CHAPTER IV 

 LIVING AND NONLIVING MATTER 



Living matter or matter which has been arranged under the influence 

 of Hfe is termed organic; other matter is inorganic. Any living thing may 

 be called an organism. No element is found in living matter which is not 

 found also in nonliving, but only a small part of those which are found in 

 nonliving matter occur in living. As will be seen later, no more than 

 about a dozen of the 92 elements known can be looked upon as normal 

 constituents of living matter. Moreover, so far as is known, no forces 

 operate in living matter differing from those operating in nonliving mat- 

 ter, but all of the phenomena of living matter involving energy may be 

 explained in terms of the same physical forces which operate in all inor- 

 ganic matter throughout the universe. 



25. Contrast between Living and Nonliving Matter. — Many points 

 of contrast have been enumerated between living and nonliving matter, 

 some of which are more significant and others less so. None of them is 

 capable of being applied in every case successfully and in such a manner as 

 to yield an immediate result. It is frequently stated that both definite- 

 ness of size and definiteness of form distinguish living things, but this 

 distinction is only a very general one. Some crystals conform very closely 

 to a certain size and approach with great mathematical exactness a 

 typical form, but, generally speaking, masses of inorganic matter vary 

 much more in size and shape than do masses of living matter. Con- 

 formity to type form is one of the most effective means of distinguishing 

 the species of living organisms. The more important contrasts between 

 the two kinds of matter are the following: 



1. Chemical Composition. — Living matter, while varying in its precise 

 chemical structure, approaches very closely, both in the number of 

 elements contained and in the proportions between them, a certain 

 definite composition. So close is this agreement that living matter is 

 recognized as made up of a particular substance to which is given the 

 name protoplasm. This does not occur in nonliving matter. 



2. Organization. — Protoplasm possesses an internal organization, 

 evidenced not only by its appearance under the microscope but also by 

 certain chemical relationships, the presence of which is necessary in 

 order that it may carry on the phenomena and exhibit the reactions 

 which are associated with life. 



3. Metabolism and Growth. — Protoplasm also possesses the power of 

 waste and repair and of growth. The carrying on of life activities 

 involves the breaking down of hving matter with the formation of wastes, 



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