British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Life definition

Description: What do we mean by 'Life?' There are things that are 'alive' and those that are not. For example, humans, animals, plants and bacteria are all alive. Examples of things that aren't alive would be books and tables.

There are a number of ways we can tell whether something is alive. If something grows, then it's alive - things that aren't alive can't do this. It's the same with food and drink: something has to be alive if it has a metabolic system that generates energy. Plants turn towards the sun to make the most of the sunlight because they're alive. Humans respond to stimuli like heat - we experience pain because we are alive. Living things are also able to reproduce, they may give birth to their young or through cells multiplying. Life also has the ability to adapt to its environment and evolve over time. Non-living things are not able to do any of these things.