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 List as many characteristics that are true of all living things as you can. o Use your prior knowledge o Think about the Specimen Walk

 Contain DNA  Grow and develop  Respond to their environment (stimuli)  Made of cells  Evolve (as a group)  Undergo metabolism  Maintain homeostasis  Reproduce

 DNA is a molecule used within cells of all living things o Stores information needed to live, grow and reproduce o DNA is a code for building proteins

 Growth includes getting larger in size or height, weight  Development includes an organism’s life cycle

 A stimulus is a signal to which an organism responds  A response is an organism’s reaction to a stimulus

 Cells are the basic units of structure and function  All cells come from other cells  Cellular specialization takes place in complex multicellular organisms Unicellular Single cellSimple Remain very small Multicellular Many cells More complex Make up larger organism

 Traits are passed from one generation to the next through DNA o Physical - external o Physiological – internal o Behavioral - action

 Random changes in the genetic material of a cell are called mutations  Variations/changes in the genetic material of an organism that enhance (improve) an organisms ability to survive and reproduce are called adaptations

 Populations change over time due to natural selection or survival of the fittest  Evolution = change over time

 Living things use chemical reactions to build up or break down materials called metabolism  No metabolism = death!

 Have relatively constant internal physical and chemical conditions, called homeostasis

 Ensures that DNA is passed from parent(s) to offspring.

Sexual Reproduction 2More variation Humans & many other animals Asexual Reproduction 1 Very little to no variation Bacteria & most single celled organisms

 All living things eventually die due to o Damage to DNA and cells o Inability to maintain homeostasis o Lack of resources  Debate still exists on whether or not certain microorganisms are living or non-living o Viruses have many of the characteristics of living things but not all