Question

question 14 of 25
which is a difference between bacteria and viruses that shows that bacteria are living organisms and viruses are not?
a. bacteria use binary fission.
b. bacteria respond to their environment.
c. bacteria contain dna.
d. bacteria are made of cells.

Explanation:

Bacteria are single - celled living organisms. Viruses are non - living (at least in the traditional sense of cellular life) as they are not made of cells. They consist of genetic material (DNA or RNA) surrounded by a protein coat.

• Option A: Viruses do not reproduce by binary fission. Bacteria reproduce by binary fission, but this is not the key difference in terms of being a living organism (as some non - cellular entities have other forms of'reproduction' in a broad sense).
• Option B: Some viruses can also respond to their environment in a limited way (e.g., by binding to specific host cells), so this is not a definitive difference.
• Option C: Viruses also contain genetic material (either DNA or RNA), so this is not a distinguishing feature.
• Option D: The cell theory states that all living organisms are made of cells. Bacteria are prokaryotic cells, while viruses lack a cellular structure, which is a fundamental difference in classifying bacteria as living and viruses as non - living (in the cellular life sense).

Answer:

D. Bacteria are made of cells.