CHARACTERISTICS
OF LIVING
ORGANISMS
Identify the 7 Characteristics
Explain the meaning of each characteristic using
scientific examples
Apply knowledge of characteristics to research project
1. Organization & Cells
Organization: Degree of order within an organism’s
internal and external structure & how it interacts
with the environment.
Cells: Smallest unit that can perform all life’s
processes.
1. Unicellular= 1 cell (bacteria)
2. Multicellular= Multiple cells (trees, fish,
you)
a. Levels of Organization:
Atom  Molecule  Organelle  Cell  Tissue 
Organ  Organ System  Organism
Ex. ) Oxygen Phospholipid biomolecule) mitochondrion
nerve cell  nervous tissue with ear  owl’s ear  sensory
 barn owl
2. Response to Stimulus
•A physical or
chemical change in
the internal or
external environment.
Examples:
1. Dilating eyes in response
to change in light. Owl
dilates pupils to keep level of
light entering the eye
constant.
2. Pulling hand away after
touching hot stove.
3. Sneezing in response to
dust or allergies.
4. Leaves changing colors
during Fall.
3. Homeostasis
Definition: Maintaining a stable internal
environment even when environmental
conditions change.
• Example: Your body temperature is
maintained at approximately 98°F.
When your body heats up, your sweat
glands secrete water to cool your
skin. When you are cold, your body
constricts the skin (goosebumps) to
conserve heat. How would an owl
maintain its body temperature at
104°F?
4. Metabolism
Definition: Sum of all chemical reactions
that involve taking in and
transforming energy & materials from
the environment.
• Purpose of metabolism is for obtaining
energy for repair, movement, and
growth.
• Example: Plants, algae, and bacteria
use the sun’s energy to generate
sugar (food) through photosynthesis.
You depend on other organisms to
obtain energy.
5. Growth & Development
• All living things grow and increase in size
by the cells dividing and enlarging.
a. Unicellular organisms- Cell division then
enlargement.
b. Multicellular organisms- Mature through cell
divison, enlargement, and development.
Development: Process by which an organism
becomes a mature adult through cell division &
cell specialization.
6. Reproduction
• Production of new organisms like themselves.
• Reproduction, unlike the other 6
characteristics, is not essential to the
survival of an individual organism. It is
essential for the survival of the species.
• During reproduction, organisms pass on
hereditary information (DNA) to their
offspring.
• Sexual: hereditary information is combined
from 2 organisms of the same species.
• Asexual: hereditary information from
different organisms is not combined ~ the
original organism and new organism are
genetically the same. Ex) bacteria
Observe the changes below:
7. Change Through Time
• Although individual
organisms experience
changes during their
lifetime, their basic genetic
characteristics do not
change.
• Populations of living
organisms evolve or change
over long periods of time in
order to survive in a
changing world.
Example: Peppered Moth
IAN UPDATE
• PG. 6 PAPERCLIP SPECIMEN LAB AND OBSERVING MAMMAL
PAPERS
• PG. 7 OBSERVATION/INFERENCE NOTES
• PG. 8 SIMPSON SCIENTIFIC METHOD
• PG. 9 SCIENTIFIC METHOD NOTES
• PG. 10 CONTROLS AND VARIABLES I
• PG. 11 CONTROLS AND VARIABLES 2
• PG. 12 PRACTICE INTERPRETING DATA
• PG. 13 GRAPHING NOTES
• PG. 14 FOUR EXAMPLES OF CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
• PG. 15 FOUR NOTES ON CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
• PG. 16 THREE EXAMPLES OF CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE
• PG. 17 THREE NOTES ON CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE