Chapter 1
Living Things Grow and Change
Living Things and Their Needs
•Living things grow, respond, and reproduce
Reproduce – make more of one’s own kind.
•Living things are called organisms.
•Living things need food, water, gases, and space.
•Living things get what they need from the environment.
Environment – all the living and nonliving
things that surround an organism.
•Living things are made of many small parts called cells.
Cells – the building blocks of life.
Living and Nonliving
Living Things
Nonliving Things
Plant Life Cycles
• Seed – a structure that can grow into a new
plant.
• Embryo – the young plant that is just
beginning to grow.
Step 1: A seed is planted in the soil.
Step 2: The seed germinates. Roots start growing
down into the soil.
Step 3: The roots grow longer, and a stem pushes up
out of the ground.
Step 4: The plant grows leaves. It starts to make its
own food.
Step 5: The plant grows into an adult. It can
reproduce and make new seeds.
Plant Life Cycles
• Flower (Cone) – the plant structure that
makes seeds.
• Pollination – the movement of pollen from the
male part of the flower to the female part.
• Fruit – a structure that holds seeds.
• Life Cycle – the stages in an organisms life.
Life Cycle
• When a seed is planted it germinates (begins to
grow)
• The seed grows into a small plant called a seedling
• The seedling grows into an adult plant which
reproduces by making new seeds
• The new seeds travel to the soil to start the process
again
• Flowering Plants – make seeds inside of flowers.
– Example: Cherry Tree
• Conifers – make seeds inside of cones.
– Example: Pine Tree
Parts of a Plant
Flower
leaves
Stem
Roots
Basic Animal Life Cycle
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An animal is born
It grows
It reproduces as an adult
In time it dies
Body breaks down and becomes part of the
soil
Animal Life Cycles
• Different animals change in different ways.
– Some are born looking like their parents and
others are not.
– The way an animal changes with age is part of its
life cycle.
Amphibians and Most Insects
• Go through a metamorphosis
–A series of changes in which an
organism’s body changes forms.
• Life Cycle begins as an egg
Reptiles, Fish, and Birds
• Most lay eggs
• Animal grows inside the egg
• When it hatches it looks like the adults
• Grows into an adult and reproduces
Mammals
• Born live
• Look much like parents from the start
• Grow into an adult and reproduce
Food Chains
• Food chain – shows how energy passes from
one organism to another.
– Producer – organism that makes its own food.
» First in a food chain
» Example – green plants & algae
– Consumer – organism that eats other organisms.
» All animals
» One food chain may have many
– Decomposer – an animal that breaks down dead
plant and animal material. (FBI)
» Fungus, bacteria, and invertebrate
Food Web
• Several connecting food chains
• Herbivores – organisms that eat mostly plants
• Carnivores – organisms that eat mostly other
animals
• Omnivores – organisms that eat both plants
and animals
Habitats
• Habitat – the type of environment a living
thing needs in order to survive
• Climate – the pattern of weather in a place
over a long time
• There are many different kinds of habitats
Structures
• Plants and animals have structures that help
them get the things they need from their
environment
– Structure – a part of a living thing
• Plants – roots, stems, leaves, etc.
• Animals – legs, wings, beaks, etc.
Adaptations
• Organisms must live in a habitat that provides
their needs.
• Adaptations help living things survive in an
environment
– Adaptation – a special feature or behavior that
helps a living thing survive.