Name:
Date:
Period:
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
 WHAT IS SPONTANEOUS GENERATION?
Spontaneous generation is the idea that LIFE can arise from NONLIVING matter (i.e. worms come from
rain). Spontaneous generation was accepted by many in the scientific community up until the mid-nineteenth century. A
series of simple experiments tested the validity of this idea.
In 1668, Francesco Redi proposed a different hypothesis to explain the specific example of maggots that appear on spoiled
food. He had observed that maggots appear on meat a few days after flies have been seen on the food. He inferred that
the flies had left behind eggs too small to see.
DRAW REDI’S EXPERIMENT BELOW:
UNCOVERED JAR
BEFORE
JAR WITH NETTING
BEFORE
JAR THAT IS SEALED
BEFORE
UNCOVERED JAR
AFTER
JAR WITH NETTING
AFTER
JAR THAT IS SEALED
AFTER
What conclusion can you draw from Redi’s experiment?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
In the late 1700s, Lazzaro Spallanzani designed a different experiment to show that life did not arise spontaneously
from food. He inferred that some foods spoil because of growing populations of microorganisms. Fill in the
information requested below.
Independent variable: (what was changed)
Dependent variable: (what is measured)
Controlled variables (identify three):
________________________________
Critics of Spallanzini said that he showed only that organisms cannot live without air. In 1859 Louis Pasteur
designed an experiment to address that criticism, an experiment that reproduced Spallanzani’s results.
Draw in the third and final steps in the experiment. Use an arrow to show the path of travel of the
microorganisms. Shade the broth in the flask(s) in which microorganisms grew.
How did Pasteur solve Spallanzani’s problem of limiting exposure to air?
What purpose did boiling the meat broth serve in both the Spallanzani and Pasteur experiments?
Today, we use a process of heating liquids to prevent spoiling by bacteria and other
microorganisms, pioneered by one of the three scientists mentioned above. What is that
process called and for what food it is used?
Name:
Date:
Period:
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
 WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS?
PROCESSES OF LIFE
VOCABULARY:
DEFINITION
FUNCTIONS OF LIFE
REPRODUCTION
GROWTH
MOVEMENT
Producing more of its own kind.
Survival of the _________________
depends on it.
_____________ and _____________
of organisms over time.
Organisms may move, and materials
inside move (________________) digestion of food, water moving
through organism
RESPONSE
React to ____________________in its
surroundings. Examples: blinking,
migrating, etc.
METABOLISM
Carry out chemical reactions to break
down, produce, create, or use
___________________
Let’s Break it downWhat does have to do with?
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS?
PROCESSES OF LIFE
Directions: Make a word web that shows the connections between the many functions of life and the following
words:
Reproduce
Secretion
Transport
Adapt
Growth
Ingestion (eat)
Homeostasis
Stimulus
Response
Digestion
Development
Asexual
Metabolism
Respiration
Repair
Sexual
Movement
Excretion
Change
Regeneration
Basic needs of all living things:
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
 WHAT ARE THE BASIC NEEDS ALL LIVING THINGS NEED?
 WHAT IS HOMEOSTASIS?

Food and water: All organisms need food for growth and energy. Organisms also need water. Without
water, all plants and animals would die. About two-thirds of your body is water. Most substances
dissolve in water. These dissolved substances can then be transported throughout a living thing. Most
chemical changes in living things cannot take place without water. When we ingest food, we begin to
digest it (or break it down). The tiny food particles are transported to our cells to be used to create
energy. These tiny digested food particles are combined with oxygen during respiration in our cells.
Our cells use the oxygen plus the food to create ENERGY. The food that we do not use is excreted out
of our bodies as solid waste. Plants create their own food through the process known as Photosynthesis.
This process combines sunlight, carbon dioxide and water and gives the plants food (glucose) as well as
Oxygen as a waste product.

Air: Without air, most living things would die in minutes. Air is a mixture of gases. Oxygen is one of the gases
in air. Oxygen is needed by most living things to change food into energy. Land organisms get oxygen from the
air. Water organisms get oxygen from water. The oxygen is dissolved in the water.

Temperature: The temperature of the environment is important to living things. Living things need a proper
temperature to carry out their life processes. Most living things could live only within a small temperature range
if it were not for homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability of a living thing to keep conditions inside its body
constant. When changes in temperature or other parts of the environment occur, homeostasis keeps lthings
working properly inside a living thing. Homeostasis allows an organism (warm-blooded or endotherm) to
maintain a relatively constant internal body temperature regardless of the temperature outside their body.

