolymers - proteins and nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).

In structural In terms of living things, they differ from non-living things in their cellular structure.

In functional In terms of living bodies, it is characteristic to reproduce themselves. Stability and reproduction also exist in non-living systems. But in living bodies there is a process of self-reproduction. It is not something that reproduces them, but they themselves. This is a fundamentally new moment.

Also, living bodies differ from nonliving ones in the presence of metabolism, the ability to grow and develop, the active regulation of their composition and functions, the ability to move, irritability, adaptability to the environment, etc. An integral property of living things is activity, activity. “All living beings must either act or perish. A mouse must be in constant motion, a bird must fly, a fish must swim, and even a plant must grow.”

The versatility of living things.

Living nature (life in short) is a form of organization of matter at the level of the macrocosm, which differs sharply from other forms in many ways. Each of these signs can serve to distinguish between living and inanimate nature, and, accordingly, the basis for determining what life is. All these signs are significant. None of them can be neglected.

First of all, any living object is a system - a set of interacting elements that has properties that are absent in the elements that form this object.

Microscopicity living means that any living organism, starting with bacteria, or its independently functioning subsystem must contain a large number of atoms. Otherwise, the orderliness necessary for life would be destroyed by fluctuations (random deviations from the average value of physical quantities).

Heterogeneity means that the body is made up of many different substances.

Openness of a living system is manifested in the continuous exchange of energy and matter with the environment. Self-organization is possible only in open, highly nonequilibrium systems.

In addition to the noted key features of living systems, other important properties of living organisms should be pointed out.

The similarity of the chemical composition of all living organisms. The elemental composition of living things is determined mainly by six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus. In addition, living systems contain a set of complex biopolymers that are not typical for nonliving systems (proteins, nucleic acids, enzymes, etc.)

Living systems exist for a finite time. The property of self-reproduction is preserved biological species. The finitude of living systems creates conditions for their replacement and improvement.

The property of all living things is irritability– manifests itself in the form of a living system’s reaction to information and external influence.

A living system is discrete– consists of individual (discrete) elements that interact with each other. Each of them is also a living system. Along with discreteness, a living system is characterized by the property of integrity - all its elements function only thanks to the functioning of the entire system as a whole.

Problems of the living.

Attempts have already been made repeatedly to take a systematic approach to the study of the Living, i.e. to solving the problem of the phenomenon of living matter. this global problem, as is known, includes a number of fundamental problems that have not yet been solved, such as the emergence of life, the evolution of living things, the nature of thinking, etc. To complete this incomplete list of problems, we need to add one more, perhaps the most important one - the problem of the phenomenon of man, his place in the objective world, the meaning and purpose of his existence.

From time immemorial, as soon as a person realized himself, humanity tries

solve this problem. It is obvious that it is impossible to consider the problem of the human phenomenon without at least a cursory discussion of the main specific functions of his psyche.

As E. Fromm notes in his work “Psychoanalysis and Religion,” self-consciousness

knowledge, reason and imagination violated the “harmony” of human animal existence. Their appearance has turned man into an anomaly, into a caprice of the “universe”, and that man will never free himself from the dichotomy of his existence. A person will always strive to explain himself and the meaning of his existence. this problem will always have the highest priority in the cognitive activity of mankind.

Traditionally, these issues are considered to be within the purview of philosophy.

and religion, because one of the main methodological principles of the exact sciences

At present, there is the principle of “naturalness”, the determinism of all processes occurring in the Universe. A principle which, in its current interpretation, completely excludes teleology, i.e. the very formulation of questions such as “why”, “what for”, “for what purpose”, etc. In other words, today science believes that there cannot be a goal in nature.

