Characteristics of Living Things

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS

An organism is a living thing; it has all the characteristics of life.

An organism has-An orderly

structure, called ORGANIZATION

Living things are made of one or more cells, possibly containing billions of cells.

Inside the cell-There are cell

parts (called organelles) that work together.

There is genetic material called DNA that controls the cell’s life processes.

The CELL

Is the basic unit of structure and function of organisms:

That means living things are made of cells and also, all these characteristics of life happen within the cells.

Organisms can REPRODUCEReproduction is

the production of offspring.

It may be asexual, one parent with offspring that are the exact copy;

Or sexual, two parents who produce offspring different from them.

REPRODUCTION- Is necessary for a

species to continue to survive

It is not necessary for an individual to reproduce in order to continue living

Organisms CHANGEAll the changes

that take place during the life of an organism is DEVELOPMENT

Living things GROW, adding cells or living material and forming new structures

Organisms ADJUSTThey must

respond to changes in their environment, INTERNAL and EXTERNAL, to maintain a constant internal environment

A stimulus (change in the environment) causes an organism to react, or respond in order to maintain HOMEOSTASIS

ENERGYThese

characteristics of life, called METABOLISM, need ENERGY.

Organisms get their energy From food. Either they make

their own food, such as plants, which are AUTOTROPHS

Or they get their food from other organisms, and are called HETEROTROPHS-these include animals and fungi

All organisms have ADAPTATIONS, a

structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to survive in its environment

All organisms are perfectly adapted for their environment

Some non-living things Have some of these

characteristics, but are not considered living.

Viruses sometimes contain DNA and reproduce, but they are not usually considered living.