Transcript The Characteristics of Living Things

It’s Alive!
Or Is It?
The Characteristics of
Living Things
The Characteristics of Living Things

What do All living things (organisms) have in
common? There are six characteristics that
all living things need in order to be living.

Characteristic One:
–
–
All living things are made of one or more cells.
Cells are the smallest unit that can perform all life
processes.
The Characteristics of Living Things

Characteristic Two:
–
Living Things Sense and Respond to Change.

Stimulus- A change that affects the activity of an
organism.
–

Examples of Stimuli- gravity, light, temperature,
hunger.
Homeostasis- The ability of an organism to keep
steady or stable internal environment.
–
Examples of Homeostasis- After running, your heartbeat
eventually returns to normal.
The Characteristics of Living Things

Characteristic Three:
–
Living Things Reproduce.

Sexual Reproduction: Two parents produce offspring
that will share the characteristics of both parents.
–

Example: Animals, people
Asexual Reproduction: A single parent produces
offspring that are identical to the parent.
–
Example: bacteria
The Characteristics of Living Things

Characteristic Four:
–
Living Things Have DNA.




The cells of all living things contain a chemical
called deoxyribonucleic acid.
When organisms reproduce they pass their DNA to their
offspring.
DNA contains all your genes.
Heredity- The passing of traits from one generation to
the next.
The Characteristics of Living Things

Characteristic Five:
–
Living Things Use Energy

All living things use energy to carry out the activities of
life;
Metabolism- The total of all the chemical activities that
the organism performs.
The Characteristics of Living Things

Characteristic Six:
–
Living Things Grow and Develop


All living things increase in size over their lifespan.
All living things develop or change over time.
–
Example: Babies learning to walk, a puppy learning to sit
and play catch.
The Characteristics of Living
Things
1) All living things are made of one or more
cells.
2) Living Things Sense and Respond to
Change.
3) Living Things Reproduce.
4) All Living Things have DNA.
5) Living Things Use Energy.
6) Living Things Grow and Develop.