Question

exit ticket:

1. based on what you learned today, do you think viruses are living or non - living? briefly explain your reasoning using one piece of evidence from the article.
2. which characteristic of life do viruses most clearly lack? explain your reasoning.
3. how does the structure of a virus support your answer to whether it is alive or not?
4. what is one question you still have about viruses and their classification?

Explanation:

Question 1

Viruses are non - living. One piece of evidence (assuming from a typical article) is that viruses cannot reproduce on their own. They need a host cell to take over the host's cellular machinery to make more viruses. Living things can reproduce independently, so this shows viruses are non - living.

Viruses most clearly lack the ability to carry out metabolic processes independently. Living organisms perform metabolic reactions (like obtaining and using energy) on their own. Viruses don't have the cellular structures or mechanisms to do things like respiration or synthesis of molecules without a host cell.

A virus has a simple structure, usually just a protein coat (capsid) and genetic material (DNA or RNA). It lacks cellular organelles like mitochondria (for energy production) or ribosomes (for protein synthesis) that are present in living cells. Since living cells have these structures to carry out life processes, the virus's simple, non - cellular structure supports the idea that it is non - living as it can't perform life functions on its own.

Answer:

Viruses are non - living. Evidence: They can't reproduce independently (need a host cell).

Question 2