A Story: Is Sammy Alive?

Part 1

Sammy was a normal, healthy boy. There was nothing in his life to indicate that he was anything different from anyone else. When he completed high

school, he obtained a job in a factory, operating a machine press. On this job he had an accident and lost his hand. It was replaced with an artificial hand

that looked and operated almost like a real one.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 2

Soon afterward, Sammy developed a severe intestinal difficulty, and a large portion of his lower intestine had to be removed. It was replaced with an

elastic silicon tube.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 3

Everything looked good for Sammy until he was involved in a serious car accident. Both of his legs and his good arm were crushed and had to be

amputated. He also lost an ear. Artificial legs enabled Sammy to walk again, and an artificial arm replaced the real arm. Plastic surgery enabled doctors to

rebuild the ear.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 4

Over the next several years, Sammy was plagued with internal disorders. First, he had to have an operation to remove his aorta and replace it with a

synthetic vessel. Next, he developed a kidney malfunction, and the only way he could survive was to use a kidney dialysis machine (no donor was found

for a kidney transplant). Later, his digestive system became cancerous and was removed. He received nourishment intravenously. Finally, his heart failed.

Luckily for Sammy, a donor heart was available, and he had a heart transplant.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 5

It was now obvious that Sammy had become a medical phenomenon. He had artificial limbs, nourishment was supplied to him through his veins;

therefore he had no solid wastes. The kidney dialysis machine removed all waste material. The heart that pumped his blood to carry oxygen and food to

his cells was not his original heart. But Sammy's transplanted heart began to fail. He was immediately placed on a heart-lung machine. This supplied

oxygen and removed carbon dioxide from his blood, and it circulated blood through his body.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 6

The doctors consulted bioengineers about Sammy. Because almost all of his life-sustaining functions were being carried on by machine, it might be possible

to compress all of these machines into one mobile unit, which would be controlled by electrical impulses from Sammy's brain. This unit would be

equipped with mechanical arms to enable him to perform manipulative tasks. A mechanism to create a flow of air over his vocal cords might enable him

to speak. To do all this, they would have to amputate at the neck and attach his head to the machine, which would then supply all nutrients to his brain.

Sammy consented, and the operation was successfully performed.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Part 7

Sammy functioned well for a few years. However, a slow deterioration of his brain cells was observed and was diagnosed as terminal. So the medical

team that had developed around Sammy began to program his brain. A miniature computer was developed: it could be housed in a machine that was

humanlike in appearance, movement, and mannerisms. As the computer was installed, Sammy's brain cells completely deteriorated. Sammy was once

again able to leave the hospital with complete assurance that he would not return with biological illness.

Is Sammy Alive? (explain why or why not)

Look up definitions of “life” or “living” and then make changes to any of your answers in a different color pen.

Glenco Biology Chapter 1 Reading Guide

1. Biology =

2. Give one example of an application of biology in your life (before this class!) and why studying biology is important.

3. Name and explain 5 things biologists do:

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

4. Name and explain 8 characteristics of life:

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

___________________ = ____________________________________________________________________

5. Differentiate between

Growth / development =

Response / adaptation =

Scientific theory / law =

Science / pseudoscience =

Observation / inference =

Constant / variable =

Dependent variable / independent variable =

Experimental group / control group =

Qualitative data / quantitative data =

6. Define the following and then use each in a sentence.

Organism

Species

Peer review

Data

Metric system

7. Name and give examples of 6 thins good scientists, not pseudoscientists, do when they observe nature.

a. b. c.

d. e. f.

8. What is scientific literacy and why is it important to have it within a society?

9. List at least 8 steps scientist use to investigate something new or which they wish to understand/explain to

others.

10. Explain “Methods of Science” in your own words. Give different examples of each step than those in the

book.

11. What is the SI and why is it used?

LAB: Is it Alive? NPD

Unit: Alive or Not (1.3)

1. What are the 8 characteristics of life (from your book – list them in order)?

1 -

2 -

3 -

4 -

5 -

6 -

7 -

8 -

Object

Number

What is the object? Living; Once Living;

Made by a Living Thing;

Never Living

Which of the 8 Characteristics

does it show?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Once you have collected all data, determine whether the items are Living; Once Living; Made by a living thing; or Never Living.

2. Of the things that were not considered alive (never living), name one characteristic of life that none of them

had.

3. Which characteristics do you feel best define life?

4. What is the difference between a living specimen and a once living specimen?

5. How are never-living specimens different from once-living ones?

6. What are examples of how human beings show the characteristics of life?

organization-

getting and using energy-

responsiveness-

homeostasis-

7. Label each of the following situations as one of the characteristics of life.

Situation Characteristic of Life

a. a cell divides

b. a giraffe eats leaves off of a tree

c. when using a microscope you see liver cells

d. you get goose bumps when it’s cold

e. plants capture sunlight to make glucose f. a sperm cell and egg cell fuse to make a zygote g. a rabbit’s fur turns white in the winter

8. Classify each of the following as a stimulus or a response (answer each).

a) ( S or R ) the recess bell ringing in an elementary school

b) ( S or R ) your mouth watering at the sight of food on a plate

c) ( S or R ) a sudden drop in air temperature

d) ( S or R ) a flu virus entering your body

e) ( S or R ) getting “butterflies” in your stomach before giving a speech.

