Characteristics of Life
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Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago: Science Teacher PD Course "All About You" > "Characteristics of Life" Lesson
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Characteristics of Life
- 1. Characteristics of Life All About You Teacher Education Course
- 2. Functions of Living Things
- 3. Characteristics of Life Key Take-Away • All living things must have the following characteristics: composed of cells, have organization, maintain homeostasis, use energy, grow and repair, interact with environment, reproduce, and adapt and evolve. Objectives • Compare and contrast living and non-living things to deduce the characteristics of life • Create a characteristics of life graphic organizer to serve as a study guide • Plan experiments with pinto bean plants to support with evidence that they have the characteristics of a living system
- 5. Biology and the Characteristics of Life Living Thing Grow and Repair Interact with the Environment Reproduce Adapt and Evolve Composed of Cells Have Organization Maintain Homeostasis Use Energy
- 6. Composed of Cells Cells are the most basic form of life. Cells come in many varieties and can work together for various functions.
- 7. Have Organization Structural parts and functional roles Ex: Cells > Tissue > Organ > System
- 8. Reproduce Can result in a copy of genetic info OR a mixing of genetic info
- 9. Grow & Repair Cells are limited in size - Cellular division is required for growth & repair.
- 10. Interact w Environment Obtain resources; respond to environmental change; change the environment
- 11. Is This Plant a Living Thing? Now it’s your turn to design an experiment for the following characteristic: • Interact with the Environment
- 12. Interacts with Environment Experiment Design INDEPENDENT VARIABLE (factors you change) DEPENDENT VARIABLE (factors that change as a result) CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MAINTAINED (controlled variables)
- 13. Interacts with Environment Experiment Design INDEPENDENT VARIABLES 1 2 3 4 5 DEPENDENT VARIABLES a b c CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MAINTAINED Once you pick an independent variable, the rest automatically become variables that you need to keep the same… What can you change? What might respond to changes you make?
- 14. Interacts with Environment Experiment Design Research Question How does INDEPENDENT VARIABLE affect DEPENDENT VARIABLE when CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MAINTAINED? Hypothesis If INDEPENDENT VARIABLE is increased and CERTAIN CONDITIONS ARE MAINTAINED then DEPENDENT VARIABLE will (increase / decrease).
- 15. Interacts with Environment Experiment Design Research Question How does air temperature affect the size of pinto bean leaves when the plant is grown in a greenhouse? Hypothesis If air temperature is increased and the plant is grown in a greenhouse then the size of pinto bean leaves will increase.
- 16. Use Energy Energy is required for essential life processes; comes from light and/or chemicals
- 18. Adapt & Evolve Adaptions: inherited traits favorable in an environment Evolution: changes in species over time
- 19. Is It Living?
- 20. Disciplinary Core Ideas in Life Science LS1: From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits across generations LS4: Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Editor's Notes
- Biology is the study of living systems, but what exactly differentiates a living thing from a non-living thing? Certain ancient civilizations described life as having the classical elements of earth, water, air and fire. As science advanced, people’s viewpoint of life changed. Scientists agree that there are common characteristics of life. In order to be considered a living thing, that thing must satisfy the following criteria: Is composed of cells Have organization Maintain homeostasis Use energy Grow and repair Interact with the environment Reproduce Adapt and evolve
- Students will use plant 3 to carry out their “Use Energy” experiment, plant 4 to carry out their “Grow and Repair” experiment, and plant 5 to carry out their “Interact with the Environment” experiment. Facilitate the development of their ideas by using the Inquiry Wheel (see Wheel of Inquiry lesson).
- Distribute materials for students to make their Characteristics of Life Foldable®. Prompt students to summarize the key idea of each characteristic of life for their descriptions. The picture can match the ones in this PowerPoint, but they should represent an image that
- Hydras are small multicellular organisms that live in fresh water environments (ponds, lakes, streams). Typically they are grow to be only a few millimeters long, so they are best seen under a microscope.
- Starting with one cell, for each cell that undergoes one round of cellular division, the number of cells doubles. Growth and repair are made possible by cell division.
- Many peregrine falcons mate in North America but fly to warmer Central and South America during the North American winter to find food. Another example is a plant exhibiting phototropism. which means that the plant will grow towards a consistent source of light. A class of plant hormones called auxins will stimulate the growth of the cells that are situated away from the light. These cells will grow faster and longer compared to the cells situated closer to the light, thus pushing the plant towards the light. This allows the plant to maximize the amount of light energy it receives so it can produce more food through photosynthesis. This growth may take weeks and months before we can notice the change.
