1.3 Characteristics of Life

• Six Essential Characteristics of Life

  • Organization
  • Metabolism
  • Responsiveness
  • Growth
  • Development
  • Reproduction
• Organization 

  • the specific interrelationships among the parts of an organism and how those parts interact to perform specific functions
• Metabolism

  • refers to all of the chemical reactions taking place in an organism
  • ability to break down food molecules
• Responsiveness

  • organism’s ability to sense changes in its external or internal environment and adjust to those changes
• Growth

  • increase in the size or number of cells, which produces an overall enlargement of all or part of an organism
• Development

  • the changes an organism undergoes through time, beginning with fertilization and ending at death
• Differentiation is change in cell structure and function from generalized to specialized
• Morphogenesis is change in the shape of tissues, organs, and the entire organism
• Reproduction

  • the formation of new cells or new organisms