Question

Drag each characteristic to the correct category.

Answer 1

Answer/Explanation

Characteristics of Life Present in Viruses:

• has a defined boundary - viruses are made up simply of genetic material surrounded by a protein capsid and sometimes a lipid membrane

Characteristics of Life Absent in Viruses:

• made up of one or more cells - one of the main arguments for why viruses are not living is that they are not cellular
• uses energy  - this is a tricky one. They don't use or produce their own energy. However, in order to reproduce they do hijack the host cells and steal energy from them in order to reproduce
• exhibits growth and development - although viruses do reproduce, the individual viral particles do not exhibit growth or development
• possess internal organisation - other than the fact they ahve genetic material, the inside of a virus does not contain internal organization like a cytosol, instead conssiting of the bare minimum amount of proteins to survive
• eliminates waste - since they do not have their own metabolism, they have no waste to eliminate