- The Sun is the source of light energy for producers, which convert the light energy and other inorganic materials to make their food (e.g. photosynthetic plants). Producers can then break down the food that they made in order to harness the chemical energy for life processes. Additionally, consumers can eat producers, and sometimes other consumers, to get their energy. Another portion of this transfer of energy include decomposers. Decomposers harness energy by breaking down wastes and dead organisms. Please note that decomposers can break down dead consumers and producers.
- A common example of homeostasis is human body temperature. The average human body temperature is 98.6°F (37°C). When we get cold, our bodies shiver to warm up. When we get hot, our bodies sweat. As the sweat evaporates from the surface of our skin, we cool down. If our body temperature is disrupted for an extended period of time, we will become ill and can possibly die. Prolonged high body temperature can lead to a fever. Depending on the severity, symptoms span from dehydration and fatigue to seizures, tissue and organ damage, and death. Prolonged low body temperature can lead to hypothermia. Depending on the severity, symptoms span from drowsiness and confusion to frost bite and death. Sometimes, homeostasis can occur without us noticing it. For example, a plant can maintain homeostasis by regulating– to a certain extent– the amount of water it takes in and releases. Plants transpire through specialized structures called stomata, which help control the amount of gas and water that enters and exits the plant. If we over-water a plant, it will begin to wilt and cease to grow. Its cells become flooded with water and can break open and die. To try to prevent this from happening, the plant will open its stomata, which allows more water vapor to escape the plant. If we under-water a plant, it will change colors (usually green to brown) and become brittle. Its cells are not getting enough water to undergo photosynthesis, which is the process in which plants produce their own food by using the Sun’s energy, carbon dioxide, and water. To prevent this from happening, the plant will close its stomata so more water is trapped inside the plant.
- Evolution may take many generations before a noticeable change occurs. We are limited in the change that we can witness because the human timescale is very short compared to the Earth’s timescale. We often rely on data and records from the past to help us detect changes in species, but one example of evolution that can be observed in a short amount of time is the case of the stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Sticklebacks are small fish that colonize in fresh water lakes like Loberg Lake by Wasilla, Alaska. Prior to 1982, the lake had a population of low-armored sticklebacks (bottom of figure). In October 1982, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game “emptied the lake” by poisoning it in order to reintroduce specific fish that were desirable to recreational fishing. A few years later, there was a noticeable population of fully-armored sticklebacks (top of figure), which came into the lake habitat from the ocean to avoid predators and to mate. By 1994, though, the population of low-armored sticklebacks outnumbered the armored sticklebacks! This drew the attention of many scientists. After research of the environment and stickleback genetics, scientists contribute the change to evolution due to natural selection. They found that dragonfly larvae of Loberg Lake prey on immature sticklebacks. The low-armored sticklebacks mature faster than the armored sticklebacks and were able to escape predation. About a decade later, the low-armored sticklebacks out-survived the armored sticklebacks because they had an adaptation that allowed them to survive long enough in their environment. They eventually reproduced, thus passing on their genetic material to the next generation. (Refer to the Form Fits Function lesson—even in a species, individual organisms display differences.) Those differences can be critical to survival once the environment changes. For an interactive animation about the sticklebacks in Loberg Lake, go to http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/selection/stickleback/. On this page, you can read the following summary: Low-armored forms of sticklebacks evolve in freshwater environments again and again. Given how quickly these shifts occur, the freshwater environment is most likely selecting for low-armored gene variants that are already present at a low frequency in ocean populations. When a group of fish moves from the ocean to fresh water, the low-armored variants survive and reproduce at a higher rate than the fully armored individuals. Here's why: Predation by saltwater fish favors more armor. Predation by insect larvae that live in fresh water favors faster-moving fish with less armor. Low-armor forms grow faster, making them (1) too big for predators, (2) reach sexual maturity more quickly, and (3) able to store more energy reserves, which increases their chance of overwinter survival. Also, The following definitions are mainly due to Theodosius Dobzhansky: 1. Adaptation is the evolutionary process whereby an organism becomes better able to live in its habitat or habitats. 2. Adaptedness is the state of being adapted: the degree to which an organism is able to live and reproduce in a given set of habitats. 3. An adaptive trait is an aspect of the developmental pattern of the organism which enables or enhances the probability of that organism surviving and reproducing.