Could someone give me solid information that will prove that cars are NOT alive?

Question

My 9th grade science teacher is making me extremely angry by trying to convince all of us that there is no evidence to prove that a car is not alive, specifically a Volkswagen Beetle. I am going to have a seizure if I cannot prove to her that she is WRONG.

Well maybe I won't but please help me =]

Answer 1

Hmm, all living things need to be able to sense their surroundings and respond independently and appropriately.

Answer 2

Cars are cute with their big shiny eyes. They are definitely alive. xD

They are like pets you keep in ur front yard or garage =D

(Lol)

Answer 3

RACHEL, HEY GIRL. We just learned this in biology today, so:

1. It can't reproduce. Have you ever seen two cars doing the nasty? Didn't think so.

2. They can't adapt. Yea duh.

3. They don't have an organized structure. Like, two cars could be completely different on the inside.

and then there's a bunch of other stuff that I don't remember cuz I haven't studied yet. but why does your wonderful private school have a stupid teacher?

Answer 4

Given the eccentricity of some of them they could well be alive.

Furthermore dont ever even think, not to mind say out loud, that a car is running well.  

Answer 5

It cannot reproduce on it's own, either sexually or asexually.  

Answer 6

Cars do not self-reproduce.  Somebody else (a factory) has to make a new car.  Cars carry neither the  parts nor the information necessary for them to self-reproduce.

Self-reproduction is one of the decisive points concerning whether or not something is "alive".

in other words, for something to be considerd "alive", the something must be capable of "having babies", or otherwise creating new units just like itself without outside help OTHER THAN the contribution of genetic material from a similar individual. In other words, there are no "Mommy" and "Daddy" cars . . .!

We know that viruses, for example, do not require "Mommy" and "Daddy" viruses to make a new virus. BUT . . .Each individual virus is capable if reproducing  by itself.  Certain single-celled animals uses ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION to split into two new individuals.

But MOST living things on this planet uses some sort of SEXUAL REPRODUCTION to create new "units" just like themselves, but with a mixture of secondary genetic characteristics.

There is also the potential argument that life, as we define it, must contain some sort of genetic code (DNA) in each individual part (cell), which, of course, automobiles do not.

Automobiles contain many differnt parts, but the information necessary to make the part is not included with the part, and it is certain that the entired blueprint for the automobile is not contained in each individual nut, bolt, and s***w.

Basically, anything that is manufactured (cars, telephone, computers, refrigerators, televisions, plastic bags . . . .etc) is not alive, the reason being that it cannot reproduce itself.

Answer 7

It's hard to prove a negative but you could smash your teacher's car. Of course it won't hit you back. Then tell the teacher to try and do the same with a cat!...

Answer 8

simply it do not have a soul.

Answer 9

They don't reproduce or have hereditary material.

Thats the ONLY evidence for life as far as i'm concerned.

Answer 10

I must disagree with Jo on a couple of points. The first is #5: what does a plant do? I plant doesn't take in oxygen and release Carbon Dioxide; in fact, it's quite the opposite!

The second point is #7: using an assumed conclusion to prove a point that proves the conclusion is quite the logical fallacy!

Answer 11

There are 7 things that all living things can do and if the cannot do even one of them the thing is not living.

Not in the correct order.

1. Produce Waste (They do)

2. Movement (They do)

3. Reproduce (They do not)

4. Growth (They do not)

5. Respiration (Take in Oxygen, give out carbon dioxide) (They do not)

6. Take in nutrients (They do not).

7. They can die (It can be argued that they can die, but since they are not living then I would say they cannot die.)

Answer 12

all living things need to reproduce, have cells and need to grow! how could a car be alive thts ridiculous! srry

Answer 13

Three characteristics of life they're missing:

a) They do not respond to their environment.

b) They do not synthesize the components of which they are built, by themselves.

c) The do not reproduce by themselves.

Therefore they are not alive.  They are more like viruses, but have a few non-virus properties:

a) Motility

b) burning of fuel for energy which is used for motility (and a few other things)

Answer 14

Well it depends on whether or not that specific vehicle is a transformer. Transformers are autonomous robotic organisms and do have a method of creating new transformers (using the allspark), thus all though they are not biological life forms, they may well be defined as being very close to being living things.

Just kidding, lol! Cars are pretty abiotic, and thus not alive. As with everything though it all depends on how your viewpoint and how you define it. The science textbook definition of life removes many biotic substances (such as viruses, prions, viroids, virusoids) from the category of life, even though all of these entities clearly affect other organisms in manners similar to infectious (living) bacteria. The only thing keeping them out of the genre of life is the fact that they need hosts to reproduce (not capable of self reproduction).