Essential Characteristics of Living Organisms

1. 7 Characteristics of Living Things

2. COMPOSED OF CELLS All living things are made up of at least one cell Cell – • Basic or smallest unit of life • Membrane bound structure in which all life processes are carried out

3. CELLS All organisms are organized at the cellular level This organization enables organisms to carry out important life processes.

4. REACT AND RESPOND TO STIMULI • Stimulus – is anything that may cause an organism to react - Loud noises, hunger • Response - the reaction to something in the environment - Run/cover ears, Eat/hunt for food

5. Environment – All the surroundings of an organism Homeostasis – maintaining a stable internal environment Adaptation – Change in traits over time that help an organism survive better in an environment; inheritable changes

6. REPRODUCE ·Asexual – single parent produces offspring identical to parent ·Sexual – 2 parents produce unique offspring having characteristics or traits of each parent

7. Contain DNADeoxyribonucleic Acid Genetic material that contains the “blueprints” for each organism Provides directions for the making of proteins

8. OBTAIN & USE ENERGY Required to carry out life processes- making and breaking down food, movement of materials and building of cells Metabolism – the sum of all the chemical processes in an organism

9. METABOLISMThe Sum of All Biochemical Processes • Obtain Nutrition Sun is the source of most energy Producers - Make food Consumers - Eat Decomposers – Absorb 2. Digestion – Break down of large food particles into smaller pieces

10. Respiration–Mixing food with oxygen (O2)to release energy Food + O2 H2O + Waste Energy • Synthesis –Process of putting together or building up Making more cells – Growth Repair of Replace old cells • Excretion – removal of wastes

11. GROWTH – the increase in size of an organism Surface to volume ratio limits how large a cell can grow GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

12. Growth in Single-Celled Organisms In single-celled organisms growth occurs by an increase in cell size Cell can either stay big or divide

13. Growth in Multi-celled Organisms In multi-celled organisms growth occurs by production of new cells • ·Increases the total number of cells in the organism • ·Increases total surface to volume ratio

14. Surface to Volume Surface area Volume Volume O2 , Food H2O Wastes

15. DEVELOPMENT ·Newborn puppies can’t see at birth ·Human babies develop the ability to speak and walk Development – All the changes an organism undergoes as it grows and matures

16. LIFE SPAN All organisms, and individual cells, have a specific life span Includes: Birth Death Stages in Human Life Cycle Birth  Infancy  Childhood  Adolescence  Adulthood  Advanced Adulthood  Death

17. 4 Basic Needs of All Living Things

18. Food Needed to provide Energy to carry out life processes Ultimate source of energy is the sun Can get food as a producer, consumer or decomposer Provides raw materials for growth and repair

19. Water Cells contain ~70% water • ·Needed to release energy in food and for other biochemical reactions • ·Required for transporting materials throughout organism ·Helps with dissolving or diluting waste products

20. Air or Gases ·Carbon Dioxide (CO2) required for photosynthesis - converting of energy from sun into food (glucose) organisms can use ·Oxygen (O2) required for respiration- releasing of energy from food (glucose) into energy organism can use ·Other gases are needed in smaller amounts for various life processes; not required by all organisms

21. Environment Biotic - living parts; other organisms that meet all 7 characteristics Living things may have to compete for their living space Abiotic-non-living parts; physical features such as air, water, temperature (climate) Must contain all the needs for that organism to survive

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