Living vs.

Nonliving
Students explore the characteristics that distinguish living from nonliving things.

Lesson Summary

Overview

In this lesson, students learn about the characteristics that distinguish living things from
nonliving things. By examining video clips and still photographs of a variety of objects and
organisms, students gather evidence and develop criteria to decide if something is living or
nonliving.

Objectives

 Develop criteria to decide if something is living or nonliving

 Classify things as living or nonliving, based on those criteria
 Recognize that living things grow, reproduce, and need food, air, and water

Grade Level: K-2, 3-5

This lesson is appropriate for students in all elementary grades.

Suggested Time

 Two 40-minute blocks

Multimedia Resources

 Is It Alive? QuickTime Video

 Living and Nonliving JPEG Image
 Animals on the Go QuickTime Video
 Animals Making a Living QuickTime Video
 What Do Animals Eat? QuickTime Video

Use these resources to create a simple assessment or video-based assignment with the Lesson
Builder tool on PBS LearningMedia.

Materials

 Handout: Exploring the Characteristics of Living Things PDF Document handout

Before the Lesson

 Make an overhead transparency of the handout.

 Make a copy of the handout for each student.

Background Information
Young children often have difficulty characterizing things as living or nonliving. For
example, they tend to describe anything that moves as alive. They also do not yet understand
the cycle of life (birth, growth, death), and therefore classify as nonliving anything that has
died. In science, living is used to describe anything that is or has ever been alive (dog, flower,
seed, road kill, log); nonliving is used to describe anything that is not now nor has ever been
alive (rock, mountain, glass, wristwatch). Over time, students will begin to understand that all
living things grow, breathe, reproduce, excrete, respond to stimuli, and have similar basic
needs like nourishment. Older students may even realize that all living things are made up of
cells.

The Lesson

Part I

1. Ask each student to name one living thing and one nonliving thing. Write all their
contributions on easel paper or on the chalkboard, under the column headings "Living" and
"Nonliving".

2. Tell students that they will be studying living things, or organisms. Have students reflect
on the list of organisms they generated and think about all the features that make organisms
"alive." Have them brainstorm answers to these questions:

 What are some characteristics of living things?

 What are some characteristics of nonliving things?
 What makes living things different from nonliving things?

If your students are not reading or writing yet, use pictures or symbols to represent written
text.

Write all ideas down. This student-generated list can be used as a reflection tool throughout
the unit. Avoid telling students the correct answers.

3. Explain to students the scientific definition of living (anything that is or has ever been
alive) and nonliving (anything that is not now nor has ever been alive). Remember that the
difference between nonliving and dead can be confusing to youngsters. Give an example of
something that is dead but still classified as living, such as a log.

4. Distribute copies of the handout Handout: Exploring the Characteristics of Living Things
(PDF). Use an overhead transparency of the handout to show students how to fill in the
Characteristics of Life column headings based on the list the class generated in Step 2.

5. Working in pairs, have students view examples of living and nonliving things from the Is It
Alive? video and theLiving and Nonliving stills collage. Have them classify each example as
living or nonliving and record the name of the object or organism under the appropriate
heading on the handout. Then have students indicate which characteristics of life each
example exhibits by putting a check in the appropriate column. (For very young children, you
can explore examples of living and nonliving things by displaying the stills on a large screen.
To simplify the task of recording their observations, young students can draw pictures or use
symbols to represent the things they examine.)

You might want to choose one example and model the process of scientific inquiry for
students. Ask questions (Does this example reproduce? Does it grow?), make observations
(The river is definitely moving.), and carefully record the results. Point out the importance of
thinking like a scientist.

As students explore the examples, they may discover other characteristics of life they hadn't
thought of earlier. Encourage them to add these characteristics to the chart.

6. Have students reflect on their findings by discussing the following questions:

 What characteristics did ALL of the living things have in common?

 Did any nonliving things possess some of the same characteristics as living things?
Which ones?
 How were the living things different from the nonliving things?

7. Assess students' understanding (and identify possible misconceptions) by asking:

 Are all things that move "alive"? Have them defend their opinions by referring to the
results of their explorations.
 What kinds of nonliving things move?

Again, show them the clip of the moving cars, the running river, or the dripping icicle in the
Is It Alive? video and ask:

 How is the movement of living things different from the movement of nonliving
things?

Next, ask:

 Do all living things move?

If students say yes or are unsure, again show them the picture of the grass or plant or the clip
of the coral. Then show them the video Animals on the Go and ask:

 What kinds of living things move? What kinds don't move?

