1. All things considered to be alive
have what characteristics in
common?
 Make a list of reasons why you think the
following organisms are considered
“alive”.
 Group that comes the closest wins…

3. 8 characteristics of living
things
- Have cells and DNA
- Reproduce
- Grow and Develop
- Use energy
- Have a need for resources and energy
- Respond to environment/stimuli
- Maintain internal balance
- Evolve over time as a species

4. 1. HAVE CELLS AND DNA
 Multi-cellular: cells differentiate from a
single fertilized egg cell, and they just
“know” to become a heart, leg etc.
 Uni-cellular : one celled organism
(amoeba or bacteria)
 Both above have DNA ( the genetic code:
which is why we look like our parents)

5. Multi-cellular start off a single cell…

6. 2. All living things reproduce
 There are 2 ways in which this can be
done…

7. 2. All living things Reproduce
 There are 2 types of reproduction:
 Asexual : 1 parent (budding) - identical
 Bacteria
 Plants
 Sexual: 2 parents
 cats
 people

8. 3. Living things grow and develop
 What is the difference between the 2
words?

10. Growth and Development
 Bacteria- grow, they just increase in size
 People – grow and develop … they
increase in size and their bodily functions
change over time….until they become an
adult
 ex) puberty…
 Plants grow and develop
 from acorn to tree

11. 4. Living things use energy to ……
grow/ develop/ reproduce

12. Living things use energy to
grow/develop/reproduce… or just stay alive
 Where do we get energy from?
 Metabolism: combination of chemical
reactions through which an organism
builds up and breaks down materials (will
release energy) as it carries out life
processes
 Fast metabolism- break down
 Slow metabolism – store for later

13. Where are they getting energy
from?

14. How obtain energy?
 Plants: From the sun’s energy
“photosynthesis”
 Lion: From eating other organisms
“herbivore, carnivore”
 Mushroom: From the remains of dead
organisms (decomposers)

15. 6. Living things respond to stimuli

16. 6. Respond to stimulus
 Stimulus- signal to which an organism
responds
 Response- (what they do because of the
signal)
 Internal stimulus- ex.) sugar levels drop?
…then you feel hungry
 External: ex.) flower leans toward the
window in a classroom

17. Practice Stimulus and Response
 My niece kicked me in the shin and I
screamed
 I slammed the door and the class jumped
 I turned the light on and the mouse ran
under the table
 I placed my hand on the hot stove and I
yanked it back and yelped

18. 7. Maintain internal balance

19. 7. Maintain internal balance
 External: conditions may vary widely
 But internal…. Should be kept constant..
This is homeostasis
 Ex) temperature 98.6 F, water content, etc
 Ex of how it happens?
 Shivering/sweating
 Thirst/feeling of fullness

20. Evolve over time …

21. 8. Evolve over time :Evolution
 100,000’s of millions of years…changes
can be dramatic within a species…
 ex) pre-historic horse was the size of a Barbie
doll horse