1. Characteristics of Living Things
There are 7 characteristics of all living things.
1. Organization
2. Growth & Development
3. Reproduction
4. Responses to Stimuli
5. Homeostasis
6.Energy
7. DNA

2. Organization All living things are made of cells.
Organisms can be multicellular or unicellular
Unicellular vs. Multicellular
one cell many cells
no nucleus nucleus
Ex. Bacteria Ex. Everything but
bacteria

3. Organization
Cells→Tissues→Organs→Organ Systems→Organism

4. Growth & Development
A unicellular organism grows as the cell increases in size.
A multicellular organism grows and cells multiply during growth.
Development- changes that occur in an organism during its lifetime.

5. Reproduction
Process by which one organism makes one or more new organisms.
2 types of reproduction:
1. Asexual Reproduction – one organism reproduces by dividing into two new organisms.
2. Sexual Reproduction- two organisms reproduce and produce organisms that are similar to both parents.

6. Reproduction
Ex. Asexual Reproduction
Ex. Sexual Reproduction

7. Responses to Stimuli Responding to changes in the environment.
2 types of Stimuli:
Internal: responding to changes within the body.
2. External: responding to changes in the external environment.

8. Homeostasis
An organism’s ability to maintain steady internal conditions when outside conditions change.
Maintaining homeostasis ensures that cells can function.

9. Energy All organisms must obtain and use energy.
Every function requires energy.
Energy can be obtained by eating food, or in the case of a plant, capturing the sunlight.
Metabolism is the sum of all chemical reactions that occur in an organism. This requires energy.

10. Energy

11. DNA All living things contain DNA
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid.
It contains blueprint of life
It has the recipe on how to make proteins.