What is Life?

What is Life?

What is Life?

What are the Characteristics of Life?

All living things exhibit six characteristics in combination.

Chapter 1 What is Life?

Living things are organized

ATOM

MOLECULE

ORGANELLE

CELL

TISSUE

ORGAN

ORGAN SYSTEM

MULTICELLULAR ORGANISM

What are the Characteristics of Life?

Each level of biological organization exhibits emergent properties, meaning that the next level does things the previous level is can’t

do.

Ex. Capillaries transport blood (property not exhibited by

individual endothelial cells).

Chapter 1 What is Life?

What are the Characteristics of Life?

What are the Characteristics of Life?

Maintenance of Homeostasis

Homeostasis - the ability of an organism to maintain its internal environment despite conditions in the external environment.

Human body temperature is………

if body temperature rises, you sweat.

if body temperature lowers, you shiver.

Related to maintaining homeostasis is an organism’s ability to respond to the environment through:

Irritability - immediate response to a stimulus.

Maintain homeostasis

Adaptation - an inherited behavior or characteristic that enables an organism to survive & reproduce.

Over time, adaptations are modified by natural selection.

Growth occurs because cells divide causing them to be more numerous which causes organisms to get bigger.Development occurs when cells take on specific jobs within the organism (like heart cell or brain cell)

6) All living things reproduce

Asexual reproduction - involves a single parent; offspring are genetically identical to the parent.

Sexual reproduction - involves 2 parents; offspring are genetically diverse.

Is it essential for an individual to reproduce?

Review the characteristics of life:1.made of cells2.show levels of organization3.use energy4.maintain homeostasis5.grow and develop6.reproduce

What are the Characteristics of Life?

A Short Quiz:1. What is an example of homeostasis?

2. Why is energy required by living things?

3. Is a computer living? Explain why or why not.

4. Is a fire living? Explain why or why not.