1. Characteristics
of Life
Science is Organized Knowledge

2. Intro to Characteristics of Life
Movie

3. Living vs. Non Living Things
• Which of these is alive?
– How can you tell?
• What about:
– mushrooms?
– mold?
– pond scum?

4. Living vs. Non Living
• Which of these is alive?
– Why?
• What about:
– bacteria?
– sea urchins?
– insects?

5. • What do all living things have
in common?
• What do non-living things have
in common?

6. Characteristics of Life
All living things exhibit:
1. GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
– get bigger, more complex, or develops in some way
2. ENERGY METABOLISM
– eat, breathe, excrete waste; energy usage
3. HOMEOSTASIS
– maintain a relatively controlled internal environment
4. ADAPTATION
– adjust over time due to mutation and natural selection which improves survival
5. RESPONSE TO STIMULI
– respond to things in their external environment (often as movement)
6. ORGANIZATION
– made of one or more cells with complex structures and chemical processes
7. REPRODUCTION
– generate offspring; DNA provides the blueprint

7. Growth & Development
• Every living thing exhibit GROWTH
– living organisms increase in size and number of cells
– cells get bigger and divide to create more cells
• i.e. the legs of a child grow longer as osteocytes divide to
create new bone cells, enlarging the femur bones
• DEVELOPMENT is the process by which an organism
becomes a mature adult
– a single cell divides to form a cluster
– these cells differentiate (take on specific
tasks) to form specialized tissues/organs
– as the number of cells increase, the complexity of the
organism increases also

8. Metabolism
• METABOLISM refers to all the chemical reactions an organism
uses to take in and transform energy from the environment
– plants convert solar energy (from sunlight) into chemical energy
(sugar molecules) via photosynthesis
– fungi and worms take in decaying matter and break down the
chemical energy stored in those molecules to provide energy for
growth and life
– mammals change the chemical energy stored in plants
and other animals into a form of energy called ATP
that their cells can use
• ALL energy comes from the SUN
(directly or indirectly)
ATP
molecule

9. Homeostasis
• The maintenance of a stable level of internal conditions is
called HOMEOSTASIS
– All living things have mechanisms that regulate their bodies so things
stay balanced
• e.g., body temperature, water content, glucose levels, etc. stay constant
even though environmental conditions change
– Metabolic processes are involved in many of these mechanisms

10. Adaptation
• An ADAPTATION is an inherited feature that improves an
organism’s ability to survive.
– Adaptations can take many forms:
• a behavior that allows better evasion of predators
• a protein that functions better at body temperature
• a body structure that allows easier resource-gathering
– They happen because of mutations
• Random, spontaneous changes in genetic code
• Organism’s adaptation improves likelihood
of mutation being reproduced
• Only .01% of mutations are beneficial
– The gradual accumulation of
adaptations leads to micro-evolution

11. Response to Stimuli
• Living things RESPOND TO A STIMULUS
– a physical or chemical change in the environment
produces a purposeful response
• stimulus can be within or outside the organism
– Examples:
• Deciduous trees respond to fewer hours of
External
Stimuli
sunlight by dropping leaves (hibernation)
• Lizard's body temperature drops when air cools,
so it moves to a sunny rock for warmth
Internal
• Your body reacts to a disturbing dream with faster
Stimuli breathing and heart rate, possibly waking you up.
• A hamster is thirsty, so it gets a drink of water.
• Responses can be the result of
– instinct (automatic reactions we're born with)
• eyes blinks, sneezing, startle reflex
• bird migration, seed germination, wet dog shaking
– conditioned response (learned behavior)
• hunting skills, reading, Pavlov's Dog

12. Movement
• Movement is a type of response to stimuli
– a unicellular organism moves in response to
chemical changes outside the cell
• amoeba exhibits locomotion (change in location)
• paramecium use cilia to get around
– a sessile organism such as a plant turns
toward the sun (change of position)
• phototropism
– movement also occurs inside organisms,
within organs, tissues, and cells
• fluids transported up and down plant stems
• molecules move within & between cells
• food moved through the intestines

13. Organization
• All living things are composed of one or
more microscopic cells
• Cells are the smallest units able to perform
all the necessary processes to sustain life
• The size of multi-celled organisms depends
on the number of cells, NOT their size
• In multicellular organisms, many cells are
specialized to perform specific functions
• Cells can take in molecular substances from the environment
and organize them in complex ways
• Within cells, organelles carry out specific functions
• All cells contain DNA which carry information that directs cell
processes

14. Reproduction
• Production of new organisms is essential for the continuation
of a species
• Hereditary information (DNA) is transferred to offspring in
one of two ways:
– Sexual reproduction
• two parents supply the DNA
• hereditary information recombines
from two organisms of the same species
• most plants & animals
– Asexual reproduction
• a single parent supplies DNA
• original and new organisms are
genetically the same
• bacteria, some plants & algae, primitive
animals (worms, sponges, hydra)

15. Characteristics of Life
1. GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT
– get bigger, more complex, or develops in some way
2. ENERGY METABOLISM
– eat, breathe, excrete waste; energy usage
3. HOMEOSTASIS
– maintain a relatively controlled internal environment
4. ADAPTATION
– changes over time due to natural selection and mutation
5. RESPONSE TO STIMULI
– respond to things in their external environment (often as
movement and adaptation over a period of time)
6. CELLS
– made of at least one cell containing highly complex structures
organized chemical processes
7. REPRODUCTION
– generate offspring with new combinations of parent DNA

