Diff: 2 Page Ref: 685-686. 18) If the vagal nerves to the heart were cut, the result would be that ________. A) the heart would stop, since the vagal nerves trigger the heart to contract. B) the heart rate would increase by about 25 beats per minute. C) the AV node would become the pacemaker of the heart.
Living things have seven essential processes in common:  movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutrition. All things fall into one of three categories: living, used to be living or not living; the presence of all seven life processes indicates a living thing.
(4) The final characteristic of living organisms is that they carry out metabolism (synthesis and degradation of substances) in their cells (see Chapter 8). Metabolism is a process in which organisms synthesize ATP to store energy, and then release that energy by hydrolysis, obtaining heat in the process.