1. INTRODUCTION to Life Science What is an Organism?
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION to Life Science What is an Organism?

2. Vocabulary Words to KnoW
What is an organism
section 1 – Characteristics
Vocabulary Words to KnoW
ORGANISM-
Adaptation-
asexual reproduction-
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-
Develop-
Digest-
Heredity-
Homeostasis-
Stimulus-
Metabolism-
Cell-
sexual reproduction-

3. What is life science? Life science is the study of organisms.
Organisms are living things that go through all the processes of life.
They can be large or small. For example, large things like trees and humans are organisms.
However, there are some organisms that are so tiny that they can only be seen through a microscope.

4. What is life science? Organisms have several common characteristics:
Organisms are:
made of parts that
work together
they reproduce
they change over time
they behave in certain ways for certain reasons
And each organism can be placed in a specific category based on its characteristics.

5. What is life science?
Scientists who study life science are called biologists.
Biology is another word for life science.
There are so many things for biologists to study that many of them decide to specialize, or study one thing very carefully.
For example:
Zoologists specialize in studying animals,
Botanists specialize in studying plants. Microbiologists study microscopic organisms

6. What is an organism – section 1 characteristics
How can you tell if something is alive?
There is no real specific definition of life, but all organisms share some common characteristics.

7. cells All Organisms are made of cells.
A cell is a tiny unit that has all the materials needed for life.
Because all living things are made of one or more cells, cells are often called the building blocks of life.
Some organisms are made of only one cell.
Other organisms have many
cells.
For example, a human
has about 100 trillion cells!

8. Cells
This is a drawing of a general cell.

9. Cell…
Cells got their name from a scientist named Robert Hooke who looked at cork cells through a microscope.
Because they looked like little, separate rooms, Hooke named the structures cells.
He named them after the small rooms, or cells, where monks lived.

10. Respond to stimuli All organisms sense changes and respond to them.
Something that makes an organism change its activity is called a stimulus. The plural of the word "stimulus" is "stimuli."
Stimuli include heat, light, sound, hunger, and any other things that make an organism respond.
For example, a potted plant placed next to a window will grow toward the sun. The sun's light is a stimulus. The plant grows toward the sun in response to
the stimulus.

11. Respond to stimuli All organisms sense changes and respond to them.
Something that makes an organism change its activity is called a stimulus. The plural of the word "stimulus" is "stimuli."
Stimuli include heat, light, sound, hunger, and any other things that make an organism respond.

12. Respond to stimuli
For example, a potted plant placed next to a window will grow toward the sun.
The sun's light is a stimulus. The plant grows toward the sun in response to the stimulus.

13. Respond to stimuli…
To stay alive, an organism must keep a stable internal environment, which is called homeostasis.
Organisms automatically do what they need to do to stay in homeostasis.
For example, the human body must stay at a certain temperature in order to function properly. When you get hot, you sweat. When you get cold, you shiver.
Both of these responses are your body's way of trying to return to the correct temperature.
In other words, conditions inside an organism must stay the same for the organism to stay healthy.

14. Respond to stimuli…

15. reproduction
All Organisms reproduce. They make new organisms like themselves by asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction.

16. reproduction
Asexual reproduction happens when a new organism is formed from one parent.
Organisms that go through asexual reproduction are usually single-celled organisms or plants.

17. Reproduction…
Sexual reproduction happens when a new organism is formed from two parents.
Most animals produce offspring as a result of sexual reproduction.

18. growth All Organisms grow and develop.
Single-celled organisms grow in size.
Many-celled organisms grow by creating more cells.
Organisms also develop as they grow.
To develop means to change over time.
For example, you were once a baby and now you are developing into an adult.
Like you, most organisms go through many stages of life.

19. adaptation All organisms adapt to their environment.
Adaptation happens when an organism makes a change that will increase its chances of survival in its natural habitat.
If an organism does not adapt to its habitat, it will die.

20. adaptation
When organisms reproduce, they pass on characteristics to their offspring. This passing of characteristics is called heredity.
When organisms reproduce, they pass along copies of their deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to their offspring.
DNA is a molecule found in cells that contains genetic information.

21. dna

22. adaptation
As organisms adapt to their environment, they pass along characteristics that help the next generation to survive.

24. Vocabulary Words to KnoW
What is an organism
section 2 – Basic needs of an organism
Vocabulary Words to KnoW
Bacteria –
Bacterium –
Consumer -
Decomposer –
Environment -
Fungi -
Fungus –
Producer –
Protist -

25. section 2 – Basic Needs of an organism
What is an organism
section 2 – Basic Needs of an organism
Whether it is a plant, animal, or single-celled organism, every living thing has the same basic needs.
Organisms need:
Food
Water
Air
Home

26. food
Food gives organisms the energy they need to carry out their life processes, like growing, developing, and reproducing.

27. food Organisms can be placed in specific
categories based on how they get their food.
Producers, like this plant, are organisms that make their own food.
They make food by converting the
energy from sunlight into energy they can use.

28. food Not all organisms can make their own food.
Consumers are organisms that eat, or consume, other organisms.
Animals and some fungi, protists, and bacteria are consumers.
These organisms eat plants or other consumers to get energy.

29. food Have you ever seen fuzzy, blue mold growing on a piece of food?
The mold is a type of fungus and is a decomposer.
Decomposers are consumers that get their energy by breaking down other organisms. They can get nutrients from dead organisms and animal waste.
Some types of fungi, protists, and bacteria
are decomposers.

30. food Have you ever seen fuzzy, blue mold growing on a piece of food?
The mold is a type of fungus and is a decomposer.
Decomposers are consumers that get their energy by breaking down other organisms. They can get nutrients from dead organisms and animal waste.
Some types of fungi, protists, and bacteria
are decomposers.

31. Water All Organisms need water to live.
The cells of nearly all living things are made mostly of water.
Water is used during the process of metabolism, when chemical changes happen in a cell.
Animals get water from drinking fluids and eating food.
Plants take in water through their roots.

32. air All Organisms need air.
Air is a mixture of gases, including oxygen and nitrogen, that surrounds the earth.
Organisms need these gases in order to live.

33. air For example, organisms need oxygen to metabolize food.
Most of the oxygen that organisms use comes from producers like plants.
The plants release oxygen through their leaves, and consumers, like animals, breathe in the oxygen.

34. environment All Organisms need a place to live.
An organism's home is called its environment.
An environment includes living and nonliving things, such as other organisms, air, light, and temperature.

35. environment
Organisms that share an environment compete with each other for light, food, water, and space.
Some organisms need a large environment.
For example, a lion in the African savannah needs a lot of space to hunt for food.
Other organisms have a small environment. A tiny bacterium can live its whole life on a single eyebrow hair!