1 | CHARACTERISTICS

• biology

  • study of life
• CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

  1. metabolism
  2. irritability
  3. growth and development
  4. reproduction
  5. evolution and adaptation
  6. cellular organization
  7. homeostasis
• METABOLISM

  • all living organisms obtain and use energy to grow, develop, repair damage and reproduce
  • all chemical reactions occurring within an organism
  • anabolism + catabolism = metabolism
• LIVING ORGANISMS

  • producers - plants and other photosynthetic organisms; produce their own food (from CO2, H2O, and the sun)
  • consumers - animals; obtain nutrients and energy from consuming the food made by producers.
• 2 TYPES OF METABOLISM

  1. anabolism
  2. catabolism
• 1. ANABOLISM

  • process of building up complex substances from simpler substances
• 2. CATABOLISM

  • process of breaking down complex substances into simpler substances to release energy
• ANABOLISM

  • increase in height
  • photosynthesis (plants)
• CATABOLISM

  • losing weight
  • digestion
  • cellular respiration
• IRRITABILITY

  • All living things respond to their environment
• TROPISM

  • Response of an organism toward a stimulus
• ORGANISMS REACT TO STIMULI

  • photropism - light
  • thermotropism - temperature
  • gravitropism - gravity
  • hydrotropism - water
  • thigmotropism - touch
• GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

  • all living things grow and develop
• GROWTH

  • Means to get bigger in size and volume
• DEVELOPMENT

  • Change in physical form or physiological make-up of an organism
  • Includes the stages an individual organism goes through from the moment it begins life
• ACCRETION

  • External growth
  • Occur in non-living things (crystal, rocks, stones)
• INTUSSUSCEPTION

  • Internal growth
  • Living and nonliving matters
  • Addition of substance into existing cells
  • Occurs when the rate of manufacture of new materials is greater than the rate of breakdown
• LIFE STAGES

  1. birth
  2. childhood
  3. adolescence
  4. maturity
  5. senescence
  6. death
• LIFE SPAN

  Define period of existence
• LIFE CYCLE

  History of an organism from birth - reproduction - death
• REPRODUCTION

  • all living things reproduce
  • Necessary for organisms to proliferate.
  • Process by which an organism may produce an offspring and perpetuate its species.
  • Able to pass on characteristics from one offspring to another and from one generation to another.
• 2 TYPES OF REPRODUCTION

  1. asexual reproduction
  2. sexual reproduction
• ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

  • single parent reproducing by itself
• SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

  • Two different parent organisms combine genetic information
  • Involves the combination of male and female sex cells
• GENES

  carry hereditary information; composed of DNA
• HEREDITARY

  Reason children resembles their parents
• MUTATION

  change DNA code and can be passed from generation to generation
• EVOLUTION AND ADAPTATION

  • All organisms/living things adapt to their environment through evolution
• EVOLUTION

  • Recognize the great diversity of appearance and behavior of species while looking for the unity of life processes
• ADAPTATION

  • enables organisms to become better suited to their environment
  • Species obtain adaptations through evolution, which occurs over great periods of time.
• CELLULAR ORGANIZATION

  • all living things are made up of cells
• UNICELLULAR 

  • Entire organism is made up of one single cell
  • Bacteria and protists
• MULTICELLULAR

  • Organism is made up of many cells
  • Cells have specialized functions within the organism