The characteristics of Living
PowerPoint Presentation and Activities
THINGS
By BiologyGuy
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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
1. Quick write: How do you know whether something is living or
non living? What characteristics do they have? What do living
and non living things do?
2. Watch the YouTube Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDNnefvPNKU
Make a list of the 7 things that living things do.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
There are 7 easily observable characteristics that all living things do.
NUTRITION
MOVEMENT
EXCRETION
REPRODUCTION
RESPIRE
SENSE
GROW
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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
These 7 observable characteristics can be remembered using the
mnemonic MRS GREN
Hi, my name is
MRS GREN
M ovement
R espire
S ense
G rowth
R eproduction
E xcretion
N utrition
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
MOVEMENT: All living things move. They respond to their
environment by moving, for example a fish would move away
from a predator if it swam close by.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
OXYGEN
CARBON DIOXIDE
RESPIRE: All living things respire, that means that they get their
energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to produce energy. This
process is called RESPIRATION.
The fish absorbs oxygen, via the gills, the oxygen is used for
respiration. Carbon dioxide which is a waste product of
respiration passes out of the fish via the gills.
Mammals, such as dogs, cats, mice and humans inhale oxygen with their lungs.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
SENSE: All living things sense their surroundings. The fish for
example can sense what is around it, this is important so that it
can find food and avoid predators which might be in its
environment.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
GROW: All living things grow, they usually start out smaller and
then get bigger, they develop through out their life cycle. The fish
for example grew from an egg and then will continue to grow until
it reaches maturity.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
OFFSPRING
FERTILIZATION
REPRODUCE: All living things reproduce. They will produce
offspring (children). The fish will lay eggs which can be fertilized
by a male fish, this is known as sexual reproduction. These eggs
will then turn into their offspring.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
CARBON DIOXIDE
POOP
EXCRETE: All living things excrete: This means that they will get rid
of waste materials. The fish for example eliminates carbon
dioxide from its body and poops, both of which are waste
products.
If living things did not get rid of waste products they would
accumulate in the body and poison the organism.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Mmm.. That worm
looks nutritious
NUTRITION: All living things need to get nutrients, living things do
this in many different ways. The fish will get its nutrients from the
food that it eats. It will then use these nutrients to support life
processes.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Next time you are wondering whether something is living or not, think
about ….
M ovement
R espire
S ense
MRS GREN
G rowth
R eproduction
E xcretion
N utrition
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS, MRS GREN: ACTIVITY
1. Complete the graphic organizer for Lesson 1: The characteristics of
Living Things, MRS GREN.
2. Create a foldable to demonstrate your knowledge of MRS GREN.
a) Pick a living organism as your theme.
b) For each Letter of MRS GREN, explain what it stands for and give an
example of how your organism performs this characteristic.
c) Add illustrations where appropriate.
LIVING or NON
LIVING
FOLD----------------
L2: THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Big Question: If sponges are living why do they not show any of the
characteristics of MRS GREN?
DO NOW: how many words can you make out of “CHARACTERISTICS
OF LIFE”?
LESSON OBJECTIVES: SWBAT
•Explain why MRS GREN is not always 100% effective in determining
whether something is living or not.
•Describe the 7 in detailed characteristics of living things
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Wait! What happens if I see
something moving, but I don’t see it
eating or excreting. Is it still alive?
What about sponges? My teacher
said that they are alive. How can
this be true? The only sponge that I
have seen eating, moving and
respiring is Sponge Bob square
pants, but he is a character from a
kids show.
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Sometimes it is difficult to see all of
the characteristics of living things in
every organism. (MRS GREN).
Sponges for example do
not walk around and
actively catch their food in
the way that a fish does.
OCEAN SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
When exploring the question, is something living or non living?
there are further observations which can be made to determine
whether it is alive or not.
These observations are a lot more detailed and may require the
use of scientific tools such as microscopes and video capture
devices to observe the slightest of movement that would be
otherwise missed by the human eye.
OCEAN SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
• All living things have cells
• All living things reproduce
• All living things contain DNA
• All living things sense and respond to their environment
• All living things use energy
• All living things grow and develop
• All living things have levels of organization
OCEAN SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have cells: sponges have many different
specialized cells that run through out its structure. For example
it has muscle cells called Myocytes, which contract the sponge
(movement).
OCEAN SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things can sense and respond to their environment:
the sponge can sense predators, they can then respond by
contracting their surface layer which reduces the area that
might be exposed to a predator.
OCEAN SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things reproduce: Sponges can reproduce asexually, by
branching off and producing a new sponge ( similar to cutting of your
own arm and growing a new you).
This will grow into a new
sponge
Sponges can also reproduce sexually. Many sponges are
hermaphrodites, meaning they have male and female reproductive
organs that work at the same time, they produce sperm, which is the
male sex cell and eggs which are the female sex cell.
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have DNA: Sponges have DNA, the DNA is like a blue
print of how to make a new sponge, the DNA is contained in the sex cells
CELLS
DNA
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things use energy: Sponges move by
contracting their muscle cells (movement).
These cells need energy in order to contract.
Some sponges can make their own food
through photosynthesis, others get their food
by absorbing nutrients (nutrition) from the
water.
NUTRIENTS in THE WATER
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
WASTE
products are
removed by
the water
• Sponges absorb nutrients by
allowing water to flow through
them.
• The sugars that are produced by
photosynthesis and extracted
from the nutrients are reacted
with oxygen, which is absorbed
from the water, this process of
reacting sugar with oxygen is
respiration and will produce
energy for the sponge. The
water also carries out waste
products (excretion).
Water containing
nutrients
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things grow and develop:
when a new sponge is created
through sexual or asexual
reproduction it will develop and
grow into a mature sponge.
MATURE SPONGE
NEW SPONGE
THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have levels of
organization: the sponge has cells which
are organized to form tissue, the cells
have specific functions which relate to
the overall function of the sponge.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS ACTIVITY
1. Complete the graphic Organizer “L2: The Characteristics of Living
Things”.
2. Using the information from the presentation explain how the sponge
meets the criteria of MRS GREN
EXAMPLE:
With closer observations the sponge is living because it meets the
criteria of MRS GREN.
Present your findings in a
poster, booklet or scientific
paper
BIOLOGYGUY ©
MRSGREN-
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2. Using the information provided on the handout explain how a sponge meets the criteria of MRS GREN
MOVEMENT: The sponge moves by using muscle cells within its structure. These muscle cells are called
Myocytes, they contract to change the shape of the sponge.
ANSWER KEY
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS ACTIVITY
RESPIRATION: the sponge needs to respire in order to make energy. It reacts oxygen which is in the water
with sugars that are made during photosynthesis or from sugars that are found in nutrients.
SENSE: The sponge can sense its surroundings, for example if there is a predator eating the surface of the
sponge it will react by contracting its muscle cells, which will reduce the surface area of the sponge
GROW: When a sponge is created through sexual or asexual reproduction it will grow and develop into a
mature sponge.
EXCRETION: Sponges do not have an excretion system like humans, but their waste products are carried
out by the water that flows through them
NUTRITION: Some sponges get their nutrients through the process of photosynthesis, where they react
carbon dioxide with water, in the presence of sun light to produce sugars and oxygen. Other sponges get
their nutrients by absorbing them from the water.
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BIOLOGYGUY ©
REPRODUCE: Sponges are hermaphrodites, they have male and female reproductive systems, they
produce the female sex cell; the egg, and the male sex cell; the sperm. They can also reproduce asexually
by branching of and forming a new sponge.