Are all living things made up of cells or all living things made up of atoms or is it both?

Question

Are all living things made up of cells or all living things made up of atoms or is it both?

Answer 1

Both.

Atoms make up all matter, both living and non-living.  In living organisms, atoms like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon combine (along with a few others) to form proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, etc.  These molecules then combine to form the organelles in cells.  For example, the cell membrane consists of phospholipids (which is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and phosphorous atoms) and proteins (which are made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, etc. atoms).

So all living things are made up of atoms and cells.  All non-living things are made up of atoms, but not cells.