Things that are technically alive
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Things That Are Technically Alive — Daily trivia Sunday, May 31, 2026: questions and answers
All 10 questions with answers and explanations. Play this daily
Q 01Pando, a 47,000-stem single organism in Utah's Fishlake National Forest, is a clone of which tree?
- ACoast redwood
- BGiant sequoia
- CQuaking aspen
- DBristlecone pine
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Quaking aspen
Pando's quaking aspen stems look like a forest but are one male clone joined by a single root system across about 106 acres, a contender for the heaviest living organism.
Q 02Which kingdom of life includes mushrooms, yeasts and molds?
- AFungi
- BAnimalia
- CPlantae
- DProtista
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Fungi
Fungi are eukaryotic organisms that include a vast variety of species like yeasts, molds, and mushrooms. They are heterotrophic, meaning they obtain nutrients by absorbing organic compounds from their environment.
Q 03What is the process by which organisms maintain a stable internal environment called?
- AHomeostasis
- BAdaptation
- CPhotosynthesis
- DCatabolism
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Homeostasis
Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to maintain constant internal conditions, such as body temperature or pH, within a narrow range, despite fluctuations in the external environment. This is a key characteristic of life.
Q 04What composite organism is a symbiosis between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacterium?
- AMycorrhiza
- BPlankton
- CLichen
- DBiofilm
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Lichen
A lichen is not a single organism but a stable symbiotic association between a fungus and a photosynthetic partner, typically an alga or cyanobacterium. This partnership allows them to survive in extreme environments.
Q 05Sea sponges belong to which phylum of multicellular animals?
- ACnidaria
- BAnnelida
- CMollusca
- DPorifera
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Porifera
Sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates belonging to the phylum Porifera, meaning 'pore bearer'. They are considered the simplest multicellular animals and are sessile filter feeders.
Q 06What is the general term for dormant, protective structures produced by plants, fungi and bacteria?
- AGametes
- BZygotes
- CSpores
- DPollen
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Spores
Spores let plants, fungi and some bacteria wait out bad times, and bacterial endospores can resist heat, drying, radiation and disinfectants until conditions improve.
Q 07What in fungi's cell walls distinguishes them from plants and bacteria?
- AChitin
- BLignin
- CPeptidoglycan
- DCellulose
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Chitin
A characteristic that places fungi in a different kingdom from plants, bacteria, and some protists is the presence of chitin in their cell walls. Chitin is also found in the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans.
Q 08Which biological entities replicate and evolve but need a host cell to carry out metabolic functions?
- ABacteria
- BViruses
- CAlgae
- DProtozoa
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Viruses
Viruses possess genetic material (DNA or RNA) and can evolve and replicate, but they lack cellular structure and the metabolic machinery to reproduce independently, requiring a host cell. Whether they are truly 'alive' is still debated.
Q 09Which eight-legged microscopic animals survive radiation, vacuum and drying out by entering cryptobiosis?
- ARotifers
- BCiliates
- CAmoebas
- DTardigrades
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Tardigrades
Tardigrades, or water bears, draw in their legs and dry into a 'tun' with their metabolism below 0.01% of normal, then revive quickly when water returns.
Q 10To which domain of life does the tiny hot-vent microbe that can only survive attached to its host Ignicoccus belong?
- ABacteria
- BArchaea
- CProtista
- DEukarya
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Archaea
Nanoarchaeum equitans, found at a vent off Iceland, belongs to Archaea; its cells are just 400 nanometres wide, and it can't make its own lipids or amino acids, so it feeds off its host.
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