Viruses: living or dead?

Question 1

Are viruses living or dead? Explain your answer briefly.

Answer 1

Viruses are on the border between living and non-living. They show some features of living things but lack many others.

Question 2

What are the four arguments for why viruses are not alive?

Answer 2

Non-living:
1. Are non-cellular

2. Cannot reproduce by themselves
3. Do not have ribosomes, mitochondria or other cell organelles
4. Only have one type of nucleic acid (living things have both DNA and RNA)

Question 3

Can viruses reproduce by themselves?

Answer 3

no

Question 4

What do living things require to be classified as ‘alive’ that viruses do not have both have?

Answer 4

Only have one type of nucleic acid (living things have both DNA and RNA)

Question 5

What are the three arguments for why viruses are alive?

Answer 5

1. Contain genetic material (DNA or RNAJ
2. Have a protein coat
3. Can replicate (inside a living cell)

Question 6

When can viruses replicate?

Answer 6

inside a living cell

Question 7

Why are viruses not included in any of the five kingdoms of living things?

Answer 7

Viruses are not included in any of the five kingdom of living things. This is because viruses are non-cellular and do not carry out any metabolic reactions on their own.