 Do plants move?
 Why do living things move?

Show them the Animals Making a Living video to help them answer this last question.

8. Show students the What Do Animals Eat? video. Ask:

 Do all living things eat?

 Plants don't eat but they need energy. Where do they get it?

9. Anticipate questions about growth. For example, icicles "grow," yet they aren't alive.
Explain that all living things grow some time in their lives, but that some nonliving things
seem to get bigger too. For this reason, growth cannot by itself be used to classify something
as living.

10. End the lesson by asking students whether they want to make any changes to the original
list they made of the characteristics of living things
Comparing and Contrasting - Grassland,
Desert, and Forest Elephants
Students use a T-chart to take notes on the similarities and differences among elephants. With
partners, they organize their notes and construct a Venn diagram with illustrations.

Lesson Summary

Overview

Students watch three video segments about three different types of elephants to identify the
similarities and differences among them. While viewing the segments, students take notes
using a T-chart. Next, with partners, they categorize and organize their notes. Finally,
students construct a poster-size, three-circle Venn diagram with graphic illustrations to show
they are able to compare and contrast the characteristics of the three types of elephants.

Why is this an important concept?

When learners can take ideas from three sources and compare/contrast them, they can better
comprehend the complexity of the ideas. Comparing and contrasting looks at the similarities
and differences between or among ideas. Noting the similarities and differences in ideas leads
to the ability to generalize, categorize, sort, evaluate, and understand new information.

Grade Level:

6-8

Suggested Time

(3) 60-minute periods

Media Resources

 Grassland Elephants QuickTime Video

 Desert Elephants QuickTime Video
 Forest Elephants QuickTime Video

Materials

 Unforgettable Elephants T-Chart handout

 Unforgettable Elephants Venn Diagram handout
 Unforgettable Elephants Compare and Contrast rubric
 Enlarged T-chart (using overhead transparency or other technology)
 Poster paper and fine-lined markers

The Lesson

Part I: Learning Activity

Part 1

1. Review what it means to compare and contrast. What things do you have to take into
consideration?

2. Make copies of the Unforgettable Elephants T-Chart handout

and the Unforgettable Elephants Venn Diagram handout for each student and distribute.

3. As they watch segment 1, Grassland Elephants, ask students to listen for the characteristics
of grassland elephants. They should note what they are seeing, what the narrator is saying,
and the sounds of the elephants. Allow students to listen and watch the first time through
without writing.

4. Then, show segment 1 a second time. This time while viewing, model, on an enlarged T-
chart, how to note information in the Grassland Elephants column. Think aloud while
listening, viewing, and recording on enlarged T-chart to show how you are selecting relevant
information from the segment. After viewing, students copy what you have written.

5. Play segment 2, Desert Elephants, this time asking students to listen for the characteristics
of desert elephants. Then, show the segment a second time. While watching, students will
complete the Desert Elephants column of the T-chart independently.

6. Give students two minutes to share what they wrote with a classmate and add to their
notes. Share in a whole-class discussion. Complete enlarged T-chart organizer with students
responses.

7. Now play segment 3, Forest Elephants. As they watch, ask students to listen for the
characteristics of forest elephants. Then, show the segment a second time. While watching,
students will complete the Forest Elephants column of the T-chart independently.

8. Give students two minutes to share what they wrote with a classmate and add to their
notes. Share in a whole-class discussion. Complete enlarged T-chart organizer with students
responses. Describe how to organize notes. Using enlarged T-chart, show how to sort notes
across the three columns into categories such as physical appearance, habitat, and daily
lifestyle. Students should help you decide what categories to use based on the information
from the T-chart.

9. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for students to work with a partner to sort through their T-chart
notes and organize their notes into categories. On the back of the T-chart, students write a list
of four categories they will compare and contrast on the Unforgettable Elephants Venn
Diagram.

10. Collect T-charts and review them front and back before Part 2 of the lesson. Note which
students need additional guidance and how well students comprehend the strategy. Re-teach
as needed.

Part 2

1. Take students to the school or public library. Help them find books and other resources
(i.e., the Internet) to find more information about elephants to fit the selected categories.
Hand back T-charts.
2. Working with a partner, students will fill in the gaps (i.e., they have information about the
diet and food for two kinds of elephants but not for the third) and expand their notes from the
video with information from these new resources.

3. Students share their completed T-charts with a partner.

For students who need additional teacher guidance:

1. Review note-taking strategies before watching the segments.

2. Provide assistance with taking notes while watching the video by pausing the video as
needed and modeling note-taking for students.

