Characteristics of Life and System Organization

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Biology

▪ is the study of life.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

(1) Order

(2) Reproduction

(3) Growth and development

(4) Energy processing

(7) Evolutionary adaptation

(6) Regulation

(5) Response to the environment

Characteristics of Life

Order—the highly ordered structure that typifies life.

Order

Reproduction—the ability of organisms to reproduce their own kind.

Reproduction

Growth and development—consistent growth and development controlled by inherited DNA.

Growth and development

Energy processing— the use of chemical energy to power an organism’s activities and chemical reactions.

Energy processing

Response to the environment—an ability to respond to environmental stimuli.

Response to the environment

Venus flytrap video

Regulation—an ability to control an organism’s internal environment within limits that sustain life.

Regulation

Evolutionary adaptation

Evolutionary adaptation—adaptations evolve over many generations as individuals with traits best suited to their environments have greater reproductive success and pass their traits to offspring.

Life’s hierarchy of organization

▪ Biological organization unfolds as follows:– Biosphere—all of the environments on Earth that

support life.

– Ecosystem—all the organisms living in a particular area and the physical components with which the organisms interact.

– Community—the entire array of organisms living in a particular ecosystem.

– Population—all the individuals of a species living in a specific area.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Life’s hierarchy of organization

– Organism—an individual living thing,

– Organ system—several organs that cooperate in a specific function,

– Organ—a structure that is composed of tissues and that provides a specific function for the organism,

– Tissues—a group of similar cells that perform a specific function,

– Cells—the fundamental unit of life,

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Life’s hierarchy of organization

– Organelle—a membrane-bound structure that performs a specific function in a cell.

– Molecule—a cluster of small chemical units called atoms held together by chemical bonds.

© 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Biosphere

Madagascar

Ecosystem:

Forest inMadagasc

ar

Community:All

organisms in

the forest

Population:

Group of ring-tailed

lemurs

Organism:Ring-tailed

lemur

Organ system:Nervous system

Organ:

Brain

Tissue:

Nervous

tissue

Nerve

Spinal cordBrain

Organelle:

Nucleus

Cell:Nerve

cell

Nucleus Atom

Molecule:DNA

Biosphere

Madagascar

Ecosystem:Forest in

Madagascar

Community:All organisms in

the forest

Population:Group of ring-tailed

lemurs

Organism:Ring-tailed

lemur

Organism:Ring-tailed lemur

Organ

system:

Nervous

system

Organ:BrainTi

ssue:Nervous tissue

Nerve

Spinal cord

Brain

Organelle:Nucleus

Cell:Nerve cell

Nucleus

Atom

Molecule:DNA

Put in Order Largest to Smallest • Organelles• Cells• Organism• Biosphere• Populations• Tissues• Molecule• Communities• Organ systems• Ecosystem• Organs

Name the Level of Organization