th
6
Grade
Life Science!!!!
What are the
characteristics of a living
Organism?
The following are characteristics of
living things.
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Be made of cells
Produce gas exchange
Need food
Respond to environment
Adapt to environment
Eliminate waste
Reproduce
Grow
What are cells?
Cells are the building blocks of
life. EVERY LIVING THING IS
MADE OF AT LEAST ONE
CELL.
Types of Cells
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Plant Cells - multicellular
Animal Cells - multicellular
Monera (bacteria) – single celled
Fungi (mushrooms) - multicellular
Protist (parmecium) – single celled
Multi-cellular vs. Single Celled
 Multi-cellular
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Living things that are
made of more than
one cell
Examples: People,
flowers, trees,
animals, fungus (
 Single
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Celled
Living things that are
only one cell
Examples:
paramecium, all types
of bacteria
What makes up an Animal Cell
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Nucleus – The brain, controls all activity
Mitochondria - Produces Energy, breaks down
sugar
Cell Membrane – The outer most layer
Cytoplasm – Watery substance protects the
parts
Endoplasmic Reticulum – Carries things
through the cell
Golgi Body – Packages and exports protein
What do Cells have to do with us?
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Here is the order in which we are made of cells
Cells
Tissue – Muscle tissue
Organs – heart, brain, stomach, liver, etc...
Organ Systems – nervous, digestive, etc…
Organism – Us!
Other Types of Cells
Plant Cell
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Cell Wall – Outside layer, gives it structure so
the plant can grow tall
Cell Membrane – provides protection
Nucleus – Controls everything
Chloroplast – Makes energy from the Sun and
give plants their green color
What do they have in common
How do cells and organisms
reproduce?
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Cells – reproduce through asexual reproduction
When cells reproduce they are exactly the same
as the original cell
When the nucleus splits into 2 identical new
nuclei it is called mitosis
Is this important
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YES, if they were not identical they would not
do have the same function
Asexual Reproduction
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Advantages:
It is a faster process
It only requires 1 parent
cell
The offspring perform
the same function
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Disadvantages:
Do not adapt well
If there is a genetic
defect in the cell it will
still continue to
reproduce
Sexual Reproduction
Advantages
 A stronger offspring is
produced that adapts
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Disadvantages
 It is a slower process
 It takes two parent cells
Organisms
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Most living organisms reproduce through sexual
reproduction
This is when the female egg cell is fertilized by
the male sperm cell.
In this type of reproduction the offspring is not
identical to the parents.
They get traits from both parents
What are traits
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Inherited Traits – Characteristics passed down
from your parents that you can’t control.
Can you give examples of inherited traits
Examples
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Rolling your tongue
Eye color
Hair color
Attached ear lobes/detached ear lobes
Where is all this
information stored?
Your DNA
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DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid
This is the blueprint that make up all your
inherited traits.
The odds of someone have the same DNA as
you are more than 1 : 1,000,000,000
Learned Traits
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Things that you can develop over time, but they
are not passed down from your parents.
Examples: typing on a computer, batting in
baseball/softball, how fast you read, foul shots
?’s
Rocks and Minerals
 What
are minerals?
Minerals are…
 Naturally
formed, inorganic solid that
has a crystal structure and a chemical
composition
 Can you give me example of minerals?
Examples
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Sulfur
Graphite
Talc
Calcite
Quartz
Diamonds
Gold
Pyrite
There are over 3,000 known
minerals.
What do we do to determine
the type of mineral?
Test them!
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Color – yellow, white, clear, black, etc…
Luster – metallic/nonmetallic
Hardness – Moh’s scale 1 - 10
Streak – the color of the powder when rubbed
an a surface.
Others – is it magnetic, taste, and smell
How are rocks formed and where
do they come from?
They come from 2 things
 Minerals
 Other
rocks
-They are formed through
something called the Rock Cycle.
- What are the different types of
rocks?
Igneous
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Igneous Rocks – They are formed from magma
when it cools and hardens. Example: Granite
Types are:
Intrusive – cool slowely and harden under the
surface
Extrusive – cool quickly and harden above the
Earth’s surface.
Sedimentary
Sedimentary – they are formed from other
pieces of rocks called sediments. They are
compacted and cemented together.
Example: limestone, sandstone, shale
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Metamorphic
Metamorphic – They form from heat and
pressure being applied to existing rocks. The
heat and pressure is so great it changes the
composition.
Example:
Marble – comes from limestone
Slate – comes from shale
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Physical Vs. Chemical Change
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Physical changes – The chemical makeup
doesn’t change. It is still the same thing.
It changes it’s state of matter.
Examples: Ice melting, tearing a piece of paper
Chemical Changes – Changes its chemical
makeup or what it actually is.
Examples: baking a cake, combining baking soda
and vinegar.