The study of life “bio” meaning life “ology” meaning study of What is BIOLOGY? The study of life “bio” meaning life “ology” meaning study of

What is Life? In class activity How do you know something is alive?

How do you know something is alive? Develop a list of characteristics that can be used to identify life Provide evidence supporting these characteristics Provide examples of living and nonliving

What is Life? Temporary condition with various lengths of time Packaged in different sizes and forms Characterized by processes and environmental interactions Carbon Based units known as organisms Reproduces itself Consciousness Living and extinct Product of evolution Result of Complex chemical reactions that has diversified and adapted to almost every environment since the formation of Earth over 4.5 billion years. We recognize life by the actions of living things!

Characteristics of Life Define life by listing the characteristics that almost all living creatures share Organization and Cells Response to Stimuli Homeostasis Metabolism Growth and Development Reproduction Evolution

Growth and development Energy processing Order Regulation Growth and development Energy processing Figure 1.4B Some important properties of life. Response to the environment Reproduction Evolutionary adaptation

Organization High degree of order within an organism’s internal, external parts and its interaction with the environment

Response to stimuli All organisms respond to environmental stimuli

Homeostasis Regulatory systems that maintain a stable level of internal conditions even thought environmental conditions are constantly changing

Metabolism Organisms take in energy and transform it to perform all of life’s activities.

Growth & Development All living things grow and increase in size from the division and enlargement of cells. Development is the process by which an organism becomes a mature adult, involves cell division & differentiation or specialization.

Reproduction Organisms produce new organisms like themselves, not essential to the survival of the individual organism but essential for the continuation of the species.

Evolution Genetic changes in a population of living organisms through time. These changes have produced a rich diversity of life on Earth

ANY QUESTIONS?

HOMEWORK ANSWER THIS QUESTION Why is defining life difficult? REVIEW NOTES QUIZ ???