Eight Characteristics of Life
Example.
Are aardvarks alive?
In this assignment you will choose an animal or plant
and apply the eight characteristics of life to that
organism.
What are the eight characteristics of life?
Living Things all…
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Maintain Homeostasis
Have a Metabolism
Based on DNA
Made of Cells
Reproduce
React to Stimuli
7) Evolve as a group
8) Grow and Develop
Maintain Homeostasis
For this topic, include at least two interesting
facts about how the animal regulates its internal
conditions. This can be physiological ( how a
bodily system works to maintain a constant
internal condition, or the organism’s habitat that
helps it stay alive.
Example: Aardvarks spend the day in
underground burrows that allow them to stay
cool.
Based on a Universal Genetic Code (DNA)
Include:
Interesting traits that the organism’s
DNA codes for, in other words,
describe your organism.
Example:
1) Aardvarks have 20 chromosomes.
2) Aardvarks are mammals that have
rabbit like ears, a pig like nose, and
large flat claws.
Reproduction
Include:
How often the organism
reproduces, how many offspring,
are the offspring are born live, if
the mother lays eggs, duration of
pregnancy, etc.
Example:
Aardvark female give birth to
one offspring a year. The offspring
are born live.
Grow and Develop
Include:
How the offspring is raised, how long it
takes to reach maturity, how large is the
offspring at birth, and other interesting facts
about how the organism changes as it grows
and develops.
Example:
Born live and hairless, baby aardvarks
nurse for about four months. During the last
month the offspring nurse and eat solid food
(3 to 4 months). Males leave their mothers at
six months while females stay near their
mothers for a longer period of time.
Metabolism, organisms must take in energy and
excrete waste.
Include:
What the organism takes in to provide energy,
type of metabolic waste produced. How much it
consumes.
Example:
Aardvarks eat termites and ants. They are
nocturnal, so they hunt at night. The aardvark
has a foot and a half long tongue that it uses to
eat up the 50,000 ants a day(night). They also
will eat plants if insects are not available making
them omnivores.
Made of Cells
Include:
Unusual traits of the organism as
they relate to cells. This can include
many different things as almost any
traits can meet this requirement.
Example:
Aardvarks teeth are unusual in they
they are columns filled with blood
vessels and other cells. Their teeth
grow throughout their lives.
Respond to Stimuli
Include:
Interesting behaviors of your
organism. You could include mating
behaviors, defense mechanisms, how
it makes its home, etc.
For Example:
When threatened an aardvark will
usually run to its burrow and collapse
the entrance. They can also defend
themselves with their clawed feet.
Evolve as a species
Include:
What organisms the aardvark is related to.
How it has changed over time, and any other
evidence for how the organism has evolved.
Example:
The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is related to
elephants, golden moles, elephant shrews, and
manatees. All these organism belong to the
group “Afrotherians” and are closely related to
one of the first placental mammals.
Works Cited Page:
You need to include two
citations in the APA format.
“Aarvarks” National
Geographic. (n.d.).
Retrieved from
http://animals.nationalgeogr
aphic.com/animals/mammal
s/aardvark/
Link:
https://owl.english.purdue.e
du/owl/resource/560/10/