Characteristics of Life

All living things share some basic characteristics:

1. Organization
2. Movement
3. Made up of cells
4. Reproduce
5. Grow and / or develop
6. Obtain and use energy
7. Respond to the environment
8. Adapt through evolution

#1 Organization
Life is organized on many structural levels

Check out this animation that gives you a

sense of scale of some of the structures
studied in biology! Its AWESOME!!!!

Atoms

The smallest unit of matter

Composed of:

Protons

Neutrons

Neutral charge
Located in the nucleus

Electrons

Positive charge
Located in the nucleus

Negative charge
Locates in orbits around the nucleus

Most important elements in biology are:

Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Phosphorus

Molecules

Groupings of atoms
bonded together
Important bio-molecules:

Proteins

Lipids

Nucleic acids

Carbohydrates

Organelles

Membrane bound subcellular structures that

perform specific
functions for a cell.

Examples:

Mitochondria
Chloroplasts
Nucleus
Golgi

Cells
The

smallest
unit defined as
life

Tissues

A group of cells
having a similar
structure
working
together to
perform a
specific
function

Organs
Groupings

of
tissues united
to perform a
specific
function

Organisms
Living

things that
have (or can
develop) the ability
to act or function
independently.

Populations

Localized
groups of
organisms
belonging to
the same
species

Communities

Populations
of species
living in the
same area.

Ecosystems

Energy
processing
systems of
community
interactions
that include
abiotic
environmental
factors such as
soil and water.

Biomes

Large scale
ecosystems
classified by
predominant
vegetation type
and distinctive
combinations of
plants and
animals.

Biosphere
The

sum
of all of
the
planets
biomes

Each level of biological organization

exhibits emergent properties
(click link)

Ex.
Capillaries
transport
blood
(property not
exhibited by
individual
endothelial
cells).

#2 Movement

All living organisms have internal movement;

the ability to move substances from one part
of their body to another.

Some living organisms show external

movement as well; the ability to move from
place to place in a habitat.

#3: Composed of one or more cells

The cell theory

1. All

known living things are made up

of cells.
2. The cell is structural & functional
unit of all living things.
3. All cells come from pre-existing
cells by division (spontaneous
generation does not occur).

Evidence for the Cell Theory

Read this short summary of evidence for the
cell theory.

Organisms can be unicellular or

multicellular

Unicellular:

An organism consisting
of a single cell that is
capable of carrying out
all of the functions of life
Examples: bacteria,
amoeba, yeast

Organisms can be unicellular or

multicellular

Multicellular

An organism
consisting of more
than one cell
working together to
carry out all of the
functions of life
Examples: oak tree,
caterpillar, salmon,
mushroom

Cells in multicellular organisms

differentiate (click link to read what this means!)

Cells are either prokaryotic or

eukaryotic

Prokaryotic

All bacteria cells

Lack membrane bound
organelles Tend to be
smaller in size than
eukaryotic cells
DNA not in nucleus
(since they dont have
one) and not coiled into
chromosomes

Eukaryotic

Found in protists, plants,

fungi and animals
Contain membrane
bound organelles
DNA (found inside the
nucleus) can coil around
proteins to form
chromosomes

Whether prokaryotic or eukaryotic, all

cells share four common structures
Cell

membrane
Cytoplasm
DNA
Ribosomes

#4: Reproduction
Each organism arises through reproduction in which
DNA instructions are transmitted from parents to
offspring.

Reproduction is based on:

A complex
mechanism for
copying DNA

Passing the
information encoded
in DNA from parent to
offspring via sexual or
asexual reproduction

Sexual:

Reproduction involves
the fusion of a male
and a female gamete
(egg and sperm)
Results in a new
genome that is
different than that of
either parent.
Example: flower
pollination in plants

Asexual:

Reproduction without
the fusion of gametes
Produces a clone of
the original organism,
and therefore does
not increase genetic
variation in the
species as a whole.
Example: binary
fission in bacteria

#5: Grow and / or develop

Growth means to get bigger in size

Development involves a change in the

physical form or physiological make-up of an
organism

#6 Obtain and use energy

Living organisms need energy to grow,

develop, repair damage, and reproduce

For most life forms

The ultimate source of energy is the sun

Producers (AKA autotrophs)

Organisms that trap

solar energy by
photosynthesis and
use it to convert CO2
into a usable food
source (glucose).

Plants, blue-green
algae

Consumers (AKA heterotrophs)

Organisms that cannot synthesize their own food,

and therefore must feed on other food sources
found within the environment.

Detritovores

Organisms that feed

by ingesting dead
organisms

Crabs, earthworms
and vultures

Saprotrophs (AKA decomposers)

Organisms that secrete

enzymes on dead
organisms that cause
decomposition, and then
they absorb the resulting
simple compounds into
their bodies. So they do
not ingest whole food, but
rather, they absorb
decomposed and digested
food.

Bacteria and fungi.

One reason organisms need

energy is to maintain
homeostasis

A tendency for an organism to

maintain a constant internal
environment (i.e. temperature,
salt concentration, and pH)

Organisms rely on their metabolism to

maintain homeostasis
Metabolism:

The sum of all the

chemical reactions in
an organism by which
molecules are
combined together
(ANABOLISM) or
broken apart
(CATABOLISM) in turn
storing or releasing
energy.

#7 Respond to the Environment

Organisms react to stimuli in the environment:

Light
Temperature
Odor
Sound
Gravity
Heat
Water
Pressure
Visual

An example is a plants leaves and stems

growing toward light, or a person moving a hand
from a hot surface.

#8 Adapt Through Evolution

Adaptation - an inherited behavior or
characteristic that enables an organism to
survive & reproduce.
Over time, adaptations are modified by
natural selection.

Review your notes:

Recite: Talk aloud!

Reflect: Think over!

Review from memory what you have learned

Using the left hand margin's key words and questions, talk
through, or illustrate definitions, concepts, etc.
Create your own examples
Teach someone else (BTW, parents love to be taught biology by
their kids!)
How does this relate to what you knew before?
What would you still like to learn about this topic?

Review the notes you took

Schedule in your planner a reminder to study these Notes #1 at

the key times for review: in 24 hours, 48 hours, one week and
once a month until the end of the school year.