How is plant life related to animal life? And Did animal life evolve from plant life?

Question

Also I'd like to know things like,

Which came first, plant or animal life? (or did they come about at the same rate?)

Are organisms like bacteria more closely related to plant or animal life?

How did plant life begin?

Intuitively, we sense there is something different about plant life from animal life - but what exactly is that difference? There are plants that can move quickly, like a Venus Flytrap, and animals that act more the way we think plants would act, like a sea anemone.

Thanks for your answers!

Answer 1

Animal life did not evolve from plant life.  Both plant life and animal life evolved on parallel paths from common ancestors.  That is why you see the overlap in structures that you mentioned.  At one time there were only single celled life forms.  At that point it would have been difficult to call them either plants or animals.  From there several different lines evolved specializing in different ways which eventualy lead to all the plants and animals we know today.  Some biologists have even said there are not clear distinctions between plants and animals, but that plants are really nothing but very slow moving animals.