1
Name: __________________________
Date:______________
Unit 1A- Characteristics of Living Things
NOTES
Biology: _______________________________________________________________
Another word for a living thing is an __________________________.
Although the many types of organisms may appear to be different from one another,
they all share common characteristics.
Part A- 8 Important Characteristics of Living Things:
1. Are made up of ___________________
2. Based on a _____________________________________________________
3. _________________________
4. ________________ and _____________________________
5. ________________ to their environment
6. ____________________ a stable internal environment
7. Taken as a group, _____________________
8. Obtain and use ____________________ and _____________________
Can you think of a characteristic that living things and non-living things have in
common?
______________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes
2
LIVING THINGS:
1. are made up of cells
Cell: The basic unit of all forms of life
Organisms can be either:
1. Unicellular organisms:
Made up of only one cell that must accomplish all of its life processes.
Examples:
_______________________________________________________________
2. Multicellular organisms:
Made up of more than one cell.
The different cells must work together to accomplish the organism’s life processes
Examples:
_______________________________________________________________
LIVING THINGS:
2. are based on a universal
genetic code
What is the genetic code of all organisms?
_________________________________________________________
What does it do? Why is it an important and necessary part of every
cell?
 DNA is the __________________________________ of the cell which
contains codes for building ____________________
 Proteins contribute to our ________________.
A section of the DNA that codes for a certain protein is called a ___________
The reason different cells in the same organism can have a different structure and
function even though they all have the same DNA (genes) is because different genes are
being used in these different cells. A specific cell will have certain genes
____________________ while other genes are ___________________________.
Summary/Additional Notes
3
LIVING THINGS:
3. Reproduce
The process of reproduction ensures that DNA is passed from parent(s) to offspring.
Is reproduction necessary for the survival for the individual or the species?
______________________________________
2 types of Reproduction:
1. Asexual Reproduction
2. Sexual Reproduction
examples:
examples:
Both types of reproduction have the potential to be very successful. Which type of
reproduction is used depends on the species and its environment.
Summary/Additional Notes
4
LIVING THINGS:
4. Grow and Develop
Both growth and development take place as an organism matures. How would you
differentiate between these 2 processes?
1. Growth -_____________________________________________________________
2. Development - ________________________________________________________
LIVING THINGS:
5. Respond to their environment
Stimulus - a ________________ to which an organism responds.
Response - a ______________ to a stimulus.
*Label each of these examples – Put an "S" by the stimulus and an
"R" by the response:
a) When you touch something hot ___ you pull your hand away ____
b) A blowfish becomes larger and extends is spikes _____ when it is
threatened by a predator _____
c) The carbon dioxide level in your blood becomes too high ____ so
your breathing rate increases ______
Stimulus
1
2
Summary/Additional Notes
Response
5
LIVING THINGS:
6. Maintain a stable internal environment
When organisms maintain relatively constant or stable internal conditions we call this
___________________________.
These conditions must be maintained within certain limits regardless of any internal or
external changes.
Examples:
 Regulation of body temperature:
When it's cold, humans _____________ and when it's hot we ______________
so that we can maintain our body temperature around 98.6°F.

Blood pH should be around ________. Various molecules called _____________
work to keep your blood at the correct pH.
LIVING THINGS:
7. Taken as a group, Evolve
EVOLUTION:
_____________________________________________________________________
Natural selection: the process by which organisms that have traits that make them better
able to _________________in their environment will be more successful at
______________________ and therefore pass these traits on to future generations.
 What will happen to the population of these
beetles over time? Why?
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes
6
How do the new traits (variations) that are “selected for” by natural selection arise in
organisms? (Where do these new traits or variations come from)?
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
LIVING THINGS:
8. Obtain and use materials and energy
Materials and energy move between the living (_____________) and nonliving
(_____________) parts of ecosystems.
Organisms must be able to:
a)
produce or obtain nutrients (like _______________ and _____________)
b)
convert the nutrients into a usable form of chemical energy called ATP
c)
use these forms of energy to power their life processes.
All living things fit into one of two categories based on how they produce or obtain
nutrients:
Heterotrophs or (_________________ ) –