Discussions about the essence of living things, due to their polemical nature, Lately take on an extremely pessimistic tone. Therefore, the structure of biological knowledge is not determined by the existing definition of the category of “living”, but is traditionally empirical, as a result of which the problem of defining this category is not so clearly visible in it, in contrast to the structure of theoretical biology. .
The solution to the question of the essence of living things and the problem of its origin is currently at the initial stage - this is just “posing the question.” First of all, because the concepts of “living” and “life” are still identified by researchers, and this is, in principle, unacceptable, because “life” is a certain process – i.e. a way of existence, and “living” is an object. The problem of the origin of living things is also often identified. There are two forms of the question of the origin of living things: 1) the origin of living things on Earth; 2) the origin of life in the Universe (i.e. in principle). In turn, they are divided into two more types of questions: 1) origin “for the first time”; 2) the origin is “secondary in our time.” Of course, it is necessary to decide what problem needs to be solved, i.e. which solution makes sense. .
Methodological approaches to studying the essence of living things. Let us briefly consider the main methodological approaches to solving the problem of cognition of the essence of living things. .
Monoattribute approach. According to this approach, conclusions about the essence of living things are made on the basis of an analysis of one of the life phenomena and the corresponding structures. .
Polyattribute approach. Includes the requirement to take into account all the basic properties and manifestations of living matter. Definitions of living things, developed on the basis of polyattributive methodology, come down to listing the main life processes. .
Functional approach. Its supporters propose abandoning the analysis of the living substrate, limiting itself only to its functions.
Mechanistic approach. Denial of any fundamental differences between living and nonliving things. Explains all life processes based on physical and chemical laws. .
Vitalistic approach. Characterized by the desire to go beyond the material world, to explain life phenomena through a special intangible “beginning”. .
Subjectivist approach. Rejects the objective content of definitions of living matter. Proponents of this approach believe that judgments about living things depend solely on the arbitrary interpretations of researchers.

Description of work

The first living beings appeared on our planet about 3 billion years ago. From these early forms arose countless species of living organisms, which, having appeared, flourished for more or less long periods of time, and then died out.
From pre-existing forms, modern organisms evolved, forming the four kingdoms of living nature: more than 1.5 million species of animals, 500 thousand species of plants, a significant number of various fungi, as well as many prokaryotic organisms (bacteria).

Since the first days of the existence of Homo sapiens, this question - “what is life?” has caused heated discussions. Religious teachers, philosophers, humanists, and in our time, psychologists and physiologists - everyone has tried, or are trying to define how living things differ from non-living things? We will try to do this too.

Signs of being alive

The strongest difference that catches your eye is life, this active form existence of matter. However, it's not all that simple. Matter can exhibit physical activity (for example, there are many electrical processes going on in your computer right now), as well as chemical activity (this is how sugar behaves in a cup of hot tea - it gradually changes from one form to another). But, of course, no one will dare to call a computer or a cup of tea living beings!

Consequently, life is not only movement or transformation. Living is HIGHER form existence of matter, surpassing its physical and chemical forms. Distinctive feature living is its ability to reproduce itself according to a given program. This program, or instruction, is placed in the genetic code - an important attribute that ONLY living beings have. Hence the first conclusion - life must have the ability to transmit hereditary information and must have a genetic code. Living creatures without such a code have not yet been discovered on Earth.

Second important sign living - homeostasis, i.e. the body's ability to maintain its internal state. For example, if you bury a pole in the ground and leave it unattended for a while, it will quickly become dilapidated and may even fall. This matter is inanimate, and obeys the so-called “Second Law of Thermodynamics,” according to which all matter tends to primary chaos. But with living matter the situation is completely different. If you plant a tree next to our pillar, after a while, it will not only become dilapidated, but quite the opposite. Without any intervention on our part, it will begin to grow and will do so for many years! For example, some tree species live for more than 3,000 years, and today there are (living!) specimens of them that saw construction Greek Parthenon. And if the latter turned into ruins, then these plants feel great to this day. This demonstrates very well the difference - how living things differ from non-living things.

It should be noted that there are creatures on our planet that are difficult to classify as living or inanimate nature. These are viruses. Under normal conditions (being in soil or water) they do not show any signs of life - they do not divide, they do not try to maintain their homeostasis. Those. behave like any highly organized but dead matter (for example, a crystal or a snowflake). However, as soon as they get inside a living cell, they immediately come to life and integrate their genetic code into the cell’s program (which is why malicious computer programs are also called “viruses” - the mechanism of action is very similar). Therefore, debates among biologists still persist over whether viruses should be classified as living or non-living?

We hope our little research it was interesting for you!