Characteristics of
Life, Chapter 1.3
Biology
Mr. Harger
Living things are:

Made of cells (p17)
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Small, self-contained units
Collection of living material enclosed by a barrier,
separating it from the rest of the environment
Extremely diverse
Unicellular versus multicellular

Multicellular shows specialization
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/images/cells.gif
Living things:

Reproduce (p17)
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Production of new organisms
Sexual versus Asexual
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Sexual requires 2 parents, one reproductive cell
from each
Asexual involves only 1 parent, splitting or
branching
http://www.tulane.edu/~wiser/protozoology/notes/images/ciliate.gif
Living things are:

Based on a universal genetic code (p17)
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Offspring resemble their parents
Deoxyribonucleic acid = DNA

Molecule that carries directions for inheritance
from one generation to the next
http://news.bbc.co.uk/furniture/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/human_genome/dna_infograph1.gif
Living things:

Grow and develop (p18)

Every living thing has a life cycle
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Pattern of growth and change over time
Increase in size
Cells of organisms not only increase in number,
but also differentiate
http://nursingcrib.com/wp-content/uploads/growth-chart2.jpg
http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_images/incompletechange.gif
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/images/5701f02.gif
Living things:

Obtain and use materials for energy (p18)

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Metabolism – a build up or break down of
materials in the body
Photosynthesis – using NRG from the sun to
make food
Consumers eat photosynthetic organisms or
other animals for NRG
Decomposers obtain NRG from the remains of
organisms no longer living
http://www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/RRC/images/636px-Recycle001.svg.png
http://erin-wnax.itmblog.com/files/2009/07/food_pyramid.jpg
Living things:

Respond to their environment (p19)

Environments are constantly changing
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Such things as light and temperature vary from
day to day
Other living things and nonliving things also
change
An organism may change its surroundings
An organism changes in response to the
changes in its surroundings for survival
Living things:

Maintain a stable internal environment
(p19)

Homeostasis


Keeping an internal consistency for survival
If homeostasis is majorly disrupted, the organism
cannot survive
http://scienceblogs.com/clock/upload/2006/06/Homeostasis-Fig.jpg
http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/488/500571/CDA38_2.jpg
Living things:

Change over time (p20)

Evolve – change of any given kind of organism
over time
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Small generational changes may be insignificant
Changes over thousands or millions of years may
be dramatic
The ability of a group of organisms to change
over time is invaluable for survival in a world that
is always changing
http://science.kukuchew.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/explosm-evolution-t-shirt.jpg