16. Note-Taking 101
• Tips for good note-taking:
– Don't write every word down
– Listen for major points/themes
– Draw pictures to illustrate details
– Resist distractions
• texting
• doodling
– USE notes for review & test prep
• Many different methods:
– Full Sentences
• breaks rule #1
– Outlining
• tried & true
– Cornell Method
– Mind Mapping
– Charting
• need content before lecture

17. Cornell Method
• Mark off sections:
– Cues (during/after class)
• main points
– Notes (during class)
• outline form or brief
sentences
• leave space to fill in later
– Summary (after class)
• big-picture ideas
Practice Video

18. Week 2 Lab
Review
Procedures & Lab Notebooks
Laboratory Science as a Career

19. Lab Procedures
• Safety first!
– always scan the Materials section first to see what will be needed and
whether or not lab coats/goggles are required
• Instructions will be provided - READ THEM CAREFULLY!!
– you MUST read through the entire set of procedures before beginning
– verbal instructions will also be given – LISTEN CAREFULLY!!!
• Record all procedures, observations, data, etc. in your lab
notebooks.
– I'll try to get the labs out to you ahead of time so you can paste or
write them into your notebooks before class.

20. Lab Notebooks
Always include:
• date the experiment is performed
• names of your lab partners
OBSERVATION:
The Problem: in the form of a question.
Background research: what you already know or
have learned.
HYPOTHESIS: what you think will happen.
EXPERIMENT:
Materials: a list of the needed equipment and materials.
Procedures: step-by-Step instructions to perform the experiment.
Data: measurable results (written observations, lists, charts, graphs, labeled diagrams, etc.)
CONCLUSION: how your data relates to your hypothesis.

21. Lab Procedures, continued
• You will sometimes be required to work independently.
– STAY ON TASK, pay attention to instructions, and include
everyone in all parts of the lab
• When finished, CLEAN UP your station.
– If you have extra free time, work on SCIENCE.
– Lunch is not until 12:00

22. Organic vs. Inorganic
• General definition
– Organic compounds are those which are of
biological origin.
• come from living or previously-living things
– Inorganic compounds are of inanimate (non-
living) origin.
• Chemical definition
– Organic compounds contain carbon as well as having
carbon-hydrogen bonds.
• i.e. a diamond contains pure carbon, but is an inorganic
substance because it lacks C-H bonds
– Inorganic substances usually do not contain carbon
and never have C-H, C-N or C-O bonds.

23. Organic Compounds
• Molecules associated with living organisms are organic.
– Include nucleic acids, fats, sugars, proteins, enzymes and many fuels.
• DNA
• table sugar or sucrose, C12H22O11
• benzene, C6H6
• methane, CH4
• All Organic Compounds:
– come from a currently
living thing, or were formed
from a deceased organism
– contain carbon AND
Carbon-Hydrogen bonds

24. Inorganic Compounds
• Inorganic substances do not come from living things or
previously living organisms.
– Salts, metals, and substances made from a single element
– Any compounds that don't contain carbon
– Carbon-containing substances that lack carbon-hydrogen bonds
• table salt (sodium chloride or NaCl)
• carbon dioxide, CO2
• diamond (pure carbon)

25. Taking a Deeper Look at Metabolism
• Organisms that make their own food are called autotrophs
– Phototrophs – use solar energy (photosynthesis) to get energy
• Convert H2O and CO2 into sugar and O2
• i.e. plants and algae
– Chemotrophs – use different chemical processes to get energy
• i.e. iron-oxidizing bacteria near lava beds
• Organisms that must take in food to meet their energy needs
are called heterotrophs
– Complex chemicals are broken down and reassembled into
chemicals and structures needed by organisms
• herbivores consume only autotrophs
• carnivores eat other heterotrophs
• omnivores take in both for their energy needs
• detritivores get their energy from dead and decaying matter (plants
or animals)

26. Types of Asexual Reproduction
• Binary fission: parent cell simply divides into two parts
– simplest form of asexual reproduction
– protozoa, bacteria, algae
• Budding: small growths on surface of parent organism break off
– yeast, hydra, sponges, liverworts
• Spores: special cells released by the parent become new
organisms
– fungi, algae, protozoa
• Fragmentation: severed body parts grow into new organisms
– sea stars, earthworms, hydra, and planarian (type of worm)
• Vegetative propagation: new plant grows from sections of roots,
stems, or leaves which are cut or fall off the parent
– some plants use bulbs, corms, tubers, runners, and rhizomes
• Cloning: scientifically-engineered reproductive technology that
– involves replacing an embryonic cell's DNA

27. Careers in Laboratory Science
• Researcher
– PhD or MD/PhD
– Design experiments, publish
conclusions
– Apply for grants, hire staff
• Research Assistant
– Manages experiments
– Assists with data collection, data
entry, and statistical analysis
• Medical Lab Tech
– Run lab tests and reports data
• research or medical treatment
• Forensic science
• genetic counseling
• Pharmaceutical Production & Sales
– Requires business skills & knowledge of chemistry and human
physiology