Life Processes

What are the characteristics of life?

LIFE PROCESSES

Looking at living thingsLooking at living things

What is a living thing?

• Imagine that you are space traveler who lands on an unknown planet. How could you determine if what you are looking at is alive. Ex. A rock and a blade of grass.

What are the life processes?

• NUTRITION• TRANSPORT• RESPIRATION• EXCRETION• SYNTHESIS• GROWTH• REGULATION• REPRODUCTION

Key Concepts

• Metabolism – all the chemical activities an organism must carry on to sustain life.

• Homeostasis – the maintenance of a stable internal environment in spite of changes in the external environment.

Nutrition

• Includes the activities involved in ingestion (obtaining food from the environment) and digestion (processing food for use by the organism). It also includes egestion (removal of solid wastes)

Nutrition - Ingestion

Nutrition - Digestion

Nutrition - Egestion

Nutrition – Egestion in Leukocytes

• in which the bacteria, having been ingested and enclosed in a digestive vacuole by the leukocyte, are ejected by the living cellto the outside

Nutrition – egestion in mammals

TRANSPORT

• The absorption of materials through cell membranes and the circulation, or distribution of materials to all the cells of an organism.

TRANSPORT

• Elodea cells • Human Circulation

RESPIRATION

• The process of releasing energy from organic molecules for use by cells.

• During respiration glucose is broken down, and the energy released is stored in the compound ATP.

• Energy released by the compound ATP is used by organisms to perform life functions.

RESPIRATION

• Plants and animals use the oxygen in the air to turn food into energy.

RESPIRATION

RESPIRATION

• Human Respiratory System

EXCRETION

• The elimination of cellular waste products from the organism.

• These wastes include water, carbon dioxide, salts, and nitrogen-containing compounds.

EXCRETION

• Urine Sample

SYNTHESIS

• Chemical reactions in which small molecules combine to form larger ones.

SYNTHESIS

• Combining 2 glucose molecules to make a larger maltose molecule

GROWTH

• An increase in size brought about by increases in cell size and cell number.

• The raw materials for growth are the products of synthesis.

GROWTH

REGULATION

• The control and coordination of life functions.

REGULATION

• Nucleus • Brain

• All living things respond to changes. Living things notice changes in their surroundings and react to them.

• Eg. Plants grow towards the light.

• Eg. People react to the temperature around them.

REPRODUCTION

• The production of new individuals.

• Reproduction is necessary for the survival of a species, or kind of organism.

REPRODUCTION

• LIFE PROCESSES VIDEO