Living or Not???

Characteristics of living things Movement Response (to a stimulus) Growth Reproduction Adaptation Metabolism (all changes where energy is released)

A good acronym!! M R G A

Do you need to have all 6 characteristics?? Yes!! In order to be a living organism, you need to be able to do all 6 things.

Movement Plants move toward the light Some flowers close their petals at night The Venus Flytrap plant snaps shut when two of its sensitive hairs are touched at the same time.

Response/Stimulus All living organisms can respond to a stimulus: Response = what was done in response to the stimulus Stimulus = the thing that was done to initiate the response Ivan Pavlov found that you could train dogs to salivate when they heard a bell! Example: Plant responds to the stimulus of touch: Mimosa pudica responds to touch

Growth All organisms must grow Crabs lose their shells and molt when they get too big

reproduction to be able, at some point in its life cycle, to produce more offspring.

Adaptation Any characteristic that makes an organism better able to survive in its surroundings. EX: a dog’s coat keeps him warm in the winter

Metabolism is a set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life