1. Characteristics of Living Things

2. CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
An organism is a living thing; it has all the characteristics of life.

3. An organism has- An orderly structure, called ORGANIZATION
Living things are made of one or more cells, possibly containing billions of cells.

4. Inside the cell-
There are cell parts (called organelles) that work together.
There is genetic material called DNA that controls the cell’s life processes.

5. The CELL Is the basic unit of structure and function of organisms:
That means living things are made of cells and also, all these characteristics of life happen within the cells.

6. Organisms can REPRODUCE
Reproduction is the production of offspring.
It may be asexual, one parent with offspring that are the exact copy;
Or sexual, two parents who produce offspring different from them.

7. REPRODUCTION- Is necessary for a species to continue to survive
It is not necessary for an individual to reproduce in order to continue living

8. Organisms CHANGE
All the changes that take place during the life of an organism is DEVELOPMENT
Living things GROW, adding cells or living material and forming new structures

9. Organisms ADJUST
They must respond to changes in their environment, INTERNAL and EXTERNAL, to maintain a constant internal environment
A stimulus (change in the environment) causes an organism to react, or respond in order to maintain HOMEOSTASIS

10. ENERGY
These characteristics of life, called METABOLISM, need ENERGY.

11. Organisms get their energy
From food.
Either they make their own food, such as plants, which are AUTOTROPHS
Or they get their food from other organisms, and are called HETEROTROPHS-these include animals and fungi

12. All organisms have
ADAPTATIONS, a structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to survive in its environment
All organisms are perfectly adapted for their environment

13. Some non-living things
Have some of these characteristics, but are not considered living.
Viruses sometimes contain DNA and reproduce, but they are not usually considered living.