1. The characteristics of Living THINGS
PowerPoint Presentation and Activities
By BiologyGuy

2. Bell Ringer 8/30
How do you know whether something is LIVING or NON LIVING?

3. Using the table-cloth provided…..
Have you ever walked around your neighborhood, or school campus and wondered what was living and what was not living?
Make a list of what you think all living things must do.
Compare your list with your table.
Create a “common” list in the middle.
One person will share with the class.

4. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MR H GREN
There are 7 easily observable characteristics that all living things do.
NUTRITION
Metabolism
EXCRETION
REPRODUCTION
Homeostasis
Response
GROW

5. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
These 7 observable characteristics can be remembered using the mnemonic MRS GREN
M etabolism
R eproduction
H omeostasis
G rowth
R esponse
E xcretion
N utrition
Hi, my name is MR H GREN

6. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MR H GREN
METABOLISM: All living things have a metabolism. Metabolism is all the chemical reactions within cells.

7. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
OFFSPRING
FERTILIZATION
REPRODUCE: All living things reproduce. They will produce offspring (children). The fish will lay eggs which can be fertilized by a male fish, this is known as sexual reproduction. These eggs will then turn into their offspring.

8. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MR H GREN
OXYGEN
CARBON DIOXIDE
HOMEOSTASIS: All living things must maintain a stable internal environment.
The fish absorbs oxygen, via the gills, the oxygen is used for respiration. Carbon dioxide which is a waste product of respiration passes out of the fish via the gills.
Temperature and pH are examples of things that must be maintained.
Mammals, such as dogs, cats, mice and humans inhale oxygen with their lungs.

9. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
GROW: All living things grow, they usually start out smaller and then get bigger, they develop through out their life cycle. The fish for example grew from an egg and then will continue to grow until it reaches maturity.

10. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MR H GREN
RESPONSE: All living things sense their surroundings. The fish for example can sense what is around it, this is important so that it can find food and avoid predators which might be in its environment.
All living things react to a stimulus.

11. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
CARBON DIOXIDE
POOP
EXCRETE: All living things excrete: This means that they will get rid of waste materials. The fish for example eliminates carbon dioxide from its body and poops, both of which are waste products.
If living things did not get rid of waste products they would accumulate in the body and poison the organism.

12. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Mmm.. That worm looks nutritious
NUTRITION: All living things need to get nutrients, living things do this in many different ways. The fish will get its nutrients from the food that it eats. It will then use these nutrients to support life processes.

13. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Next time you are wondering whether something is living or not, think about ….
M ovement
R espire
H omeostasis
G rowth
R eproduction
E xcretion
N utrition
MR H GREN

14. L2: THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Big Question: If sponges are living why do they not show any of the characteristics of MR H GREN?
DO NOW: how many words can you make out of “CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE”?
LESSON OBJECTIVES: SWBAT
Explain why MR H GREN is not always 100% effective in determining whether something is living or not.
Describe the 7 in detailed characteristics of living things

15. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Wait! What happens if I see something moving, but I don’t see it eating or excreting. Is it still alive?
What about sponges? My teacher said that they are alive. How can this be true? The only sponge that I have seen eating, moving and respiring is Sponge Bob square pants, but he is a character from a kids show.

16. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Sometimes it is difficult to see all of the characteristics of living things in every organism. (MR H GREN).
Sponges for example do not walk around and actively catch their food in the way that a fish does.
OCEAN SPONGE

17. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
When exploring the question, is something living or non living? there are further observations which can be made to determine whether it is alive or not.
These observations are a lot more detailed and may require the use of scientific tools such as microscopes and video capture devices to observe the slightest of movement that would be otherwise missed by the human eye.
OCEAN SPONGE

18. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have cells
All living things reproduce
All living things contain DNA
All living things sense and respond to their environment
All living things use energy
All living things grow and develop
All living things have levels of organization
OCEAN SPONGE

19. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have cells: sponges have many different specialized cells that run through out its structure. For example it has muscle cells called Myocytes, which contract the sponge (movement).
OCEAN SPONGE

20. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things can sense and respond to their environment: the sponge can sense predators, they can then respond by contracting their surface layer which reduces the area that might be exposed to a predator.
OCEAN SPONGE

21. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things reproduce: Sponges can reproduce asexually, by branching off and producing a new sponge ( similar to cutting of your own arm and growing a new you).
This will grow into a new sponge
Sponges can also reproduce sexually. Many sponges are hermaphrodites, meaning they have male and female reproductive organs that work at the same time, they produce sperm, which is the male sex cell and eggs which are the female sex cell.

22. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have DNA: Sponges have DNA, the DNA is like a blue print of how to make a new sponge, the DNA is contained in the sex cells
CELLS
DNA

23. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things use energy: Sponges move by contracting their muscle cells (movement). These cells need energy in order to contract.
Some sponges can make their own food through photosynthesis, others get their food by absorbing nutrients (nutrition) from the water.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
NUTRIENTS in THE WATER

24. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
Sponges absorb nutrients by allowing water to flow through them.
The sugars that are produced by photosynthesis and extracted from the nutrients are reacted with oxygen, which is absorbed from the water, this process of reacting sugar with oxygen is respiration (maintains homeostasis) and will produce energy for the sponge. The water also carries out waste products (excretion).
WASTE products are removed by the water
Water containing
nutrients

25. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things grow and develop: when a new sponge is created through sexual or asexual reproduction it will develop and grow into a mature sponge.
MATURE SPONGE
NEW SPONGE

26. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have levels of organization: the sponge has cells which are organized to form tissue, the cells have specific functions which relate to the overall function of the sponge.

27. LIVING THINGS: VIDEO PROJECT
SCENARIO: your elementary school teacher is having trouble teaching her students about the characteristics of living things.
Create a video/poster for elementary students to describe the characteristics of living things.
RUBRIC
I have produced a video/poster about the characteristics of living things.
I have described and explained the 7 characteristics of living things
My video/Poster is uses basic language that an elementary student can understand.
My video/Poster is well presented, it is entertaining and age appropriate
SCORE
___/5
BIOLOGYGUY ©
GRADING: A= B= C= D= 12-13

28. Example video :