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1-3 Studying Life
Photo Credit: © Andrew Syred/Science Photo Library/Photo Researchers, Inc.
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2. Characteristics of Living Things
What are some characteristics of living things?
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3. Characteristics of Living Things
No single characteristic is enough to describe a living thing.
Some nonliving things share one or more traits with living things.
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4. Characteristics of Living Things
Living things share the following characteristics:
maintain a stable internal environment
Organized
grow and develop
Reproduce
change over time
based on a universal genetic code
made up of units called cells
obtain and use materials and energy
respond to their environment
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Living things maintain a stable internal environment.
Although conditions outside an organism may change, conditions inside an organism tend to remain constant.
This process is called homeostasis.
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Living things are organized in base units called cells.
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Living things grow and develop.
During an organism’s development, cells differentiate, which means that the cells look different from one another and perform different functions.
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Living things reproduce.
In sexual reproduction, cells from two different parents unite to form the first cell of the new organism.
In asexual reproduction, a single parent produces offspring that are identical to itself.
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9. Characteristics of Living Things
All living things have special characteristics that help them survive. Over many generations these adaptations can lead to changes in a species.
Taken as a group, livings things change over time. Over many generations, groups of organisms typically evolve.
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10. Characteristics of Living Things
Living things share a universal genetic code.
Organisms store the information they need to live, grow, and reproduce in a genetic code in a molecule called DNA.
Characteristics of Living Things
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11. Characteristics of Living Things
Living things obtain materials and use energy.
The combination of chemical reactions through which an organism builds up or breaks down materials is called metabolism.
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Living things respond to their environment.
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How will you remember these 8 characteristics of life?
HOG RACER
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