CP Biology
2015-2016
Name
______
____________
UNIT 1A: Characteristics of Living Things
*Biology: the scientific study of life
1.3 Studying Life
Nonliving things may share some features in common with
living things, but only living things show ALL of the
characteristics of life.
What characteristics do all living things have in common? There are 8
major characteristics presented in the "Visual Summary" on pages 18-19
of your textbook.
8 Characteristics of Life
1) ___are based on a universal genetic code_______
2) ___grow and develop________________________
3) ___respond to their environment______________
Living and nonliving things are alike because they are both
made of atoms and/or molecules
4) ___are made up of cells______________________
An organism is any one individual living thing. There is a
huge diversity of organisms on Earth. Note: At the end of
your book there is a comprehensive "Visual Guide to the
Diversity of Life" (p. DOL-1 to DOL-64).
6) ____obtain and use materials and energy_______
5) ____taken as a group, living things evolve______
7) ____maintain a stable internal environment______
8) ___reproduce_______________________________
Draw a picture of what you think
LIVING THINGS:
DNA looks like below
In this space you will draw a
picture of DNA that your
Teacher shows you.
*1) are based on a genetic code
A molecule called DNA is used within the cell(s) of all living things
to store the complex information they need to live, grow and
reproduce. DNA is the genetic material of the cell which contains
codes for the building of proteins.
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
twisted ladder, double helix
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LIVING THINGS:
*2) grow and develop

What is the difference between growth and development?
Growth means getting larger;
Development means changing features.
(ex: butterfly life cycle; puberty)

To grow:
unicellular organisms will increase in __size_______
Definitions 
multicellular organisms will increase in _size________ AND
____amount/ number_________________________
LIVING THINGS:
*3) respond to their environment
*Label each of these examples –
Put an "S" by the stimulus and an "R" by the response:
*Stimulus: a signal to which an organism responds
*Response: specific reaction to a stimulus
a) When you touch something hot _S__ you pull your hand away
__R__
Stimuli and/or responses may be
b) A blowfish becomes larger and extends is spikes __R___ when it
is threatened by a predator __S___
internal (inside the body) or
External (outside the body).
c) The carbon dioxide level in your blood becomes too high _S___
so your breathing rate increases __R____
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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LIVING THINGS:
 This is a(n) _animal______ cell
*4) are made up of cells
Cells are the basic units of structure and function in living things.
All cells come from other cells.
*cell: the basic unit of all forms of life
This  organism is a(n) _amoeba_____
and is _unicellular_______
 unicellular: made up of only one cell
Unicellular organisms must accomplish all life activities
within one cell.
 This organism is a(n) _blowfish___
 multicellular: made up of more than one cell
and is __ multicellular _______
In multicellular organisms, cells must work together to
accomplish the organism's life processes.
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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LIVING THINGS:
*5) taken as a group, living things evolve
Organisms pass on traits (Physical, Physiological and Behavioral
characteristics) from one generation to the next by their DNA.
Variations are differences in the traits of organisms.
Organisms can't generally choose or change their characteristics.
Ultimately, all variations can be traced back to mutations.
*Mutation: change in the genetic material of a cell
Certain variations may enhance an organism's ability to survive and
reproduce. These traits are referred to as adaptations.
*Adaptation: heritable characteristic that increases an
organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in an
environment
The environment largely dictates what is an adaptation and what is
not. A trait may benefit survival in one environment and hinder
survival in another. (ex, think of a snowshoe hare trying to hide in a
NJ forest!)
*Evolution change over time; the process by which
modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
How do populations change (evolve) over time?
*Natural Selection: the process by which organisms that
are most suited to their environment survive and reproduce
most successfully; also called survival of the fittest.
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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LIVING THINGS:
*6) obtain and use materials and energy
Materials and energy move between the living and nonliving parts of
ecosystems.
All living things fit into one of the following two categories:
*heterotroph: organisms that obtains food by consuming
other living things; also called a consumer
Examples: all animals, fungi, various types microorganisms
(bacteria, protists)
*autotroph: organisms that are able to capture energy
from sunlight or chemicals and use it to produce its
own food from inorganic compounds; also called a
producer
Examples: all plants, various types of microorganisms
(bacteria, protists)
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
food chains and food web start at the producers
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Photosynthesis: can be summarized by the following
chemical equation:
6 CO2 + 6 H2O  C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Carbon dioxide plus water yields Glucose and oxygen
Cellular Respiration: process that releases energy by
breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the
presence of oxygen
Cellular respiration can be summarized by the following chemical
What is the relationship between photosynthesis and
cellular respiration?
