Characteristics of Life

•Biology

–The study of Life

•Bio: Life

•ology: Study of

Characteristics of Life

• Response to Stimulus (Movement)

• Growth & Development

• Reproduction

• Organization

• Homeostasis

• Use Energy

Living things acquire materials and

energy, and they reproduce

Response to Stimulus

• Stimulus is any response to an organism’s environment that causes it to react.

Living things grow and develop

Growth & Development

• All organisms change during their

lives

• Growth increases size

• Development is like the stages of life

that humans go through: infant,

adolescent, (puberty), adult.

Reproduction

• The species must reproduce

• This is how the species survives

• A group of organisms that

interbreed and produce fertile

offspring are called a species.

Reproduction (cont)

• Reproduction is a process that can allow gradual change in the characteristics of a species over time.

• Change over time is evolution.

• Change over time explains the great diversity of life.

Organization

• Each species has its own type of

body organization

• Cells, tissues, organs, systems

are levels of organization

• All body systems interact with

other systems.

Levels of Biological Organization

Homeostasis

• The ability of the body of an organism to maintain it’s internal environment or conditions in the body.

• Example: Body Temperature

• Maintaining balance within the body

Use Energy

• All living things obtain energy from their environment.

• They use this energy to move, grow and develop, reproduce, have organized body systems, and maintain homeostasis.

• Autotrophic vs Heterotrophic

Theme of Biology

• Living things do not exist in isolation

• They are all functioning parts in the delicate balance of nature.

• Life is dynamic, not static

Organization of the Biosphere

• Chemical cycling- chemicals cycle through

an ecosystem until they are returned to

the environment through death and

decomposition

• Energy cycling-flows from the sun through

photosynthesizers to others in food chain

and dissipates back to the environment as

heat

A grassland, a terrestrial ecosystem

• Fig 1.6