Characteristics of

Living things
Bell Question – Record your
response on your Bell Question Sheet

 What are a few  Describe what

characteristics all you know about
living things have non-living things.
in common?
#1 – Living Things are: Made of Cells

 Single-cell organisms have everything they

need to be self-sufficient.
 In multicellular organisms, specialization
increases until some cells do only certain things.
Levels of organization

 Both molecular and cellular organization.

 Living things must be able to organize
simple substances into complex ones.
 Living things organize cells at several levels:
 Tissue - a group of cells that perform a common
function.
 Organ - a group of tissues that perform a
common function.
 Organ system - a group of organs that
perform a common function.
 Organism - any complete living thing.
 #2 – Living Things: Obtain and
Use Energy

 All living things must acquire

energy from their environment
 Plants
and photosynthetic bacteria
and algae get energy from the Sun
 Animals get energy from eating
plants or other animals
 Bacteria
and fungi get energy from
decaying plant or animal matter.
#3 - Living Things: Respond To
Their Environment

 Living things will

make changes in
response to a
stimulus in their
environment.
 A behavior is a
complex set of
responses.
#4 - Living Things: Grow and
Develop

 Cell division - the orderly formation of new cells.

 Cell enlargement - the increase in size of a cell.
Cells grow to a certain size and then divide.
 An organism gets larger as the number of its cells
increases.
 Development- maturation over time
#5 - Living Things: Reproduce

 Reproduction is not essential for the

survival of individual organisms, but must
occur for a species to survive.
 All living things reproduce in one of the
following ways:
 Asexual reproduction - Producing offspring
without the use of gametes.
 Sexual reproduction - Producing
 offspring by the joining of sex cells.
#6 - Living Things: Adapt To
Their Environment

 Adaptations are traits giving an organism

an advantage in a certain environment.
 Variation of individuals is important for a
healthy species.
 As the environment changes
species must also change to
survive or go extinct.
#7 – Living Things are: Made of DNA

 Living things are based on a universal genetic code.

 All organisms store their complex genetic
information they need to survive in a genetic code
stored in a molecule called DNA.
#8 – Living Things: Maintain a
Stable Internal Environment or
Homeostasis

 Homeostasis: process by which organisms keep their

internal conditions relatively stable
 Example: How do humans maintain the same body
temperature?
 Sweat
 Shiver

 Maintain a relatively constant internal

environment, pH, temp, salinity
A Quick Review

1. Composed of Cells
2. Obtain and use energy
Levels of organization
3. Respond to their environment
4. Grow
5. Reproduce
6. Adapt to their environment
7. Genetic Code – DNA
8. Maintain Homeostasis