What is Life? Chapter 1, lesson 1

Characteristics of All Living Things Cellular organization Contain similar chemicals Use energy Respond to their surroundings Grow and develop Reproduce Do nonliving things have some of these characteristics? Do nonliving things have ALL of these characteristics?

Organism- an individual living thing Examples are animals, plants, molds, bacteria, mushrooms (fungi) Read page 5. Look at figure 1 on page 5. Can you identify (name) any of these images? Which of the 4 pictures, A,B,C and/or D do you think is a living thing? It must have ALL 6 of the characteristics to be a living thing. A- the fruit of the White Baneberry plant B- beetle, Anomala albopilosa C-pretzel slime mold, Hemitrichia serpua D- stone flower, Lithops sp

Notes, spiral page 3 6 Characteristics of ALL Living Things 1. Cellular Organization- Cell- basic building blocks of life (similar to Legos or bricks to build a house) All living things are MADE of 1 cell- unicellular, or more than 1 cell multicellular. Cells have different functions (jobs), sizes, shapes and colors.

Single celled organisms

2. Contain similar chemicals in cells- Water- more water than any other chemical in every cell NOTE- Other common chemicals in all living things Carbohydrates- gives energy Proteins and lipids- builds more cells Nucleic acids- tells the cell what its job it is supposed to do Note- different body parts are made up of different kinds of cells. The eye cells only create an eye and make an eye work, heart cells only can create a heart and make the heart work, fingernail cells only create fingernails and make them do their job.

3. Use energy- Get energy from taking in and breaking down the materials (which is metabolism). Metabolism- chemical reaction that breaks down food so that organism can use the energy (food) they put into their body. This chemical process allows the organism to grow, heal and to make energy from the food. Without energy, cells cannot work Note- Think of it like a nonliving car. Without gas in the car (the energy), the car cannot move. Living things need energy so that their cells can do their job.

4. Respond to Surroundings Stimulus- a change in the surrounding/enviroinment (what’s around it) WHICH CAUSES THE ORGANISM TO… Response- react, do something, change its behavior either on purpose or subconsciously NOTE- Do the “React” Lab.- This is an example of responding to surroundings

Plants ARE organisms, just like animals! Misconception Plants ARE organisms, just like animals! Plants do all 6 characteristics. Examples- Plants respond to their environment by growing towards light (this is moving their leaves) and reproduce, usually by making seeds.

Phototropism Why are “sunflowers” named that? What this video and see.

5. Growth and Development Growth- becoming larger usually by adding more cells (unicellular organisms split their cell to produce offspring and that offspring gets a little bit bigger until it splits to reproduce) AND Development- process of an organism changing, making them more complex (better) NOTE- even single cell bacteria grow and develop, it’s just not like the huge change in animals and plants

6. Reproduce -make more of their kind Asexual reproduction- ONLY one parent, offspring (the new organism) is the exact same (identical) as the parent Sexual reproduction- 2 parents combined make the offspring that is different than the parents. The offspring received a full set of each parents’ DNA, only 1 from each parent actually “shows” up in the offspring, but both sets of DNA are in each cell. NOTE- most animals and plants reproduce sexually

Figure 2, page 6 Answer the question- it tells you to explain, and you must give an explanation! Reread your explanation and make sure it makes sense and it is what you wanted to say.

Discussion Questions for review How would you define a cell in your own words? Are all cells alike? Explain. How does an organism get and use energy? How does an organism grow and develop? Describe the two ways organisms can reproduce depending on the species?

Assess Your Understanding Answer the questions on page 7 in your textbook.

Similar Essay Test Question- answer thoroughly and use your notes if you want to. Cars can use energy and respond to the driver. Why are cars not considered a living thing?

Where Do Living Things Come From? Textbook page 8-10 Read and answer the questions on the TB pages 8-10. NOTES Spontaneous generation- INCORRECT idea that living things come from the nonliving Redi’s experiment with meat in a jar helped show spontaneous generation is NOT true! Pasteur’s experiment with broth also proved Spontaneous generation is NOT true!

Scientific Method Controlled experiment- everything is the same in the experiment EXCEPT for 1 thing; that 1 thing is called the manipulated variable also called an independent variable What changed in the experiment as a result of changing something (the manipulated or independent variable) is called the responding variable also called a dependent variable.

What Do Living Things Need to Survive? (4) Food Water Living space Stable internal conditions As you read about these needs in your textbook pages 11-13, answer ALL of the questions in your book and the notes pages in your INB. Make sure you answer the “compare and contrast” question on page 11, it’s kind of hidden!

1. Food Source of energy Autotrophs- make their own food (usually plants) Heterotrophs- feed on other organisms

2. Water Dissolves chemicals in your body, moves substances (stuff) around in your body NOTE- Think about a boat. If you take the water out of the sea, can the boat move around? No, just like everything in your body, it needs the water to carry it around.

3. Living Space A place to get food, water and shelter

4. Stable Internal Conditions Homeostasis- keeping the conditions inside your body stable (where it should be) EVEN if the surroundings around you change. Note- Example- It’s freezing outside, 2 degrees, and your body works hard to still keep it warm at 98.6 degrees. Example- you work out and your body uses the water in the cells to help you work out. After your workout, you are thirsty to replace the water lost.