Characteristics of Living Things

By Mr. Krall

Organism = any living thing

All organisms…

1. move2. use energy 3. reproduce4. grow & change5. have a lifespan6. are made of at least one cell7. react and respond to the environment

Move

All organisms have some way to get from place to place.

Running, climbing, slithering, gliding, hopping, & swimming are all ways of moving.

Some fly.

Some run.

Some slither.

Organisms Move

Plants (and some other organisms) move by growing towards water and sunlight.

Organisms that stay in one place most of their life (like plants) are called sessile.

Use Energy

Organisms need energy to move, grow, develop, and reproduce.

They get energy from their environment or by eating other organisms.

These PowerPoint

presentations are amazing.

I know, right.

Use Energy

Producers – create food from energy and non-food substances. Ex. Plants create food from sunlight, CO2, and H2O.

Thanks for the energy. I’m making

food out of it.

Yeah. I know. I read the

thing.

Use Energy

Consumers – get energy from the bodies of the producers and/or consumers they eat.

Ex. A horse eats grass, a frog eats a spider.

Reproduce

Reproduce – organisms can make more of their own kind.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways:Ex. seeds, spores, buds, sex cells, etc.

This is not one of them.

goo goo

Grow & Change

Growing – All organisms get bigger as they get older.

But organisms don’t just get bigger…

If that was all humans did, we’d just end up giant babies.

Grow & Change

Developing – the changes an organism goes through.

All organisms develop (change) at some point.

Ex. Frogs starting as tadpolesHumans getting new teeth, going through puberty.Butterflies starting as caterpillars, then cocoon, then butterfly

Have a lifespan

Lifespan – how long an organisms is expected to live

A human’s lifespan is currently around 75 years.

Some fruit flies have a lifespan of 1 day.

Certain trees have a lifespan of 2,000 years.You thought

you had a busy day…

Made of 1 or more cells

Cell – the building block of organisms

Unicellular – organisms whose entire body is one cell

Ex. bacteria, germs, pond scum

Multi-cellular - organisms made of more than one cell

Ex. plants, animals, fungi

No, not me.

React & Respond

All organisms must be able to sense and react to their environment.

Stimulus – anything an organism can detect with their senses

Response – the action an organism takes after detecting a stimuli

React & Respond

Adaptation - over long periods of time, organisms change to better survive in their environment. These changes are called adaptations.

Ex. a skunk’s spray, a giraffe’s long neck, a frog’s camouflage, a scorpion’s poison

React & Respond

Homeostasis – when an organism’s body tries to keep inside body conditions the same no matter what is happening outside the body.

An example is your body temperature. If you are too hot, your body sweats to cool off.If you are too cold, you shiver to warm up.