1-1 Characteristics of Life

Objectives

Relate relavance of biology to a person’s lifeDescribe the importance of Biology in

human societyList the characteristics of living thingsSummarize the hierarchy of organization

within multicellular organismsDistinguish between homeostasis &

metabolism and between growth, development & reproduction

Biology: the study of life

– The natural world– How it works– Large and small

• Subsets also use suffix “ology”– Can you name an example?

Biology & Society

• You have to make decisions

• Make informed ones

• Technology is advancing faster than morality

Characteristics of Life

• 7 characteristics to classify it as alive

1. Organized & Has cells- Organized inside & out- Cells are the smallest unit that can perform

life’s activities- Unicelllar- Multicellular

- Hierarchy of organization

2. Everything alive responds to stimuli

• Changes happen inside and outside of us

• It elicits (causes us to respond)

3. & 4. Homeostasis & Metabolism

- Keeping “dynamic equilibrium”- Like a thermostat

- Metabolism: all the chemical reactions inside an organism- Breaking down- Building up

5. Growth & Development

• Are crystals alive?

• Water expands when it cools is it alive?

• Cells grow and divide. – Its how we get fixed when we get cut– Whole organisms develop into mature adults

6. Reproduction

• Don’t need it to survive

• Species need reproduction– There’s lots of ways to do it– Sexual vs. Asexual. What does the prefix

mean?

• Gene: short segment of DNA that contains instructions for a single trait.

7. Change through Time/ evolution

• A population of organisms changes as different couples produce different offspring that survive at different rates

• Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny

1. How does biology affect a person’s daily life?

2. How does biology affect society?

3. Name the characteristics shared by living things

4. Summarize the hierarchy of organization found in multi-cellular

organisms

5. What are the different functions of homeostasis and metabolism in living

things?

6. How does growth among living and nonliving things differ?

7. Why is reproduction an important characteristic of life?

8. Why are crystals alive?