3. Color-code the T-chart and Venn diagram to depict in which part of diagram information
belongs.

4. Provide opportunities for students to view segments additional times.

Part II: Assessment

1. Working with a partner or alone, students transfer information from the T-chart to the
appropriate section of the Unforgettable Elephants Venn Diagram. They will indicate by their
accurate placement of information how the items compare and contrast with each other.

2. When the Venn Diagram handout is completed, students create a well-presented, poster-
size final copy of the Venn diagram. Students should include some type of graphic
illustration of each type of elephant on the final poster-size Venn diagram.

3. Score the final Venn diagram using the Unforgettable Elephants Compare and Contrast
rubric.
Development of a Habitable Planet
Students investigate the origin of the elements, the process of planet formation, the evolution
of life on Earth, and the conditions necessary for life as we know it.

Lesson Summary

Overview

Earth is just one of innumerable objects in the universe, but it is the only object known to be
able to support life. How did the planet Earth develop into the life- bearing planet that it is
today? Is it possible that other habitable worlds have also developed? In this lesson, students
investigate the origin of the elements, the process of planet formation, the evolution of life on
Earth, and the conditions necessary for life as we know it. Students research particular events
in the history of Earth that have led to its present state, synthesize their findings with the
class, and contemplate the rarity of habitable planets.

Objectives

 Identify and sequence the major events that caused Earth to develop into the planet we
know
 Understand where the ingredients for Earth originated, including the conditions necessary
for life
 Consider the likelihood of other habitable worlds

Grade Levels: 6-8 , 9-12

Suggested Time

Two to three class periods

Multimedia Resources

 Infrared Search for Origins Interactive

 The Elements: Forged in Stars Video
 The Origin of the Moon Video
 Jupiter: Earth's Shield Video
 Global Warming: The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect Video
 Ingredients for Life: Water Video
 Life Before Oxygen Video
 Deep Time Interactive
 The Wall of Time Image
 Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water Document
 Mars Dead or Alive: Mars Up Close Interactive
 Caves: Extreme Conditions for Life Video

Materials

10 index cards

Before the Lesson

If possible, arrange computer access for all students to work individually or in pairs. Write
each of the following events on an index card:

 Formation of the solar nebula

 Formation of a rocky planet circling the Sun
 Formation of the Moon
 Development of liquid water on the planet
 Appearance of anaerobic life
 Development of aerobic life
 Significant accumulation of oxygen in the atmosphere
 First ice age
 Cambrian Explosion
 Mass extinction of dinosaurs and other forms of life

The Lesson

Part I: Investigating the Formation of Earth

1. Ask students to think about the origin of Earth. Working alone or in pairs, have students
explore the Infrared Search for Origins Interactive, focusing on the "Star Formation" and
"Planetary Systems" sections.

2. Divide the class into 10 groups and hand each group an index card with the name of an
event. Explain that each group will conduct their own research for their assigned event and
that they should be prepared to discuss their findings with the class. You may want to remind
them that the answers are not always clearly defined. They should be able to answer, to the
best of their ability:

a. The conditions prior to the event

b. The event itself: What happened? What caused it? When and how did it happen?
c. The conditions after the event and its impact on the future of Earth

3. Before having the students disperse to do their research, show the class the following video
segments to introduce them to some history of the evolution of Earth and life. These videos
do not directly relate to one another and do not have to be shown in order - use as time
allows. As students watch the video segments, ask them to record one thing that they learned
from each video and one thing that they would like to find out more about. If there is time,
have students share their thoughts with the class.

a. The Elements: Forged in Stars Video explains the role of stars in creating the elements found
on Earth and throughout the universe.
b. The Origin of the Moon Video shows how samples of rock from the Moon led scientists to
theorize that the Moon was formed from Earth materials.
c. Jupiter: Earth's Shield Video shows how Jupiter's gravity has protected Earth and why
scientists are looking for a similar planetary setup for extrasolar planets.
d. Global Warming: The Physics of the Greenhouse Effect Video explains how the greenhouse
effect works on Earth and how humans are affecting it.
e. Ingredients for Life: Water Video demonstrates the importance of water to life and explores
the possibilities for extreme forms of life.
f. Life Before Oxygen Video explains how our once oxygen-free atmosphere changed
dramatically when primitive bacteria evolved the capacity to harness solar energy through
photosynthesis, which produced oxygen as a by-product. Thought-provoking questions are
included in the resource and should help students grasp the enormity of this development.
Part II: Putting It into Perspective

4. Have students study the following interactive resources: Deep Time Interactive and The
Wall of Time Image. Both resources present a detailed, interactive timeline of events. They
will help the students develop an understanding of their event and how it fits in with geologic
time.

