Properties and Activities of Living Protoplasm 103 



9. Is the rusting of a nail or the rotting of wood to be considered as catabolisni? 

 Why? Is the making of concrete from sand, cement, and water to be con- 

 sidered as anaboHsm? Why? 



10. When is an organism considered young? When mature? When old? What 

 factors influence and determine the age of an organism? Would it have been 

 desirable if Nature had not placed death in the scheme of things? Why? 

 Attempt to explain what is meant by death in biologic terms. 



11. Do all living organisms possess the same degree of irritability? Is the irrita- 

 bility of the same organism constant? What factors are responsible for this? 

 What role does heredity play in this connection? 



12. Define individuality. Of what does individuality consist? Explain the rela- 

 tionships between irritability, adaptability, and individuality. 



13. What is meant when we state that an organism is "organized" ? 



14. Contrast living and nonliving things in as many ways as you can. Is the dis- 

 tinction between them always clear? Give examples. 



15. Explain each of the traits which we consider to be characteristic of living 

 organisms. 



16. Discuss radioactive isotopes and their roles in the studies of diseases of living 

 organisms. 



17. Discuss the roles which radioactive isotopes may play in tracing certain 

 chemicals throughout plants. 



18. Discuss the electrical properties displayed by protoplasm and how these 

 phenomena may explain certain functions and abilities in a living organism. 



SELECTED REFERENCES 



Alexander: Life: Its Nature and Origin, Reinhold Publishing Corp. 



Davson and Danielli: The Premeability of Natural Membranes, The Macmillan 



Co. 

 Lotka: Elements of Physical Biology, Williams & Wilkins Co. 

 Moulton: The Cell and Protoplasm, Science Press Printing Co. 

 Osterhout: The Nature of Life, Henry Holt & Co., Inc. 

 Rice and Teller: The Structure of Matter, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 

 Schrodinger: What Is Life ? The Macmillan Co. 

 Seifriz: Protoplasm, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. 