Living space: All organisms need living space. An organism’s living space must provide enough air, water,
sunlight, food, and shelter. In any environment, living space is limited. All the organisms in the environment
compete for living space. They compete for food, water, sunlight, and so on.
SUMMARY QUESTIONS:
1. What are the characteristics of life or life processes?
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
2. Name two life processes that produce waste products. _______________________________________
3. What are the waste products of respiration?
_______________________________________
4. What materials are transported inside a living thing? _______________________________________
5. Describe what happens to food after it is ingested (eaten) by an animal. Include a discussion of digestion,
respiration, transport, and excretion in your description.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
6. What is the most common substance in your body?
_______________________________________
7. How does a fish get oxygen? ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Explain what photosynthesis is and tell which kinds of organisms are capable of doing this process.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
9. List four needs of living things.
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
10. How do you think shivering and perspiring are related to homeostasis?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
11. What do you think happens to organisms when their living space is destroyed?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
12. You use water every day. Identify at least five ways in which you use water each day.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Elements found in all living things
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
 WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS FOUND IN ALL LIVING THINGS?
 WHAT ARE THE 4 MACROMOLECULES THAT MAKE UP ALL LIVING
THINGS?
Atom:
Tiny particles of matter or the __________________________________________________.
DRAW an atom:
Element:
Matter that is made up of _________________________________________.
Elements are classified by letters, somewhat like an alphabet. These letters can be found on the periodic table.
C = carbon
N = Nitrogen
Fe = Iron
*C. HOPKINS café*
C*
Carbon
H*
Hydrogen
O*
Oxygen
P*
Phosphorous
K
Potassium
I
Iodine
N*
S
Ca*
Fe
These elements
are found in smaller
*found in large quantities-building blocks of all living things
amounts
Nitrogen
Sulfur
Calcium
Iron
Na-sodium
Cl-chlorine
Mg-magnesium
Zn-Zinc
Compounds:
___________ or more elements that are chemically joined
Examples: H2O - 2 atoms of ___________________, 1 atom of ___________________ (1 molecule of water
has the same properties as a cup of water – the cup of water has a lot more molecules)
Molecule:
Smallest particle of a _____________________________.
Example: A cup of water might have _________ molecules of H2O
Where a drop of water might have ______ molecules of H2O
Chemical Formulas:
Combination of _____________ in a molecule
Examples:
II. What are the compounds needed for all living things?
I.
Inorganic Compounds:
Do not ____________________________
Examples of Inorganic Compounds needed in life:
1. Oxygen
 Plants complete _____________________________- allowing them to make food for
themselves by using the sunlight for energy. We use this for ______________________.
2. Water
 Without water, all living things would eventually die.
3. Minerals
a. Minerals from the ground/soil are inorganic. This is different than the minerals we take in our
bodies (which we get from plants).
b. Minerals, such as __________________________________________________ are also needed
to maintain normal body functions
II. Organic Compounds:
Contain ____________________
Examples of Organic Compounds:
1. Lipids:

What are lipids? ___________________

What elements make up lipids?
C, H, O (in different, longer arrangements)


Provide twice as much energy as carbohydrates.
Are the cushion around your organs, make up part of the cell membrane

Two examples are:
______________ – solid at room temperature
______________– liquid at room temperature

Lab work
To test for lipids, we will use a paper bag. A positive sign for lipids is a
__________________________________ appearance on the bag.
2. Carbohydrates:

What elements make up carbohydrates? _____________________________________

What are the two types of carbohydrates? _______________________________
Lab work – Goggles needed

We use _____________________ to test for STARCH (polysaccharide). A
positive test is indicated by the iodine turning
_____________________________.
Lab work – Goggles needed

We will use _____________________ solution to test for a
MONOSACCHARIDE (sugar). A positive test is indicated by Benedict’s
changing from blue to yellow, orange, green, or red.
3. Proteins:

What elements make up proteins?
C, H, O, N, Phosphorous (P), and Sulfur (S)

Building blocks of proteins are called:
____________________________________
 Important jobs of Proteins:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Build growth and repair body structures
Build hair, muscles, and other body parts
Provide energy
Carry Oxygen in blood (hemoglobin)
Make hormones
Fight germs
 What are enzymes?
Special type of protein that regulate chemical activities in the body
Help to start or stop chemical reactions in the body
Lab work – Goggles needed

To test for a PROTEIN we will use ___________________ solution. A
positive test for protein is indicated by a color change (blue to purple).
4. Nucleic Acids:

DNA – Deoxyribonucleic Acid
o Most important organic compound in all living things
o Carries the “blueprint” that makes you, look like you!
o Unless you are an identical twin, NO ONE has the same DNA as you.

RNA – Ribonucleic Acid
o Many different types of RNA found in the body (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA)
o Each of these types has a special job to do
o For example: mRNA carries “the recipe” from DNA to the ribosome to make the
protein for a part of your body (eye color for example)

The elements found in a nucleic acid are: Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Phosphorous