The specific way I am measuring your peer response is using the N.O.W. format.  When you give the peer response that you want me to grade, start off by saying This is my peer response for the discussion board assignment.  Then use the N.O.W. format: Notice something of interest, Offer a comment or connect to a personal experience or previous learning, and then Wonder about something or clarify or question.

David Escobar

Hello everybody, I have selected the third prompt which asks to classify a goldfish, slug, and air conditioner with a thermostat as either living or non-living based on how they respond to their environment. I will classify something as living only if it has observable responses to the environment it is in. Beginning with the goldfish, I will state why I believe it is living. Through observation, it is clear to see that a goldfish, if hungry, will move toward a food source. In addition, they may swim away from something that poses as a threat. Thus, through its’ response to the environment, I classify a goldfish as living. Like the goldfish, I will also classify the slug as living. A slug may respond to its’ environment by avoiding hot, dry areas where it would too much moisture. A slug will also change its’ activities in the colder months compared to warmer ones. Lastly, I will classify an air conditioner with a thermostat as living. An air conditioner with a thermostat has the ability to sense temperature and begin cooling its’ environment if it determines it to be too hot. It may sound absurd to state something like that, but I believe it to be logically correct based on the preset conditions. This is why for something to be classified as living it must meet more than one criteria. Rather, it should meet all four of the criteria listed such as energy use, reproduction, interaction with the the environment, and evolution to be correctly classified as living. For example, an air conditioner with a thermostat would not be classified as living if  all four conditions were used. An air conditioner with a thermostat does not reproduce, and it does not evolve.