CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

8 MAJOR TRAITS THAT ALL LIVING THINGS SHARE

Identify this Characteristic of Life

Ameba

Protists video

Living Things are made up of 1 or more CELLS

•Cells are small, self-contained living units

•Unicellular organisms are made up of a single cellAmeba

•Multicellular organisms are made up of many cells

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Living Things can REPRODUCE

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION -

2 PARENTS – Offspring different from parents

• ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION -

1 PARENT –

To produce new organisms of the same type.

offspring copy (clone) of parent

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GROW & DEVELOP• All living things

grow or become larger (cell enlargement or

in cell #)• Most living things

go through stages of development in their life span

• (birth, infancy, childhood, adult, senior, death)

Paramecia feeding

Tubeworms aroundHydrothermal vent

Obtain and Use Energy

• Our bodies need energy to function

• Sun – ultimate source of energy for most life on earth

• Autotrophs use the sun’s energy to make food (Photosynthesis)

• Heterotrophs ingest other organisms for food & energy.

- Cellular Respiration – The process used by all living things to break down food to release the energy in it.

HAVE A METABOLISM• Inside every living organism complex chemical complex chemical

reactionsreactions are taking place• Some of these chemical reactions build things

needed by the organism.– Ex. Protein Synthesis (the making of proteins)

These are called Anabolic Reactions.• Some chemical reactions break things down

– Ex. Digestion – all living things break down food to release the nutritents & energy in it.

These are Catabolic Reactions.

CATABOLIC REACTIONS +

ANABOLICREACTIONS = METABOLISMMETABOLISM

•Metabolism is the total total of all the chemical reactions going on inside an organism.

RESPOND TO STIMULI

• All living things do this in order to keep alive & healthy

Examples: 1) Days become shorter and the

temperature gets colder - bears grow a thicker coat 2) Your body temperature goes up - you

sweat (Identify the Stimulus & the Response in

these examples)

MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS

• Responding to the environment allows an organism to maintain HomeostasisHomeostasis.

• HomeostasisHomeostasis – keeping conditions inside their bodies

stable and suitable for life.Homeo – “same”Stasis – “standing” or “state”

ADAPT AND EVOLVE

8 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

LIVING THINGS:1. ARE MADE UP OF CELLS2. REPRODUCE3. GROW & DEVELOP4. OBTAIN & USE ENERGY5. HAVE A METABOLISM6. RESPOND TO STIMULI7. MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS8. ADAPT AND EVOLVE