Characteristics of Living Things - mrsd.org · Living Things Reproduce • All living things...
Transcript of Characteristics of Living Things - mrsd.org · Living Things Reproduce • All living things...
Characteristics of Living Things
It’s Alive!!!!
Objectives & Vocabulary Objectives • To know if something
is living based on the six characteristics of living things
• To understand different types of reproduction
• To understand how organisms keep a balanced environment
Vocabulary • Characteristic • Biology (bio, ology) • Cells • Sexual Reproduction • Asexual Reproduction • Binary Fission (bi, fissure) • Mitosis • Meiosis • Stimulus • Homeostasis
What Does “Alive” Mean?
• Biology = study of life • Before we can study living things, we have to
be able to tell what is alive and what isn’t. • Sometimes it’s easy, and sometimes it’s not
quite so simple. – Rock: not living – Fish: living – Bacteria: living – Virus: ______________
Qualifications for Living
To be alive, the object has to meet ALL of these qualifications:
1. Made of 1 or more cells 2. Obtains and uses energy 3. Grows and develops 4. Can reproduce 5. Sense/respond to change 6. Has DNA or RNA
Living Things Have Cells
• Cells are the basic part of all living things. • Different kinds of cells have different jobs • Some organisms are single-celled
– Bacteria • Others are multi-cellular
– Humans, plants, etc.
Living Things Use Energy • Living things require energy in the form
of a chemical called ATP • Energy is used to do digestion,
respiration, and movement • Plants get ATP Energy from the Sun • Most Animals get ATP Energy from food
Living Things Grow & Develop
• All living things grow and change • When cells divide to form new cells, the
organism becomes more complex • Growing, changing, and becoming more
complex is called development
Living Things Reproduce
• All living things reproduce to continue the species
• Sexual Reproduction – offspring will have some characteristics of mother and some of father, therefore there’s greater variation among offspring – Happens through fertilization and
mitosis • Asexual Reproduction – offspring is an
exact copy of the first – Happens through Binary Fission
Asexual Reproduction • Binary Fission is the
process of asexual reproduction.
• Bi = two • Fission = split/divides • One cell divides into two
equal parts that are identical.
• Happens in single-celled organisms (bacteria)
Sexual Reproduction – Growth in Cells
• Mitosis - cell division in non-sex cells
• It results in two daughter cells from a single parent cell.
• The daughter cells are identical to each other and to the original parent cell.
• Similar to Binary Fission, but happens in multi-cellular organisms
Sexual Reproduction – Making Sex Cells
• Meiosis – a specialized cell division that happens in sex cells
• Sex cells are eggs and sperm
• Two divisions occur, resulting in four daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent.
Living Things Sense/Respond to Change
• Living things respond to a stimulus with change to maintain a balanced environment (homeostasis) Example: When it gets too hot, we sweat to cool down
• When the stimulus is too much, it becomes stressed and could die or will have to adapt Example: If we don’t sweat, we die of over heating!
Living Things Have DNA/RNA
• DNA/RNA - genetic material • Located in the nucleus of
cells • Job - Gives cells their identity • That’s how kids inherit traits
from their parents - it’s held in their DNA!