5. Have each group present its findings. Using the information they have gathered as a class,
students should be able to piece together their own geologic timeline without help from the
instructor. This can be done with students standing in front of the room and arranging
themselves in the correct order, or by taping a representation of their event on a timeline wall
in the classroom.

Because of the complexity of these events and the interpretation of evidence, there may be
several different "correct" versions of the timeline that the students create. Those who have
collected the most evidence and have the most persuasive arguments may dictate the final
result.

6. Ask students to consider the seemingly unique conditions on Earth. Allow time at the
computers to look at the Life's Little Essential: Liquid Water Document, the Mars Dead or
Alive: Mars Up Close Interactive, and the Caves: Extreme Conditions for Life Video.
Discuss the following:

a. Why do most scientists think that water is necessary for life to exist?
b. How did the discovery of extremophiles change views about life?
c. Do you think that it is possible for life to exist on Mars?
d. Do you think that there are other habitable planets in the universe? What about habitable
moons?
e. Did you find any answers to the questions that you had posed when watching the video
segments earlier (in step 3)? Which of your questions did these resources answer?

7. Lead a debate about the search for extraterrestrial life. Now that we understand that there
are billions of galaxies in the universe, with hundreds of billions of stars in each, it seems
quite probable that there may be other life or other planets similar to Earth. And now that we
have found extreme forms of life in places on Earth that were previously thought unlivable, it
seems possible that life may be thriving in other non-Earthlike worlds.

a. Divide the class into teams for and against further research to answer the question of
whether or not humans are alone in the universe.
b. Issues to address may include the following: the timescale for life to develop, the limitations
of space exploration, the conditions necessary for life, methods to search for life as we know
it, methods to look for life NOT as we know it, and the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence.

Check for Understanding

Have students discuss the following:

1. What conditions are necessary for life as we know it?

2. How does solar system formation affect whether or not life will develop on a planet?
3. How does Earth's atmosphere impact life?
4. What do you think would happen if a giant asteroid hit Earth now?
The Digital Library for Earth System Education (www.dlese.org) offers access to additional
resources on this topic.

Life's Little Essential

Everybody knows liquid water is necessary for life, at least as we know it.
But just why exactly?

 By Peter Tyson
 Posted 01.04.04
 NOVA

A friend of mine once had a poster on his office wall that asked at the top in big letters
"WHY IS THE SKY BLUE?" I first saw the poster from a distance, and my initial reaction
was to snicker slightly, thinking "Everybody knows why the sky is blue." The rest of the
poster proved to be the perfect rejoinder, for beneath that simple question lay row upon row
of complex equations, originally published by Albert Einstein in 1911, that described in
mathematical terms precisely why the sky is blue.

When I looked beneath the surface of it, the question that opens this article elicited a similar
effect: I was surprised by how much I didn't know about why water is thought necessary for
life. Once I learned the particulars, it became clear why planetary scientists on the lookout for
life on Mars and elsewhere in the solar system are on the lookout for water.

Planetary scientists are quick to stress that it's not just water that's indispensable for life, but
liquid water. The distinction is key. Enlarge Photo credit: © Michael Utech/iStockphoto

Of the essence

So why is liquid water the sine qua non of life as we know it? Liquid water may sound
redundant, but planetary scientists insist on using the qualifier, for solid or vaporous water
won't do. The biochemical reactions that sustain life need a fluid in order to operate. In a
liquid, molecules can dissolve and chemical reactions occur. And because a liquid is always
in flux, it effectively conveys vital substances like metabolites and nutrients from one place
to another, whether it's around a cell, an organism, an ecosystem, or a planet. Getting
molecules where they need to go is difficult within a solid and all too easy within a gas—
vapor-based life would go all to pieces.

And why is water the best liquid to do the job? For one thing, it dissolves just about anything.
"Water is probably the best solvent in the universe," says Jeffrey Bada, a planetary scientist at
the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif. "Everything is soluble in water to
some degree." Even gold is somewhat soluble in seawater. (Before you get any ideas about
extracting gold from the oceans, I should add that, according to Bada, the value of dissolved
gold in a metric ton of seawater comes to about $0.0000004).

