Characteristics of Living Things
304-4 illustrate and explain that the cell is a living system that
exhibits all the characteristics of life
• As I said before, a cell is the smallest
living system in your body.
• Each cell is like a little body that has its
own organs and does stuff that living
organisms do.
• What makes something living (biotic) or
non-living (abiotic)? What stuff do living
organisms do?
Living
Non-living
What are the six characteristics of
Living Things?
a. Living things are made up of cells
b. Living things reproduce, grow, and repair
themselves.
c. Living things require and use energy.
d. Living things respond and adapt to their
environment.
e. Living things have a life span.
f. Living things produce waste.
A. Living things are composed of cells
The cell is the basic unit of
life. Every living thing is
either a cell or contains cells.
What is the function of a cell?
A cell takes in fuel and builds material,
transforms energy, grows and reproduces.
The cells of all species are pretty much the
same in the way they are built and the way
they work.
B. Living things reproduce, grow and
repair themselves
When do organisms grow?
(Organism is any living thing)
Organisms grow when they eat more food than
their body needs for energy.
Their body then may change its form by
increasing in size, weight or shape.
Give an
example of
an organism.
C. Living Things require and
use energy
• All living things need energy.
• Plants get energy from the sun
(photosynthesis) and animals get energy
from eating plants and other animals.
• Animals and plants use energy to
__________________, _____________,
and __________.
C. Living things require energy.
Different organisms obtain their food from
different sources. Give
an example.
What is autotrophic?
Autotrophic organisms such as green plants make
their own food through photosynthesis.
What is photosynthesis?
This is a process where green plants use sun
energy to make sugar and starch from carbon
dioxide and water.
What is Heterotrophic?
Heterotrophic organisms obtain their energy from
eating food in their own environment.
D. Living things respond and adapt to their
environment.
All organisms react to changes in their
environment. This response allows the
organism to use its muscles and nervous
system to help it adapt to change.
E. Living things have a life span.
White blood cells at work
Old age brings with it certain
conditions that vary with each
individual.
Low immune systems.
When this happens to
enough cells the body
starts to die.
Red blood cells (RBCs) are
the primary transporters of
oxygen in the blood.
White Blood Cells are
specialized for the defense
and daily maintenance of the
body.
F. Living things produce waste.
What kind of waste
does your body
produce?
The breakdown of
substances in the
body are eliminated
through the
excretory system.
• Now that we have gone over the
characteristics of living things, you should
understand that a cell shows all of the
characteristics of living organisms.
Homework Questions
Page 17
Questions 1,2,3,4 and 5
1.
What are the important differences between living and non-living
things?
2.
Are volcanoes living things? Explain.
3.
Name at least one characteristic of living things that is shown in
each of the following examples:
a. A plant bends towards the light.
b. A tadpole develops into a frog.
c. Human lungs breathe out carbon dioxide.
d. A blue jay feeds on sunflower seeds.
e. A cat gives birth to kittens.
4.
Make a table listing the six characteristics of living things in one
column. In the second column, next to each characteristic, suggest
a non-living thing that shows the characteristic. Create using word
processing or spreadsheet computer program.
5.
How do scientists determine whether to consider something as an
organism?
Answers to Homework Questions
1.
Living things are composed of cells, require energy, respond
to environmental stimuli, reproduce, produce wastes and
have a life span.
2. No, volcanoes are not living things. Although they appear to
possess some of the characteristics of living things such as
growth and breathing out waste gases, they do not possess all
the characteristics. For example, volcanoes are not make of
cells.
3. A. Plant is responds to environmental stimuli , the light.
B. Living things produce offspring like themselves.
Eventually, the tadpole matures into a frog. Also, living
things have a life span. The tadpole represents one of the
life-stages for the frog.
c.
Living things produce wastes. Carbon dioxide is a waste
that is expelled from the body.
d. Living things require energy. The seed provides chemical
energy for the blue jay.
e.
Living things produce offspring like themselves.
Characteristics of Living Things
Non- Living Things
Living things require energy.
Light bulbs require electricity to
work.
Living things respond to the
environment.
The wind will move clothes on a
clothesline.
Living things reproduce, grow, and
repair themselves.
A volcano appears to grow.
Living things have a life span.
Rocks will erode and seem to
disappear.
Living things produce wastes.
Wastes are produced during the
extraction of gold from ore.
Living things are composed of
cells.
Only living things have cells.
5.
Scientists would need to consider
whether the matter that they find
displays all the characteristics of
living things, before they could
classify it as an organism.