Final answer:
Option D) Giraffes have longer necks that allow them to reach food sources unavailable to other animals is NOT related to the five fundamental characteristics of life, which include reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, heredity, and response to stimuli. This option describes an evolutionary adaptation rather than a basic life process.
Step-by-step explanation:
The five fundamental characteristics of life are reproduction, metabolism, homeostasis, heredity, and response to stimuli. Among the options given:
- A) A bacterial cell divides to produce two cells relates to reproduction and heredity.
- B) Sugars are broken down inside cells to produce energy relates to metabolism.
- C) The gene that specifies skin color in frogs is expressed during its development from a tadpole into an adult frog relates to heredity and the process of growth and development.
- D) Giraffes have longer necks that allow them to reach food sources unavailable to other animals does not directly relate to any of the five fundamental characteristics of life since it is more about the physical adaptation rather than an intrinsic life process.
Therefore, the correct answer is D) Giraffes have longer necks that allow them to reach food sources unavailable to other animals; this statement does not relate to the five fundamental characteristics of life. It is more of a result of a long-term evolutionary process affecting physical traits, rather than a fundamental characteristic of life like metabolism or reproduction.