Water plays another key role in the biochemistry of life: bending enzymes. Enzymes are
proteins that catalyze chemical reactions, making them occur much faster than they otherwise
would. To do their handiwork, enzymes must take on a specific three-dimensional shape.
Never mind how, but it is water molecules that facilitate this.

Ice, ocean, cloud: Water is the only chemical compound on our planet's surface that comes
naturally in all three physical states. Enlarge Photo credit: © Peter Tyson

Black sheep of the liquids

Water's ability to so successfully further the processes of life has a lot to do with just how
unusual a fluid it is. Not long ago, if I had to guess, I would have said that water is about as
normal a liquid as they come. In fact, despite its ubiquity and molecular simplicity, H2O is
abnormal in the extreme.

Liquid water is still the Holy Grail for planetary scientists.

For starters, while other substances form liquids, precious few do so under the conditions of
temperature and pressure that prevail on our planet's surface. In fact, next to mercury and
liquid ammonia, water is our only naturally occurring inorganic liquid, the only one not
arising from organic growth. It is also the only chemical compound that occurs naturally on
Earth's surface in all three physical states: solid, liquid, and gas. Good thing, otherwise the
hydrological cycle that most living things rely on to ferry water from the oceans to the land
and back again would not exist. As science journalist Philip Ball writes in his informative
book Life's Matrix: A Biography of Water, "This cycle of evaporation and condensation has
come to seem so perfectly natural that we never think to remark on why no other substances
display such transformations."

At sea level, water boils at 212°F, but thousands of feet down in the ocean, the pressure can
keep water liquid at over 650°F, as at this hydrothermal vent. Enlarge Photo credit: © Ralph
White/CORBIS

Compared to most other liquids, water also has an extremely large liquid range. Pure water
freezes at 0°C (32°F) and boils at 100°C (212°F). Add salt and you can lower the freezing
temperature; natural brines are known with freezing points below -50°F. Add pressure and
you can raise the boiling temperature; deep-sea vent waters can reach over 650°F. Water also
has one of the highest specific heats of any substance known, meaning it takes a lot of energy
to raise the temperature of water even a few degrees.

Water's broad liquid range and high heat capacity are good things, too. They mean that
temperatures on the Earth's surface, which is more than two-thirds water, can undergo
extreme variations—between night and day, say, or between seasons—without its water
freezing or boiling away, events that would throw a big wrench into life as we know it. As it
is, the oceans serve as a powerful moderating influence on the world's climate.

Liquid water has yet another unusual property that means the difference between life and
essentially no life in cold regions of the planet. Unlike most other liquids when they freeze,
water expands and becomes less dense. Most other frozen liquids are denser than their melted
selves and thus sink. If it sank, ice, being unable to melt because of the insulating layer of
water above it, would slowly fill up lakes and oceans in cold climates, making sea life in
those parts of the world a challenging prospect.

Saturn's moon Titan has organic chemicals like methane and ethane in its thick atmosphere,
leading some scientists to speculate on whether hydrocarbon-based life might exist there.
Enlarge Photo credit: © NASA, Voyager 2

Waterless life

Could life as we don't know it have gotten a start without water? Some planetary scientists
have suggested that on certain very cold planetary bodies liquid ammonia might serve in
place of water to incubate life. But even though it's the most common non-aqueous solvent,
liquid ammonia would seem to have several other things going against it as a medium for life.
Its liquid range is small, only about 30 degrees. Also, when it freezes, it sinks, and we know
what that would do.

Some have suggested that oceans of methane or other hydrocarbons on places like Saturn's
moon Titan could also serve the purpose. But, again, we're talking temperatures so low that
chemical reactions as we know them could only proceed at a glacial pace. "At minus 150
degrees," says Bada, "most of the reactions that we think about in terms of being important in
the origin of life probably wouldn't take place over the entire age of the solar system."
Moreover, compounds like amino acids and DNA would not be soluble in these other liquids.
"They would just be globs of gunk," Bada says.

For these and other reasons, liquid water is still the Holy Grail for planetary scientists, who,
based on what they know today, consider it likely that liquid water is essential to all life,
terrestrial and extra-. Says Neil de Grasse Tyson, an astrophysicist and director of the Hayden
Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History, "Given that life on Earth is so
dependent on water, and given that water is so prevalent in the universe, we don't feel that
we're going out on a limb to say that life would require liquid water."

Just as a blue sky requires blue light to scatter far more than all the other colors in the visible
light spectrum—which, of course, is why the sky is blue. Well, that's the simple answer
anyway.

Peter Tyson is editor in chief of NOVA Online.