Name:
Characteristics of Life Worksheet
Identify the characteristic of life that is illustrated by
each of the following statements.
WORD BANK
•
Made of Cells
• Development
•
•
Reproduction
Growth
• Responds to Stimuli
• Evolve/Adapt
•
Obtain and Use
Energy
• Maintain homeostasis
1. _______growth ______ “That boy shot up five inches in
only one year.”
2. _____Reproduction_____ “Our cat had a litter of kittens
yesterday.”
3. ______respond to stimuli_____ “My dog has become much
less clumsy now that he is a year old.”
4. _____Development_______ “Eat a good breakfast and you
will be able to run longer.”
5. ____Evolve and devlops_________ “When that car pulled
in the driveway, my cat ran to hide under the porch.”
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6. ____Made of cells____ “That owl’s night vision allows it to
see the movement of mice on even the darkest night.”
7. ____Maintain Homeostasis________ “Single-celled
organisms live in the pond behind school.”
8. ____Obtain and use energy_______ Your body normally
maintains a temperature of 98.6OF.
9. Which of the following is a stimulus, which is a response?
a) the recess bell ringing in an elementary school
___stimulus_______
b) your mouth watering at the sight of food on a plate
___response____
c) a sudden drop in air temperature
___ stimulus
d) a flu virus entering your body
____ response ______
e) getting “butterflies” in your stomach before giving
a speech.
______ response _____
10.Determine if each of the following describes a living or
nonliving thing.
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a) rust eating a hole in a metal bucket
__nonliving____
b) an apple on a tree
c) bacteria
living______
d) lightning
___nonliving_____
e) a dinosaur fossil
f) a wasp
*
___nonliving_____
*
*
*
__nonliving______
___living______
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Biology is:
=The Study of living things_______________
Living Things are called:
=________Organisms__________________
List Characteristics of ALL LIVING THINGS
1.
______________Have
Cells____________________________
2.
___________Move________________________
3.
________________Exchange
gases____________________
4.
_____________________Sense
and
change____________________
_____________________________Grow
Develop_____________
Respond
to
5.
and
6.
__________________________use
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Energy
_______________
7.
_______________________Excrete
waste___________________
8.
_________________________Reproduce___________
_____
Modern science has changed the way people understand
their world. In the past, the people of many societies thought
that mountains, rivers, and forests were “alive.’ In much the
same way that animals and plants are alive. Today, most people
recognize a difference between living and non-living things.
DIRECTIONS: Fill out the table below. Explain HOW each
shows the characteristic of life IF it does.
Feature of Life
made of cells?
uses energy?
responds and
adjusts to
changes?
Dog
Fast-moving stream
Tissue
Made of h20
Runs Around
Flows down a river
When a dog hears a
door or a person it
Water will go right over
any objects dropped
gets defensive to
protect
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reproduces?
It has puppies
It streams out into
paths
grows and
develops?
It grows by
increasing in size and
It grows in size by
receiving more water
understands more
things
and rising up
Life is organized into many levels. The simplest level at which
life exists is the cell. Life is also organized on nonliving levels
(below the cell) and levels above the organism.
DIRECTIONS: Use your notes to arrange the following levels
of organization in order for simplest to most complex:
WORD BANK
• Tissue
• Cell
• Organ
• Organism
• Organ System
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LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION:
____Cells__
SIMPLE
____Tissue________
____Organ_______
_____Organ System____
_____Organism_____
MOST COMPLEX
DIRECTIONS: Match each word to its definition
___D__ 1. Organ
___A__ 2. Cell
_____ 3. Organ System
___E__ 4. Organelle
___B__ 5. Tissue
___C__ 6. Organism
A. Basic unit of structure and function in an organism
B. Group of similar cells that work together to perform a
task
C. A living thing that may be unicellular or multicellular
D. Group of similar tissues working together like the heart
or lungs
E. Parts of a cell such as the nucleus
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