Living systems

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/living-systems

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the system definition?Life forms treated as open, self-organizing entities interacting with their environment
2. What is the core processes?Maintenance and adaptation driven by continuous flows of information, energy, and matter
3. What makes a living system different from a rock or a machine?Living systems are open, meaning they constantly exchange energy, matter, and information with their surroundings. They can also organize themselves without outside direction, keeping their structure and function alive.
4. Why do living things need energy, matter, and information?Energy powers growth, movement, and repair. Matter provides the building blocks for the body. Information, like DNA, tells the system how to behave and develop.

Open System: A system that exchanges energy, matter, and information with its environment.
Self-organization: The spontaneous emergence of order and structure within a system.
Thermodynamics: The study of energy and its transformations, crucial for understanding life's processes.
Cybernetics: The study of control and communication in animals and machines, relevant to information flow.