1. Living or Not???

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

3. A good acronym!! M R G A

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

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

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

9. 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

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