1. Basic Characteristics of Life

2. What is Biology Biology – is the study of life
So….What do all living things have in common?

3. Organism - the scientific term for something that is living

4. All living things… Use energy
Animals get their energy by eating other organisms
Plants get their energy from the sun
All organisms get their energy from the sun directly or indirectly

5. Energy Pyramid

6. All living things… Grow and Develop
Living things grow by breaking down substances from their environment and rearranging them into needed individual tissue.

7. All living things… Have a lifespan Five stages
Birth
Growth
Maturity
Decline
Death
All organisms go through these stages just at different rates.

8. Human Lifespan

9. Bristlecone pine  4,600 years
Giant Redwood  3,500 years
Tortoise  years
Human    72 years
Parrot   years
Elephants    years
 Dog  years
Snake  years
Spider  years
House fly  weeks
Bacteria minutes

10. All living things… Adjust to their environment Change Move Die
The environment includes anything that affects the organism in anyway.
Organisms adjust in 3 ways:
Change
Move
Die

11. All living things… Reproduce
This is essential for a species to survive
Species continuation is important and requires energy

12. All living things…
Look like their parents

13. All living things… Respond to stimuli
Humans use five senses to detect stimuli
A response can be adaptive

14. All living things… Are made of cells
Cells are the basic building blocks of life
Can range from 1 to trillions of cells

15. All living things… Have a highly organized structure Molecules Cells
Tissue
Ex.
Organ
Organ System
Organism…

16. Unicellular vs. Multicellular

17. Homeostasis Homeostasis – to maintain a stable internal environment
Living things DON’T like change!
Ex. Body temp, heart rate, blood pressure

18. Scientific Method
Problem/Question – Observe a problem and ask a question.
Research - Conduct background research. Write down your sources so you can cite your references.
Hypothesis - Propose a hypothesis. This is an educated guess about what you expect.

19. Scientific Method cont.
Experiment - Design and perform an experiment to test your hypothesis.
Data/Analysis - Record observations and analyze what the data means. Often, you'll prepare a table or graph of the data.
Conclusion - Conclude whether to accept or reject your hypothesis. Communicate your results.

20. One Bun