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.