Obtain food by _______________________ other living things
Examples:____________________________________________________________
Autotrophs or (_________________ ) 
Capture energy from ________________ or ________________ and use it to
produce their own food
Examples:____________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes
7
Photosynthesis- Process used by autotrophs to convert carbon dioxide and water into
__________________ using energy from the __________________.
What is the purpose of photosynthesis?
______________________________________________________________________
 The food is then used to _____________ the ______________ of the organism
and make cellular energy (ATP- energy that cells can use to power their
processes).
Cellular Respiration- Process that __________________________________ by
breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen.
What is the purpose of Cellular Respiration?
______________________________________________________________________
NOTE: ALL ORGANISMS MUST UNDERGO CELLULAR RESPIRATION!!!!!!
Summary/Additional Notes
8
Put the words “photosynthesis” and “cellular Respiration” in the correct blank on the
diagram.
How are photosynthesis and cellular respiration related?

The _________________ of one reaction become the ________________ of the
other.

In other words, each reaction makes what the other reaction needs.
The combination of all of your chemical reactions is called your:
____________________________________________
What would happen if your metabolism were to stop?
______________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes
9
One more feature that all living things have in common ... all living things must
__________________.
Life Span: how ______________ an organism lives.
Why can’t organisms just live forever?
1. Over time there is ________________ to the DNA and cells.
2. Organisms cannot always maintain _____________________ in all environmental
conditions.
3. Earth has a limited supply of resources. When organisms die, the materials in their
cells are ________________ back into the environment for use by new generations of
living things.
Part B- Classification of Organisms
____________________________ is the science of naming and classifying organisms.
In the 1700s, a Swedish scientist named Linnaeus devised a classification system called
__________________________________, where every different of organism is given a
two–word Latin name.
The first word is called the _____________________.
The second word is called the ____________________. (often a descriptive word, such
as a color or physical patterning).
The Species Concept: What is a species?
___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Common Name
Daffodil
Human
Bullfrog
Green frog
Leopard frog
Summary/Additional Notes
Scientific Name
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
Homo sapiens
Rana catesbiana
Rana clamitans
Rana pipiens
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Linnaeus took organisms from different species and grouped them into larger and more
general categories based on similarities; similar organisms are placed in the same group.
Linnaean Taxonomic Categories
The 7 major categories in classifying organisms, from most general to least general
(most specific) are:
1.
Kingdom
is divided into
2.
Phylum
is divided into
3.
Class
is divided into
4.
Order
is divided into
5.
Family
is divided into
6.
Genus
is divided into
7.
Species
Most
General
Most
Specific
KPCOFGS: ____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes
11
Classification of Several Organisms within the Animal Kingdom
Human
kingdom Animal
phylum Chordata
Mammalia
class
Primates
order
family Hominidae
Homo
genus
species sapiens
Wolf
Animal
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
lupus
Turtle
Animal
Chordata
Reptilia
Chelonia
Emydidae
Terrapene
carolina
1. Of the following, the broadest (most general) classification category is
A. class
B. phylum
C. genus
D. order
2. Two organisms classified in the same class must be in the same
A. phylum
B. family
C. order
D. genus
3. Two organisms classified in the same class could be in the same
A. genus
B. order
C. family D. all of these
4. Of the following, Rana catesbiana is most closely related to
A. Rana pipiens
B.Homo sapiens
C.Xenopus laevis
6 Kingdoms of
Living Things
On Earth
Summary/Additional Notes
D. Felis domesticus
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Viruses - Are they living or not living?
There is some debate over whether viruses are living or nonliving. Most agree that they
are nonliving. Why?
 They are unable to _________________________ carry out all life processes.
 They are particles made of DNA and proteins that can replicate only by
__________________ living cells.
 They do not belong to any ____________________ and do not contain any
__________________.
Explain why someone would think that viruses are considered living things based on the
8 characteristics of life.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Summary/Additional Notes