The 8 Features of
Living Things
October 5 & 6
1. Living things are made of
cells.
• cell is basic unit of life.
• unicellular and mulitcellular organisms
• ex. humans, bacteria
2. Living things reproduce
• sexual or asexual reproduction
• ex. mammals, amoeba
3. Living things grow
• increase in SIZE
• ex. Humans, dogs, elephants
4. Living things develop
• change in FORM
• ex. Caterpillar into butterfly
infant into adult
5. Living things need food.
• consumer
• producers
• ex. plants, animals
6. Living things use energy
• obtain energy(ability to do work) from food
• ex. process of cellular respiration
7. Living things respond
• Respond to changes in the environment
• An individual responds to a stimulus
• ex. cold environment causes shivering
– Hot causes sweating
– Pupils dilate in the shade & constrict in the sun.
8. Living things are adapted
to their environment
• adaptation enables living things to survive in their
environment
• Long-term change over a species
• ex. white polar bears blending in with the snow
– Dandelions spread their seeds in the wind
– Animals with bright coloring; frogs, snakes,
Levels of Biological
Organization
1. Organism
• An individual living system
• Examples:
• Animals, plants, fungus,
• micro-organisms (protists or bacteria)
• Example: Human
2. Organ Systems
• Collection of
organs that work
together to
perform a specific
function
– Examples of
systems:
• nervous system &
• digestive system
3. Organ
• Collection of tissues that perform a
specific function
– Examples:
• skin, lungs, stomach
4. Tissue
• A collection of
cells that perform
a similar function.
5. Cells
• Basic unit of life
– Unicellular vs. multicellular
• (bacteria vs. humans)
The Discovery of the Cell
• Robert Hooke –
1665
– 1st viewed cork
cells using an early
microscope
– He saw tiny
chambers and
called them
“cells”.
The Cell Theory:
1. ALL living things are composed of cells.
E. coli
Mushroom
Amoeba
Tiger
Daisy
2. Cells are the basic units of
structure and function in living
Organism
things.
Organ System
Organ
Tissue
Cells
3. New cells are formed from existing cells.