Characteristics of Life

1. Characteristics of Life Biology 11

2. Abiotic • Non-living • Was never living • Water • Rocks • Glass • Chaulk

3. Biotic • Living • Was once living (dead) • Frog • Human • Tree knocked down in forest • Flower

4. What is Biology? Biology is (bios- life; logos – the study of) the study of living things. There are more than a million different types of life forms on Earth right now that have been discovered by scientists. The big question is what is alive and what isn’t?

5. Characteristics of Life There are 7 characteristics which tend to get mentioned when talking about living things They follow the acronym MRS NERG

6. MRS NERG • M – movement • All organisms move in one way or another. Whether it is moving from one place to another or plants moving in response to sunlight.

7. MRS NERG • R – reproduction • The ability to produce offspring

8. MRS NERG • S – sensitivity • All living organisms will respond to external stimuli.

9. MRS NERG • N – nutrition • All living organisms need nutrition in order to survive. Some can make it themselves while others need to ingest it.

10. MRS NERG • E – excretion • All living organisms have some mechanism for excretion of unwanted materials from their “bodies”

11. MRS NERG • R – respiration • All living organisms take part in cellular respiration – the ability to make energy from materials ingested

12. MRS NERG G – growth All living organisms will get larger as they get older

13. MRS NERG • M - movement • R - reproduction • S - sensitivity • N – nutrition • E - excretion • R – respiration • G - growth

14. Biotic or Abiotic? Block of Wood

15. Biotic or Abiotic? Nail in a block of wood

16. Biotic or Abiotic? Onions in the garden

17. Biotic or Abiotic? Moving Car