Transcript 2. Characteristics of Life(7)

1.
List 10 things that are living.
2. After you have made your list, tell
three to five things they have in common.
All living things share some basic properties.
1. Made of Cells
2. Reproduce
3. Obtain and Use Energy (Metabolism)
4. Homeostasis
5. Based on Genetic Code (Heredity)
6. Respond to Environment
7. Grow and Develop
8. Evolve or Change Over Time
1. Made of Cells
• Smallest unit capable of all life functions
– Cells are the basic unit of life
– They have all of the characteristics of life
Unicellular Organisms:
• Entire organism is
made up of one single
cell
• Examples: Bacteria
and protists
Multicellular Organisms
The organism is made up of
many cells
Cells have specialized
functions within the organism
Examples: Plants, Animals,
Fungi
2. Reproduce
• Reproduction is the process of producing
new organisms of the same type
Asexual Reproduction
A single parent organism reproducing by
itself
Sexual Reproduction
Two different parent organisms contribute genetic
information
Involves the combination of male and female sex
cells
3. Obtain and Use Energy
• Living organisms need energy for
metabolic processes, to grow, develop,
repair damage, and reproduce
3. Obtain and Use Energy
• AUTOTROPH
• Produces its own
food
3. Obtain and Use Energy
• HETEROTROPH
• must consume food
(other organisms)
3. Obtain and Use Energy
• DECOMPOSER or
SAPROBE
• Breaks down dead
material for food
• Absorbs nutrients
Anabolism
The process of building up complex substances
from simpler substances
 Building up cells and cellular components
 Photosynthesis
Catabolism
The process of breaking down complex
substances into simpler substances to release
energy
 Digestion
Cellular Respiration
Metabolism
All of the chemical reactions in an
organism
Anabolism + Catabolism = Metabolism
4. Maintain Homeostasis
• A stable state of conditions in the body
that are necessary for life
4. Maintain Homeostasis
Body temperature
sweating, panting,
shivering
Blood volume
pH balance
Water balance
5. Based on Genetic Code
• Genes carry hereditary information
• Genes are composed of DNA
• Heredity is the reason children resemble
their parents
5. Based on Genetic Code
• Mutations
change DNA
code and can
be passed
from
generation to
generation
6. Respond to Environment
Organisms react to stimuli:
Light , Temperature, Odor, Sound
Gravity, Heat,
Water,
Pressure
6. Respond to Environment
• An example is a plant’s leaves and stems
growing toward light or upward in
response to gravity
MA Moca “Tree Logic”
(North Adams MA)
In Tree Logic, the familiar, almost iconic
shape of the tree in nature is the result of
gravitropic and phototropic responses:
the tree grows away from the earth and
towards the sun. When inverted, the six
trees in this experiment still grow away
from earth and towards the sun - so the
natural predisposition of trees might
well produce the most unnatural shapes
over time.
7. Grow and Develop
Grow: Get bigger or
increase in size
Develop: Change in physical
form, shape or structure
7. Grow and Develop
Life Span
• Birth to Death. How long an
organism lives
Life Cycle
• Stages of development during
the life of an organism.
8. Evolve or Change Over Time
• Individuals may experience many changes
in their life span but their basic traits are the
same.
• As a group a species will change over time
and the general traits will be different.
8. Evolve or Change Over Time
• Adapt to long-range changes in environment
• Change to better survive in environment
• These changes take place over a long period of time &
involve the entire species
8. Evolve or Change Over Time
• Adaptation: A process that enables
organisms to become better suited to their
environment.
• Desert plants have
succulent waxy leaves
and stems to store
water and reduce
water loss
8. Evolve or Change Over Time
• A Species may
obtain
adaptations
through
evolution over
long periods of
time
Virus vs Cell
Viruses, Viroids & Prions
•Seem like like living things,
acellular particles are not alive.
1. Are not made of cells
2. Cannot reproduce on their own
3. Do not grow or undergo division
4. Do not transform energy
5. Lack machinery for protein
synthesis
6. Are so small that they can only be
seen with an electron microscope
Take the Quick Quiz
• Hand in your notes and Quiz for a grade.
• Homework: Vocabulary List
1. Respiration
7. Synthesis
2. Aerobic
8. Homeostasis
3. Anaerobic
9. Organic
4. Cells
10. Inorganic
5. Metabolism
11. Autotroph
6. Assimilation
12. Heterotroph