1-3 Studying Life Slide 1 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things What are some characteristics of living things? Slide 2 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things Characteristics of Living Things No single characteristic is enough to describe a living thing. Some nonliving things share one or more traits with living things. Slide 3 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things Living things share the following characteristics: • maintain a stable internal environment • Organized • grow and develop • Reproduce • change over time • based on a universal genetic code • made up of units called cells • obtain and use materials and energy • respond to their environment Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall Slide 4 of 45 End Show 1-3 Studying Life Living things maintain a stable internal environment. Although conditions outside an organism may change, conditions inside an organism tend to remain constant. This process is called homeostasis. Slide 5 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Living things are organized in base units called cells. Slide 6 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Living things grow and develop. During an organism’s development, cells differentiate, which means that the cells look different from one another and perform different functions. Slide 7 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Living things reproduce. In sexual reproduction, cells from two different parents unite to form the first cell of the new organism. In asexual reproduction, a single parent produces offspring that are identical to itself. Slide 8 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things All living things have special characteristics that help them survive. Over many generations these adaptations can lead to changes in a species. Taken as a group, livings things change over time. Over many generations, groups of organisms typically evolve. Slide 9 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things Living things share a universal genetic code. Organisms store the information they need to live, grow, and reproduce in a genetic code in a molecule called DNA. Slide 10 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Characteristics of Living Things Living things obtain materials and use energy. The combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials is called metabolism. Slide 11 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life Living things respond to their environment. Slide 12 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show 1-3 Studying Life How will you remember these 8 characteristics of life? HOG RACER Slide 13 of 45 Copyright Pearson Prentice Hall End Show