Characteristics of Living Things!

It’s Easy! Okay, maybe not… Most people feel it is easy to pick between a living and nonliving thing. They might ask questions like “Does it grow? Does it move? Does it reproduce?” These are valid questions, but think of a flame. It can grow, move, and produce more flames, but it is not alive.

Important idea! Biologists have created a list of characteristics of living things. Although a nonliving thing may exhibit some of these characteristics, unless it has ALL characteristics it is NOT a living thing. A thing that possess all characteristics of a living thing is called an ORGANISM.

All living things have… Orderly structure Offspring Growth and development Adjustments to changes in environment

1) Living things are organized. Orderly structure Cells and DNA function in an orderly system to control the organisms’s life processes.

2) Living things make more living things. Reproduction It is essential for the continuation of the species.

3) Living things change during their lives. Growth Organisms grow from a single cell to take on the characteristics of the species. All of the changes that take place during the life of an organism are known as its DEVELOPMENT.

4) Living things adjust to their surroundings. Environment –Includes air, water, temperature, and other organisms in the area. Any condition in the environment that requires an organism to adjust is a STIMULUS. A reaction to a stimulus is a RESPONSE.

Living things regulate their internal environment as well. This is called HOMEOSTASIS. Living things use ENERGY!

5) Living things adapt and evolve. Any structure, behavior, or internal process that enables an organism to respond to stimuli and better survive in an environment is called an ADAPTATION. Adaptations are inherited from past generations. The gradual accumulations of adaptations over time is called EVOLUTION.