Is It Living or Nonliving?
Chapter 1: The Study of Life

If something has some of the properties of living things, does that mean that it's alive? You can find out if you . . .

Try This

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1. Wrap some seeds (any vegetable or plant seeds will do) in a moist paper towel. Place the seeds and paper towel into a container. Keep the paper towel moist, but not saturated.
2. Pour about 200 mL (about 6 ounces) of hot water into a clean wide-mouthed tempered-glass or pyrex jar. Add sugar to the jar, stirring constantly. Continue to add sugar until no more sugar will dissolve.
3. Tie a sugar cube onto a piece of string and tie the string onto a pencil. Lay the pencil across the top of the jar.
4. After one week, observe both containers.

Analyze Your Results

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1. Did you observe any signs of life in either of the two containers? If so, which property of life did you observe?
2. Are the seeds alive? Explain your answer.
3. Are the crystals that formed alive? Explain your answer.

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