I had this very question in a biology test not long ago. Requirements for the definition of life:
they have to be born
have a form specific of the species
ability to synthesize
ability to feed itself
breathe(aerobically or anaerobically)
grow
interact and adapt with the environment
breed autonomously(within species)
evolve
die
Viruses can't reproduce by themselves.
I honestly think a teacher which decides to use questions still open to debate by the scientific community are putting themselves on a position where they can get challenged by their smart-*** students.
That could be very well a sort of trick to detect which students did their research deeper.
Now the opposite can be true too. I've seen teachers get their face down to shame when questioned by students before. lol