How Life Works
Explore the foundational mechanisms that power all living things, from microscopic cells to sprawling ecosystems. Understand how bodies harness energy, how DNA passes down traits, and why life adapts to survive.
Like Duolingo, but for How Life Works. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Living Engine and Inheritance and Adaptation. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in How Life Works
- Living things must constantly bring in outside energy and get rid of waste to maintain their complex organization
- Without an external energy input, biological systems inevitably run down and reach equilibrium, which means death
- Energy cannot be recycled perfectly without loss; it gradually dissipates as unusable heat
- Burning fuel all at once releases most energy as intense heat, which would destroy cell structures
- Breaking food molecules apart in a controlled, stepwise cascade lets the cell capture energy in usable chemical packets
- Food molecules act as stable chemical storage that requires specific enzymes to unlock step by step
- Oxygen acts as the final receiver at the end of the cellular respiration assembly line
- When oxygen is absent, electrons back up along the line, stalling the cell's main energy-producing machinery
- Breathing out releases carbon dioxide, while the oxygen you breathe in combines with spent electrons and hydrogen to form water
- Every living cell relies on ATP as its common, rechargeable chemical battery for everyday tasks
- Food energy is converted into ATP rather than being used directly to power cellular machinery
- When ATP discharges energy for cell work, it can be recharged again during respiration
- Plants use energy from sunlight to stitch carbon dioxide from the air into energy-rich sugars
- Oxygen is released as a byproduct during this fuel-making process
- The sugars built by plants form the primary base of food for nearly all other ecosystems on Earth
- All living organisms consist of one or more cells enclosed by an outer boundary
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives How Life Works the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
Why can't your body simply reuse the exact same energy over and over forever?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where How Life Works takes you
- 1
The Living Engine
- Turning Food and Air into Action
- Cells: The Microscopic Workspaces
- 2
Inheritance and Adaptation
- DNA and Passing Down Traits
- How Environments Shape Species
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
How Life Works is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Science on Tomo
The Living World Around You
Stop seeing just plants and animals and start seeing the invisible systems that keep life moving. Learn how your body works, how nature stays in balance, and the secrets hidden in your DNA.
The Living Puzzle: Mastering Evolution
Move beyond basic survival of the fittest to understand the complex dance of life. Discover how genes shift, why weird traits persist, and how the history of the Earth is written in our own DNA.
How the Human Body Works
Discover the incredible machinery of human anatomy and physiology. Learn how your bones, muscles, nerves, and organs work together in real time to keep you moving, thinking, and alive.
The Secret Life of Cells
Explore the microscopic world within you, where tiny biological machines work tirelessly to keep you alive. Learn how cells build, power, and repair themselves in this comprehensive guide to the building blocks of life.
Photosynthesis: Solar Power for Life
Go beyond the basics of 'sun meets leaf' to discover how plants actually capture light and turn it into fuel. Learn how the green world breathes and powers almost every living thing on Earth.
The Secret Life of Clouds
Ever wonder why clouds stay up in the sky or why they change shape? Discover the hidden science behind the fluffy white shapes floating above your head.
Start How Life Works today.
Download Tomo, search How Life Works, and play your first lesson in under a minute.