______cycle________________________________________________
The products of one reaction become the
reactants of the other reaction
equation:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2  6 CO2 + 6 H2O
Glucose and oxygen yields Carbon dioxide plus water
*****IMPORTANT*****
All organisms undergo
cellular respiration!
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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Some additional examples of metabolism include: digestion,
*metabolism: the sum of all chemical reactions in an
transport, movement, growth, reproduction, excretion of wastes,
individual cell or organism
respiration, regulation of cellular activities, metabolism, etc. – in
When metabolism stops, an organism cannot perform life functions
which leads to death.
LIVING THINGS:
*7) maintain a stable internal environment
*Homeostasis: relatively constant internal
physical and chemical conditions that organisms
maintain.
Homeostasis is about trying to stay (relatively) the same
inside no matter what goes on outside.
Organisms maintain homeostasis through the
use of feedback mechanisms. Feedback
mechanism: a loop system where the system
responds to changes either in the same
(positive) or opposite (negative) direction.
other words, ALL LIFE PROCESSES!
Life functions are based on___chemistry____!
Examples:
a) regulation of body
temperature:
when it's cold humans
_shiver_ and when it's hot
we sweat__ so that we can
maintain our body
temperature around 98.6F.
b) _breathing when CO2 levels
are high
c) hormonal response to
blood volume
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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Fill in the blanks to identify the type of reproduction shown.
LIVING THINGS:
*8) reproduce
_____Asexual_____ Reproduction:
The process of reproduction ensures that DNA is passed
from parent(s) to offspring.
Reproduction is necessary for the survival of the species
NOT the individual.
Two types of Reproduction:
*Asexual: process of reproduction involving
a single parent that results in offspring that
are genetically identical to the parent
_____Sexual_______ Reproduction:
*Sexual: type of reproduction in which cells
from two parents unite to form the first cell
of a new organism
Either method of reproduction has the potential to
be very successful - depending on the species and
its environment. Some organisms can undergo
http://www.mrgscience.com/uploads/2/0/7/9/20796234/7145453_orig.gif
both asexual and sexual reproduction.
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have:
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CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING THINGS
Taxonomy: the science of classification - which involves
grouping and naming organisms.
*Species: a group of similar organisms that can breed and
produce fertile offspring.
How do we group and name species?
Organisms are named using a system of
*Binomial Nomenclature: classification system in which
each species is assigned a two-part scientific name.
Each organism is placed into a series of hierarchical groups based on
characteristics and similarities shared with other members of that
group. Classification gives us a way to sort and group organisms for
easier study, as well as assign each its own scientific name.
The scientific name of an organism is often very different from the
organism’s common name.
Scientific Name: composed of an organism's genus and
species names.
The genus is capitalized and the species is not. Put the words in
italics or underlined.
Ex) Red Oak tree - Quercus rubra
Modern humans? Homo sapiens
The more classification groups that two organisms share, the more
closely related they are.
1) What is the scientific name of the bactrian camel?
___Camelus bactrianus_________
2) Circle the pair of organisms that have more in common
from the choices below:
A: Bactrian Camel and Llama
B: Bactrian camel and Dromedary
C: Bactrian camel and Sea Star
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have.
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Six kingdoms are now classified in broader 3 groups called Domains:
Eubacteria, Archaebacteria and Eukarya
Prokaryote: no nucleus
Eukaryote: nucleus containing DNA
ORGANISM
APPROX
ORGANISM
APPROX
LIFESPAN
LIFESPAN
(years)
(years
Bristlecone Pine
3,000-4,700 years
Toad
36
Douglas Fir
750
Deer
35
Galapagos Tortoise
193
Cobra
28
Box Turtle
123
Cow
22
Swan
102
Queen Ant, Chicken, Sheep
15
Parrot
80
Tiger Salamander
11
Human
79
Green Frog
10
Eleplant
69
Hummingbird
8
Catfish
60
Queen Bee, Gerbil
5
Eagle
55
Most Insects
< 1year
Horse
50
Adult Honeybee Workers
6 weeks
Let's discuss just one more feature that all living things have in common... all living things must die.
Life Span: how long an organism lives.
Organisms cannot always maintain homeostasis in all environmental conditions. If an organism cannot continue its metabolism and
maintain homeostasis, its life will cease.
Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have.
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There is some debate over whether viruses are living or
nonliving. Most agree that they are nonliving because they
are unable to INDEPENDENTLY carry out all life
processes – they are particles made of DNA and other
organic chemicals that can replicate only by infecting living
cells.
Explain why someone would think that viruses are
considered living things based on the 8 characteristics of
life.
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Your personal notes, summary of the lesson, and/or questions that you may have.
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