UNIT 1: THE CHEMICAL BASIS OF LIFE
1A: Characteristics of Living Things
The Big Picture…
Science is a body of knowledge and skills acquired through systematic
experimentation and observation to describe natural phenomena; or, more simply,
it is a “way of knowing”. The process of science helps biologists investigate how
nature works at all levels. Living organisms are made of molecules that react with
each other in predictable ways. There are four main groups of biological
molecules that make up the structure of living things and control their functioning.
The structure (form) of molecules leads to their function. There is a great diversity
among living organisms yet there are similar characteristics that all organisms
share.
 What is science? What is biology?
 What does it mean to be ‘alive’?
 How can species change over time?
 What are the basic chemical principles that affect living things?
 How do the unique properties of water make life on earth possible? Why
is water so important to organisms?
 What role do biological molecules play in sustaining and controlling life?
 How do chemicals combine and break apart inside living things?
 How do enzymes control the rate of reactions?
 How does chemical structure lead to biological function?
Prerequisite Knowledge…You should:
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Be able to use basic math skills.
Be familiar with the steps of the scientific method.
Be able to construct and interpret graphs.
Be able to perform simple metric measurements & conversions.
Suggested Resources…
Note Packet, Homework and Classwork Assignments
Laboratory Activities
Formative Assessments
Websites: http://www.learningscience.org/tools_to_do_science.htm
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Courses/bio104/sci_meth.htm
http://www.lsua.info/chem1001/Chap2-3Movies/metric.html
Textbook – Biology (Miller and Levine, 2010) (Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 16.3, 2.1,
2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 30.2)
The following information is found in your completed note packet.
By the conclusion of this unit, you should know the following:
1) Biology is the study of living things.
2) All living things exhibit the following eight characteristics: made of cells,
utilize a universal genetic code, obtain and use materials and energy, grow
and develop, reproduce, respond to their environment, maintain a stable
internal environment, and change over time.
3) Natural selection is a mechanism for evolution involving descent with
modification.
4) Viruses are considered non-living because they do not exhibit all of the
characteristics of living things.
5) Taxonomy is the science of classification which involves grouping and
naming organisms.
6) The system of classification has been modified significantly over time, and
new taxonomic categories have been added as new techniques have been
developed and new information and organisms have been discovered.
7) Today’s classification system includes eight hierarchical taxa: species,
genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain.
8) Scientists utilize a two-word method (genus + species) of naming each type
of organism, known as binomial nomenclature.
The following are prompts (questions) to help prepare you
for the application of the material you learn this unit.
By the conclusion of this unit, you should be able to do the following:
9) Explain the characteristics of living things and use them to justify whether
or not something is ‘alive’.
What are the 8 characteristics of life? Can you determine if something is
alive, once alive but now dead, or non-living (never alive) by using the 8
characteristics of life?
Identify the cell as the basic unit of structure and function in living things.
What is the basic unit of structure and function in living things?
Distinguish between examples of unicellular and multicellular organisms.
What are the differences between unicellular and multicellular
organisms?
Give general examples of life processes which verify the existence of
metabolic activity.
What are examples of life processes that occur in organisms that justify
that metabolic (biochemical) activity occurs?
Compare and contrast alternate ways organisms obtain energy from their
environment to undergo metabolic activities (autotrophs vs. heterotrophs).
What are the similarities AND the differences between the way
autotrophs and heterotrophs obtain energy from their environment in
order to undergo metabolic activities?
Realize that all organisms undergo cellular respiration and some also
perform photosynthesis.
Do ALL organisms undergo cellular respiration?
Which organisms undergo photosynthesis?
Do organisms that photosynthesize also undergo cellular respiration?
Explain the interdependence of photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Does photosynthesis depend on cellular respiration? Does cellular
respiration depend on photosynthesis? If so, what is the dependence
between photosynthesis and cellular respiration? (Explain how one
reaction needs the other.)
Describe how growth differs from development.
How is growth different from development? What are examples of
growth in an organism and what are examples of development in an
organism?
Differentiate between sexual and asexual reproduction as different methods
of producing offspring.
Sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction are different methods of
producing offspring (babies, next generation, etc).
What are the differences between sexual and asexual reproduction?
Give example(s) of how an organism might respond to internal/external
stimuli to maintain homeostasis.
How would an organism respond to a stimulus (signal), either inside or
outside the body, in order to maintain homeostasis?
Provide an example of how a mutation can lead to the adaptation and
evolution of a species.
How can a mutation lead to the adaptation and evolution of a species?
Explain why viruses do not fit the definition of a living thing.
Are viruses considered living things based on the 8 characteristics of
life? Which characteristics of life do viruses possess? Which
characteristics of life do viruses lack? Which characteristics of life do
viruses need a host in order to express?
Sequence the eight hierarchical taxa (species, genus, family, order, class,
phylum, kingdom, domain).
What is the order of the eight levels of taxonomy?
Recognize how closely related two organisms are based on their scientific
name (binomial nomenclature)
How can you determine how closely related two organisms are to one
another using their scientific name?
Characteristics of Living Things Vocabulary
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Words Found in the Glossary
1) Science:
2) Biology:
3) Metabolism:
4) Autotroph:
5) Heterotroph:
6) Photosynthesis:
7) Cellular Respiration:
8) Asexual Reproduction:
9) Sexual Reproduction:
10) Homeostasis:
11) Stimulus:
12) Response:
13) Species:
14) Adaptation:
15) Mutation:
16) Evolution:
17) Natural Selection:
18) Binomial Nomenclature:
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Words NOT Found in the Glossary (but may be within the textbook)
19) Organism:
20) Offspring:
21) Unicellular:
22) Multicellular:
23) ATP:
24) Growth:
25) Development:
26) Life Span:
27) Taxonomy:
28) KPCOFGS: (what does this stand for?)