The Characteristics of Life
An organism must have a
certain set of characteristics to
be called life.
1. made of Cells
 Cells
are the basic building
block.
2. Respond to stimuli
examples:
1. A frog's tongue rapidly flicks out to
catch a passing insect.
(the stimuli is movement)
2. A plant leans toward the window.
(the stimuli is sunlight)
3. Use Energy
 All
living things use energy.
This is called metabolism.
4. Reproduction
All organisms reproduce and pass
genetic information to their
offspring.
The genetic material is DNA.
5. Growth and Development
All organisms grow and change
6. Organization
 Living
things are made of many
complex parts which are highly
organized.
7. Homeostasis
- keep their internal environment
the same.
For example
1) Human body temperature is
maintained at 98.6 o F
8. Adaptation

Organisms change over time.
Inherited characteristics that allow
them to survive and reproduce in
their environment are passed to
their offspring.
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
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Reproduction and Inheritance
Growth and Development
Adaptation
Organization
Use of Energy (metabolism)
Response to stimuli
Made of cells
Homeostasis
PRACTICE ACTIVITY
Each list of the following lists of
words is like one of the
characteristics.
Match them.
What do these words have in
common?
List 1
 cheater at school
 Silly Putty on comics
 clone
 photocopier
 counterfeit money

Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 2
 crystals
 seed
 balloons of various sizes
 weight lifter's biceps
 increased vocabulary from working
crosswords
Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 3
 dolphins at Sea World
 Superman
 sensitive plant
 ambulance
 Sneeze
Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 4
 newspaper comics
 The movies Shawshank Redemption,
The Green Mile, and Chicago
 study cubicle
 micrograph
 house plan

Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 5
 yeast in bread dough
 calculator
 car
 food
 campfire

Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 6
 baseball glove/catcher's mitt
 different size brushes
 whale blubber
 boots/sneakers/high
heels/wingtips
 skin color

Like which characteristic?
What do these words have in
common?
List 7
 dictionary
 worker's union
 skeleton
 sedimentary rocks
 cleaning your room

Which characteristic is this like?
What do these words have in
common?
List 8
 thermostat
 water filter
 insulin
 body temperature
 Gatorade for keeping blood ions
balanced
Which characteristic is this like?
PRACTICE: which characteristic?
1. Caribou migrate across Canada as the
seasons change.
2. My cousin Vinny looks just like his dad.
3. When birds hear other birds sing, they
often sing back.
4. Even simple organisms have many
complicated parts working together.
5. Bacteria that live in your intestine
and help you digest some of your
food.
6. An adult fly does not look like its
immature maggot form.
7. When it gets cold you get goose
bumps and shiver to generate
warmth.
9. Plants make food from sunlight in a
process called photosynthesis.
10. At the end of freshman year
Demetrius was only five foot three
inches tall, but by the next year he
was five eleven.
ASSIGNMENT poster web 
Title (center) CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
 Each branch of the web will have:
1) The name of the characteristic
2) Using the text provide three examples of
that characteristic in an organism. (HINT: Use
the INDEX at the back.)
3) Include illustrations or diagrams.
Your grade is based on accuracy, neatness,
completion, following directions, creativity.
Get out a blank sheet of paper.
Put a heading (name, date, hour) on it.
The assignment name is Textbook.
1. How many units are in this book?
2. Which unit looks most interesting to you?
3. Which unit has information about genes?
4. Use the index and find the page numbers
with the name Mendel. Write the page
numbers.
5. What was Mendel’s contribution to biology?
6. Where might we find the definition of
metabolism?
7. Write the definition of metabolism.
Wrap Up
What’s the point of school?