HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
TOPIC 1: THE SCIENCE OF BIOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY
PART 1: THE MEANING OF BIOLOGY

Biology is the study of ___________________________________.
How do we define life?
Scientists do not agree on a definition of life!
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
 Although life is diverse, it may be defined by several basic characteristics that are
__________________________________
 Organism: An individual living thing.
1. LIVING THINGS ARE ORGANIZED
o The cell is __________________________________of all living things.
 Unicellular— an organism that contains only ____________.
 Multicellular—an organism that contains more than one cell.
o All organisms must be made up of at least one cell.
 Provide an example of a structure found in a living thing which has a very specific function:
________________________________________________.
2. LIVING THINGS ACQUIRE MATERIALS AND ENERGY (METABOLISM)
 Metabolism: includes ALL chemical processes that build-up or break down materials and create waste.
o Types of energy include: light and chemical
o Metabolism encompasses all the chemical reactions that occur in a cell.

All organisms are
able to
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
____________________________________________________and use it for life processes (ex.
Excretion, nutrition, respiration, reproduction, etc.)
o Photosynthesis (_____________ energy  __________________ energy)
 All life on Earth acquires energy by metabolizing (building up or breaking down) nutrient
molecules made by _______________________________.
 This applies to plants as well!

Fill in the chart below regarding how different organisms acquire energy.
AUTOTROPH
DEFINE
Organisms that get their
energy by eating
________________.
HETEROTROPH
DECOMPOSER
Organisms that get their
Organisms that get their
energy by eating
energy by
_______________________ _____________________
_______________________
EXAMPLE
__________________
_______________________ ___________________
3. LIVING THINGS MAINTAIN ________________________________
 _________________________: The maintenance of a stable internal environment in response to
changes in the external environment.
o Biological balance
4. LIVING THINGS RESPOND
 Ability to respond to _______________________ often results in ______________________.
o Ex: plant growing towards the sun, animals darting towards safety, and communication, hunting
and defense behaviors.
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT
MS. ETRI
.
Mimosa Pudica: “The Sensitive Plant”
What are the benefits of rapid
movement?
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0LFBM3hOLs

How are unicellular organisms able to respond?
o ________________________________________________________.
5. LIVING THINGS REPRODUCE
 Reproduction: to make another organism of the same species.
o Even if an individual can’t reproduce, its _____________________can.
o An individual’s cells are constantly reproducing themselves

What is the purpose of reproduction?
o ________________________________________________________________________.
o Random combinations of sperm and egg ensure an individual with new and different
characteristic.
TWO TYPES OF REPRODUCTION
o
Sexual Reproduction
 _______________________________
 Genetically ______________________offspring
 Union of male and female sex cells (_________________) = _____________________
o
Asexual Reproduction
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HONORS LIVING ENVIRONMENT



MS. ETRI
1 parent
Genetically _____________________________offspring
No sex cells needed
6. LIVING THINGS GROW AND DEVELOP
o Growth: An increase in the physical cell ________________________________________.
o Development: _____________________________ of cells or structures.
o What about unicellular organisms?
 Single cells repair and use materials from the environment to replace internal structures
as needed.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/imaging_station/students/zebrafish.html
7. LIVING THINGS HAVE NUCLEIC ACID AS THE HEREDITY MOLECULE
o DNA: _________________________________________________
o The instructions, or blueprint, for an organism’s
_______________________________________________ are encoded in genes.
o Genes are made of long molecules of DNA.
8. LIVING THINGS HAVE ADAPTATIONS
o Adaptations [Latin: ad = __________________ , aptus = ______________________]
o Modifications that make organisms better able to function in a particular environment.
o All organisms exhibit evolution over time due to
_______________________________________________________.
o This operates at the species level.
o All organisms show adaptation, which occurs at the individual level and its tightly related to
homeostasis.
QUESTION: Fire uses energy, grows, and can reproduce so why is it not considered to be alive?
**Living things possess ________________ 8 of the above characteristics.
**Non-living things may possess _______________ of the above characteristics but not all.
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