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Is It Alive?

Learn how to determine if something is alive by understanding the 9 essential characteristics of living organisms and their processes. Discover the importance of synthesis, transport, respiration, adaptation, nutrition, growth, excretion, reproduction, and cells in determining life.

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Is It Alive?

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  1. Is It Alive? • How do we know when something is alive? • The world is made up of many different things. • Some things, like plants and animals, are living. • Other things, like cars and rocks are non-living. • Living things are called *organisms*

  2. Living or Non-living? • You know plants and animals are living things. • How do you know this? • All living things (YES, ALL LIVING THINGS) have certain characteristics in common. • We will remember them by remembering THIS phrase: • STRANGER-C

  3. S T R A N G E R C • There are 9 characteristics (processes) which are necessary for life: • Synthesis • Transport • Respiration • Adaptation/Response • Nutrition • Growth/Genetics • Excretion • Reproduction • Cells

  4. Synthesis • Synthesis means to make / build something more complex • Think Legos

  5. Transport • Transport means movement • Transportation is the process by which substances enter and leave our cells and become distributed within the cells • Think of water moving from the roots of a tree all the way to the leaves at the top of the branches • Think of your blood circulating through your body

  6. Respiration • Cell Respiration the process of changing energy stored in food into a chemical energy (ATP) which cells can use • Two types: • Aerobic – Uses oxygen • Anaerobic – Does not use oxygen • AKA: FERMENTATION

  7. Adapt/Respond • Adaptation is any inherited factor that improves the chances of survival • All living things need to adapt and respond to their environment if they are to survive • Adapting means changing to be better able to survive • Think of polar bears in sub-zero temperature • Responding means reacting to changes in the environment • Stimulus= any factor (signal) that causes a change/response - It’s a change in the environment which causes a reaction • Doorbell • Phone Ringing • Response= a reaction to a change caused by a stimulus • Goosebumps • Sweat Know these 2!

  8. Nutrition • Nutrition means taking in nutrients needed to make energy and survive • Ingestion means to take IN food • Think of you munching on a Big Mac • Digestion means breaking down large “stuff” (complex materials) into smaller/simpler forms • That Big Mac doesn't go sloshing around beneath your skin, smearing ooey-gooey yummy-ness all over your muscles and bones, does it????

  9. Growth & Genetics • Growth means to increase in size and/or number • Even though we appear to stop growing… we always need new cells to repair/replace old ones! • Genes are necessary for this to happen! • Your GENES are made up of DNA that contains the instructions for the cell (and we'll learn TONS about that later on!)

  10. Excretion • Excretion means to get rid of cellular waste (NOT POOP!) • You excrete in many ways: • Pee-ing (Yup.... I said that too!) • Sweat • Ever wonder why the underarm area of your favorite white tee-shirt ends up stained and yellowed???? • Breathing • What happens when you breath on a mirror???

  11. Reproduction • Reproduction means that living things are able to make more of their own kind (offspring). • Two types: • Asexual – one individual produces offspring which are identical to the parent • Sexual – two individuals are required to produce offspring and the organism they produce is not identical to either parent • This is the ONLY life-characteristic that is NOT required for an organismto stay alive....

  12. CELLS • Cells are the building blocks of EVERY living organism • The basic unit of structure and function of all living things • EVERY single cell is actually alive and.... • Can exist on it’s own • unicellular • Or work with other cells to make a different organism • multicellular

  13. Needs of Living Things • ALL living things NEED certain things to survive • Can you think of anything you would NEED in order to stay alive? • Remember… NEEDING something is different from WANTING something! • List a few “NEEDED” things:

  14. Needs of Living Things ALL living things NEED certain things to survive: ENERGY – The primary source of energy for ALL life on earth is the SUN FOOD & WATER – ~70% of your body is water! AIR – Air is made of the gases which plants and animals need to survive LIVING SPACE – Living things need a place to get food, water and energy PROPER TEMPERATURE –The internal temperature must remain in a certain range….

  15. Important Words to Know !!!!! Metabolism = ALL the chemical reactions occurring within an organism Homeostasis = “Steady State”. Maintaining a stable internal environment (Even when the external environment changes!) - What’s your body temperature??? Do you think it changes (inside) if it’s super cold outside??? Super hot???

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