Characteristics of
ALL
Living
Things

Unity
• common features (characteristics) of all living things
1.Metabolism
2.Reproduction
3.Heredity
4.Homeostasis
5.Responsiveness
6.Made up of cells
7.Growth and Development

1. Metabolism
• obtain and use energy
• put together molecules
– two or more smaller molecules become one larger molecule

• take apart molecules
one larger molecule becomes two or more smaller molecules

2. Reproduction
• make more living things
– can take place at the cellular level
• individual cells reproduce to make new cells called
“daughter cells”

• can take place at the organism level
- individual organisms reproduce to make new organisms called
“offspring”

3. Heredity
• all living organisms contain molecules of
DNA and can pass on all or portions of their DNA to their offspring
– DNA passes traits or characteristics from parent to offspring

- some offspring are identical to the parents asexual reproduction/clones
- some offspring are a genetic combination of the parents sexual reproduction

4. Homeostasis
• maintaining a constant state in the body of the organism
– any change in state will throw off the balance of homeostasis
– the change in the organisms is not always externally visible

• organisms must adapt to their external environment
– ex – changes in temperature, light, moisture, etc….

• Organisms must adapt to their internal environment.
- ex – changes in temperature, nutrient levels, hormones, etc

5. Responsiveness
• must be able to react
• short and typically directly observable
– internal conditions
• ex – hungry and out of food; move to where food is
– external surroundings
• ex – a predator is near; hide, run, or fight

6. Made up of cells
• smallest unit of all living things
– some living things are unicellular
• made up of one single cell

– some living things are multicellular
• made up of 2 or more cells that work together to live
• different types of cells within a multicellular organism have different structures and functions

7. Growth and Development
• after reproducing, all cells grow in size
– both unicellular and multicellular
• unicellular organisms grow in size because the cell grows

7. Growth and Development
• multicellular organisms grow in size because the cells grow in size and the number of cells increases
• as cells grow, they change, or develop
– cells need to develop so that they can take on new functions necessary to maintain life