Characteristics of Living Things!

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Characteristics of Living Things!
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Its Easy! Okay, maybe not

• Most people feel it is easy to pick between a
  living and nonliving thing.
• They might ask questions like Does it grow? Does
  it move? Does it reproduce?
• These are valid questions, but think of a flame.
• It can grow, move, and produce more flames, but
  it is not alive.

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Important idea!

• Biologists have created a list of characteristics
  of living things.
• Although a nonliving thing may exhibit some of
  these characteristics, unless it has ALL
  characteristics it is NOT a living thing.
• A thing that possess all characteristics of a
  living thing is called an ORGANISM.

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All living things have

• Orderly structure
• Offspring
• Growth and development
• Adjustments to changes in environment

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1) Living things are organized.

• Orderly structure
• Cells and DNA function in an orderly system to
  control the organismss life processes.

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2) Living things make more living things.

• Reproduction
• It is essential for the continuation of the
  species.

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3) Living things change during their lives.

• Growth
• Organisms grow from a single cell to take on the
  characteristics of the species.
• All of the changes that take place during the
  life of an organism are known as its DEVELOPMENT.

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4) Living things adjust to their surroundings.

• Environment
• Includes air, water, temperature, and other
  organisms in the area.
• Any condition in the environment that requires an
  organism to adjust is a STIMULUS.
• A reaction to a stimulus is a RESPONSE.

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• Living things regulate their internal environment
  as well. This is called HOMEOSTASIS.
• Living things use ENERGY!

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5) Living things adapt and evolve.

• Any structure, behavior, or internal process that
  enables an organism to respond to stimuli and
  better survive in an environment is called an
  ADAPTATION.
• Adaptations are inherited from past generations.
• The gradual accumulations of adaptations over
  time is called EVOLUTION.