9. Classify each of the following as living or nonliving thing (answer each).

a) ( L or N ) rust eating a hole in a metal bucket

b) ( L or N ) an apple on a tree

c) ( L or N ) bacteria

d) ( L or N ) lightning

e) ( L or N ) a dinosaur fossil

f) ( L or N ) a wasp

10. All factors in the environment are considered as either biotic or abiotic. Which are these?

a) ( B or A ) Living

b) ( B or A ) Once living

c) ( B or A ) Made by a living thing

d) ( B or A ) Never living

Webquest: Is it Alive? NPD

Unit: Alive (1.3)

Overview: In this activity, you’ll identify observable characteristics of life in videos of various organisms and describe those characteristics.

Review What are six easily observable characteristics of living things?

http://www.exploratorium.edu/imaging_station/activities/classroom/characteristics/ca_characteristics.php

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Defining "life" is a very difficult task, and scientists don’t all agree on a common list of the

characteristics of life. Some of the other characteristics that you may discover , and which are often

listed in textbooks, include those listed closer to the bottom of the page of the website from above.

Compare this list with the “BASIC SIX” that you wrote down above. What is found on this list of 11

that isn’t found on the list of 6?

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Instructions:

1. On the data table (see back), click on each category name in turn.

2. Read the introduction, then play the video.

3. Record one or more of the characteristics that you observe for each category and describe it on your data table.

Exploratorium Microscope Imaging Station Observing the Characteristics of Life

Characteristics of Life Data Table

Category Characteristics of Life Description of Observed Characteristics

C. elegans (Caenorhabditis elegans) Video: Moving C. elegans

Sea Urchins (Lytechinus pictus) Video: Sea urchin cell division

Sea Urchins (Lytechinus pictus) Video: Sea urchin fertilization

Blood Cells Video: Human white blood cells

Cellular Structure and

Function Video: Elodea leaf cells

Stem Cells Videos: Compare Mouse embryonic stem cells—movie 1 with Heart cells grown from mouse embryonic stem cells—movie 1

Cell Motility Video: Crawling Amoeba

Zebrafish

(Danio rerio) Video: Zebrafish development

Exploratorium Microscope Imaging Station Observing the Characteristics of Life

Title: “NOVA - Origins: How Life Began” Worksheet NPD

Unit: Alive (1.3)

This video explores Earth’s early atmosphere, and describes an attempt to determine when life began using

geology, biology, and chemistry in addition to present-day geologic and biologic conditions.

Pre-video question:

Extremophiles (-philes means “to love”) are bacteria that thrive in harsh subterranean and deep ocean

environments similar to those believed to have existed on primitive Earth. What do you know already about

Earth’s primitive atmosphere OR what qualities do you think Earth’s atmosphere had before life?

Directions: Answer the following questions while watching this video. These questions go in chronological order to the

video. Some answer to questions will be very close to each other in the video and some will be further away.

1. Earth is a place that is __________ and __________ by life.

2. When was Earth “born”?

3. [Earth] was covered in __________ and smothered in noxious __________.

4. What cataclysm occurred that eventually led to the Moon’s formation?

5. The young Sun was __________ than it is today.

6. When the atmosphere was thicker and dominated by CO2, the Earth had a __________ tinge to it and the

oceans would have had an olive __________ color rather than out familiar blue color.

7. For about the first 600 billion years, comets and asteroids (300 miles across) pounded our planet- a time

known as the “Heavy Bombardment.” Their impacts vaporized Earth’s __________ and melted

its__________.

8. Hydrogen sulfide can be extremely __________ so the scientists wear gas masks inside the cave.

9. Can any other forms of life survive in the deep recesses of a cave so toxic to humans?

10. Snottites acidity (pH) is that of __________ __________.

11. All living things, from bacteria to mice to you and me, are made from a small set of chemical elements:

__________, oxygen, __________, nitrogen- four of the most common elements in the universe.

12. The brown goo that formed in Stanley Miller’s lab experiment was what? __________ __________

(They are compounds that form molecules when carbon and other elements link together and are the

building blocks of proteins, cells – which are the vital ingredients of all living things.)

13. A) Where are some of the oldest rocks found on Earth?

B) How old are these rocks?

14. What do you see in a magnifying piece of space dust?

15. There are more than _____ kinds of amino acids that have been found in meteorites, and many are the

fundamental ingredients of __________ that make up living cells.

16. Amino acids, combinations of carbon and other basic elements, had fused together to form more complex

molecules called __________.

17. [In underwater volcano vents] despite scalding __________, acid eruptions and total lack of __________,

[scientists] found creatures of all types thriving.

18. Named after the _____-_________ color of their cells, these cyanobacteria use photosynthesis to collect

energy from the sun. They secrete a sticky coating to shield them from __________ radiation.

19. Over time, stromatolites spread out across the __________. As a byproduct of photosynthesis, the ancient

bacteria formed a waste product: __________.

20. Cyanobacteria produced oxygen in varying amounts as water __________ changed throughout the

seasons.

21. Tiny microbes raised the level of oxygen from less than one percent to today’s __________ percent.

22. With the protection of the __________ layer, life was able to diversify into more complex __________.

23. It’s only been the last ___________ percent of Earth’s history where there was life on the surface of Earth

that you could see with your naked eye.

24. Multi-cellular life that we are most familiar with- animals, plants, and their environment- was made

possible by the slow, toilsome task of __________ to oxygenate the __________.

Answer after the video:

List two things are already knew before you watched the video.

1.

2.

List three things that you learned from the video.

1.

2.

3.

List two things that still confuse you or you have further questions about from the video.

1.

2.

SUMMARY: