What is Life?
What is Life?
What is Life?
Where do living things come from?
What characteristics do living things share?
?
Characteristics of living things
Characteristics of living things
Living things are made of cells.
Living things are made of cells.
Living things obtain and use energy.
Living things grow and develop.
The smallest part of an organism is a cell. Some organisms are
unicellular while others are multicellular.
Living things reproduce.
Living things respond to their environment.
Living things adapt to their environment.
…Characteristics of living things
…Characteristics of living things
Living things obtain and use energy.
Living things grow and develop.
Some organisms like plants, algae, and some microrganisms are
autotrophs. Autotrophs use photosynthesis to make their
own "food." Some bacteria use chemosynthesis for their
energy source.
Animals and fungi are heterotrophs and capture their food in
a variety of ways. The food must be converted to a usable form
of energy, ATP. ATP is a chemical our cells can use through
metabolism
…Characteristics of living things
…Characteristics of living things
Living things reproduce.
Living things respond to their environment.
What would happen if organisms couldn’t reproduce?
Organisms either reproduce sexually or asexually.
This often results in movement of the individual toward safety.
This helps to ensure survival of the organism. For example, as
young children we learned to avoid hot stoves and busy streets.
Plants also have some limited ability to move. They grow up
toward the sun, and some have leaves able to turn to follow the
sun, allowing them to photosynthesize better. Their roots grow
down to search for water and minerals. If a plant doesn't get
enough sunlight, water or minerals it will die.