8/10/2015
Miss Kennedy
Studying Life
Section 1-3
Characteristics of Living Things
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Living things share the following characteristics:
o
Made up of units called _______________
o
They _________________________
o
They are based on a universal genetic code
o
They grow and ______________________
o
They obtain and _____________________
o
They respond to their environment
o
They maintain a stable ___________________________
o
As a group, living things change over time

Living things, or organisms, are made up of small, self-contained units called
_______________

A cell is a collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier that separates the cell from its
surroundings.

Many organisms, mostly microorganisms, consist of only one cell and are called
___________________organisms.

Most organisms we know have more than one cell and are called ___________________
_______________________

All organisms produce new organisms through a process called ____________________

In _______________ reproduction, cells from two different parents unite to produce the
first cell of the new organism.

In __________________ reproduction, the new organism has a single parent.

In some forms of asexual reproduction, a unicellular organism divides in half to form two
new organisms.
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Miss Kennedy
Explaining how organisms _________________________ is one of the greatest
achievements in modern Biology.
We now know that the directions for inheritance are carried by _____________.

DNA, with a few minor variations, determines the inherited traits of every organism on
Earth.

All living things ________________ during at least part of their lives.

In unicellular organisms, growth is limited to size.

In multicellular organisms, growth includes a process called _______________________

During development, a single ______________________________________ divides
again and again until organs develop when cells change in shape and structure.

This process is called ___________________________.

Organisms need material and energy just to stay alive.

The combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks
down materials as it carries out its life processes is called _________________________.

All organisms take in certain materials that they need from their environment, but the
way they need __________________ varies.

Plants and some other organisms get their energy from light through a process called
_________________________________.

Most other organisms rely on the energy stored during photosynthesis by consuming
plants, algae, or bacteria.

Organisms higher in the food chain obtain energy by eating the organisms lower than
them.

Some organisms, called _______________________, obtain energy through the remains
of organisms that have died.

Organisms detect and respond to stimuli from their environment

A stimulus is a signal to which an organism responds

_______________________ stimuli, which come from the environment outside an
organism, include factors such as light and temperature.
8/10/2015
Miss Kennedy
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_______________________ stimuli come from inside an organism, and can be a
response such as hunger.

Most conditions in the external environment vary, but most organisms require stable
internal conditions to survive.

The process by which they do this is called _______________________.

Homeostasis involves internal feedback mechanisms similar to a thermostat.

Just like cold weather would cause the heat to come on, the “thermostat” causes an
organism to shiver if it’s too cold.

By contrast, if the internal temperature is too high, the “thermostat” causes humans to
sweat.

While individual organisms have traits from parents that usually do not change,
organisms as a group can __________________, or change over time.

These changes aren’t apparent over the course of a few years, but rather over thousands.
Branches of Biology

Living things and systems vary greatly in sizes and habits.

This is why there are so many branches of biology, such as zoology, ecology, and botany.

There are different levels of biology that the different branches study.

At all levels, smaller living systems are found within larger systems.

The biggest level is the ___________________, which is the part of Earth that contains
all ecosystems

An ________________________ is a community and its nonliving surroundings.

Populations that live together in a defined area are called a _______________________

A _____________________ is a group of organisms of one type that live in the same
area

An ____________________ is an individual living thing consisting of groups of cells.

Tissues, organs, and organ systems are all examples of ___________________________.

The smallest functional unit of life is called a ______________
8/10/2015
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Miss Kennedy
Cells are made up of ______________________, which are groups of atoms and are the
smallest unit of most chemical compounds.
Biology in Everyday Life

More than any other field of science, biology is a part of your daily life.

Biology can help people understand that humans are capable of predicting and trying to
control their future and that of the planet.