Question

Which of the following are true concerning living things? Check all that apply.
• They contain a vital force absent in nonliving things.
• They are composed of molecules that contain carbon-carbon bonds.
• They undergo chemical reactions to use energy they acquire from the environment.
• They do not require catalysts to sustain their living state

Answer 1

I've seen this question before.
There are two correct answers here.
And the question asks us to "check all that apply."

Here, I'll give you some information about each option.
That should help you.

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"They contain a vital force absent in non-living things."


The idea that living things contain a "vital force" is part of the Theory of Vitalism.

Basically, the Theory of Vitalism said that living things had a special type of energy.
A spark.
Or a soul.

And though many may believe in such a thing,
the truth is that it's not provable by science.

The Theory of Vitality is a rejected theory.

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"They are composed of molecules that contain carbon-carbon bonds."


A carbon-carbon bond is a bond between two carbon atoms.

Have you talked about the four types of macromolecules, that make up all life?

Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids
Nucleic Acids

We can find carbon-carbon bonds in all four of these macromolecules.

And without them, life wouldn't exist.

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"They undergo chemical reactions to use energy they acquire from the environment."


The total number of chemical reactions, that happen in our bodies, is HUGE.

I don't even know how many there are. It's a lot.

And these chemical reactions are happening all the time. 24/7.

We take all of these chemical reactions that we need,
in order to live,
and we call it our "metabolism."

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"They do not require catalysts to sustain their living state."


A "catalyst" is a special enzyme.
A protein, that jump-starts, and speeds up chemical reactions.

If you remember,
our "metabolism" is all of the chemical reactions that happen in our bodies,
that keep us alive.

And each chemical reaction NEEDS a catalyst.

A catalyst is sort of like the key that you need, to start your car.

Without catalysts, our chemical reactions wouldn't have enough energy to happen.

We wouldn't be alive.

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The question gives us four statements.
Two of them are true.

You can use the information that I gave you, to pick out the ones that are true.