1. The characteristics of Living THINGS
PowerPoint Presentation and Activities
By BiologyGuy

2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Quick write: How do you know whether something is living or non living? What characteristics do they have? What do living and non living things do?
Watch the YouTube Video:
Make a list of the 7 things that living things do.

3. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
There are 7 easily observable characteristics that all living things do.
NUTRITION
MOVEMENT
EXCRETION
REPRODUCTION
RESPIRE
SENSE
GROW

4. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
These 7 observable characteristics can be remembered using the mnemonic MRS GREN
M ovement
R espire
S ense
G rowth
R eproduction
E xcretion
N utrition
Hi, my name is MRS GREN

5. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
MOVEMENT: All living things move. They respond to their environment by moving, for example a fish would move away from a predator if it swam close by.

6. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
OXYGEN
CARBON DIOXIDE
RESPIRE: All living things respire, that means that they get their energy by reacting oxygen with glucose to produce energy. This process is called RESPIRATION.
The fish absorbs oxygen, via the gills, the oxygen is used for respiration. Carbon dioxide which is a waste product of respiration passes out of the fish via the gills.
Mammals, such as dogs, cats, mice and humans inhale oxygen with their lungs.

7. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
SENSE: All living things sense their surroundings. The fish for example can sense what is around it, this is important so that it can find food and avoid predators which might be in its environment.

8. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
GROW: All living things grow, they usually start out smaller and then get bigger, they develop through out their life cycle. The fish for example grew from an egg and then will continue to grow until it reaches maturity.

9. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
OFFSPRING
FERTILIZATION
REPRODUCE: All living things reproduce. They will produce offspring (children). The fish will lay eggs which can be fertilized by a male fish, this is known as sexual reproduction. These eggs will then turn into their offspring.

10. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
CARBON DIOXIDE
POOP
EXCRETE: All living things excrete: This means that they will get rid of waste materials. The fish for example eliminates carbon dioxide from its body and poops, both of which are waste products.
If living things did not get rid of waste products they would accumulate in the body and poison the organism.

11. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Mmm.. That worm looks nutritious
NUTRITION: All living things need to get nutrients, living things do this in many different ways. The fish will get its nutrients from the food that it eats. It will then use these nutrients to support life processes.

12. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS: MRS GREN
Next time you are wondering whether something is living or not, think about ….
M ovement
R espire
S ense
G rowth
R eproduction
E xcretion
N utrition
MRS GREN

13. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS, MRS GREN: ACTIVITY
Complete the graphic organizer for Lesson 1: The characteristics of Living Things, MRS GREN.
2. Create a foldable to demonstrate your knowledge of MRS GREN.
Pick a living organism as your theme.
For each Letter of MRS GREN, explain what it stands for and give an example of how your organism performs this characteristic.
Add illustrations where appropriate.
LIVING or NON LIVING
FOLD

14. L2: THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Big Question: If sponges are living why do they not show any of the characteristics of MRS GREN?
DO NOW: how many words can you make out of “CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE”?
LESSON OBJECTIVES: SWBAT
Explain why MRS GREN is not always 100% effective in determining whether something is living or not.
Describe the 7 in detailed characteristics of living things

15. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Wait! What happens if I see something moving, but I don’t see it eating or excreting. Is it still alive?
What about sponges? My teacher said that they are alive. How can this be true? The only sponge that I have seen eating, moving and respiring is Sponge Bob square pants, but he is a character from a kids show.

16. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
Sometimes it is difficult to see all of the characteristics of living things in every organism. (MRS GREN).
Sponges for example do not walk around and actively catch their food in the way that a fish does.
OCEAN SPONGE

17. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
When exploring the question, is something living or non living? there are further observations which can be made to determine whether it is alive or not.
These observations are a lot more detailed and may require the use of scientific tools such as microscopes and video capture devices to observe the slightest of movement that would be otherwise missed by the human eye.
OCEAN SPONGE

18. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have cells
All living things reproduce
All living things contain DNA
All living things sense and respond to their environment
All living things use energy
All living things grow and develop
All living things have levels of organization
OCEAN SPONGE

19. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have cells: sponges have many different specialized cells that run through out its structure. For example it has muscle cells called Myocytes, which contract the sponge (movement).
OCEAN SPONGE

20. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things can sense and respond to their environment: the sponge can sense predators, they can then respond by contracting their surface layer which reduces the area that might be exposed to a predator.
OCEAN SPONGE

21. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things reproduce: Sponges can reproduce asexually, by branching off and producing a new sponge ( similar to cutting of your own arm and growing a new you).
This will grow into a new sponge
Sponges can also reproduce sexually. Many sponges are hermaphrodites, meaning they have male and female reproductive organs that work at the same time, they produce sperm, which is the male sex cell and eggs which are the female sex cell.

22. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have DNA: Sponges have DNA, the DNA is like a blue print of how to make a new sponge, the DNA is contained in the sex cells
CELLS
DNA

23. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things use energy: Sponges move by contracting their muscle cells (movement). These cells need energy in order to contract.
Some sponges can make their own food through photosynthesis, others get their food by absorbing nutrients (nutrition) from the water.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
NUTRIENTS in THE WATER

24. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
Sponges absorb nutrients by allowing water to flow through them.
The sugars that are produced by photosynthesis and extracted from the nutrients are reacted with oxygen, which is absorbed from the water, this process of reacting sugar with oxygen is respiration and will produce energy for the sponge. The water also carries out waste products (excretion).
WASTE products are removed by the water
Water containing
nutrients

25. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things grow and develop: when a new sponge is created through sexual or asexual reproduction it will develop and grow into a mature sponge.
MATURE SPONGE
NEW SPONGE

26. THE 7 CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS
There are 7 characteristics that can be observed in living things:
All living things have levels of organization: the sponge has cells which are organized to form tissue, the cells have specific functions which relate to the overall function of the sponge.

27. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS ACTIVITY
Complete the graphic Organizer “L2: The Characteristics of Living Things”.
Using the information from the presentation explain how the sponge meets the criteria of MRS GREN
EXAMPLE:
With closer observations the sponge is living because it meets the criteria of MRS GREN. M- R- S- G- E- N-
Present your findings in a poster, booklet or scientific paper
BIOLOGYGUY ©

28. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS ACTIVITY
2. Using the information provided on the handout explain how a sponge meets the criteria of MRS GREN
MOVEMENT: The sponge moves by using muscle cells within its structure. These muscle cells are called Myocytes, they contract to change the shape of the sponge.
RESPIRATION: the sponge needs to respire in order to make energy. It reacts oxygen which is in the water with sugars that are made during photosynthesis or from sugars that are found in nutrients.
SENSE: The sponge can sense its surroundings, for example if there is a predator eating the surface of the sponge it will react by contracting its muscle cells, which will reduce the surface area of the sponge
GROW: When a sponge is created through sexual or asexual reproduction it will grow and develop into a mature sponge.
REPRODUCE: Sponges are hermaphrodites, they have male and female reproductive systems, they produce the female sex cell; the egg, and the male sex cell; the sperm. They can also reproduce asexually by branching of and forming a new sponge.
EXCRETION: Sponges do not have an excretion system like humans, but their waste products are carried out by the water that flows through them
NUTRITION: Some sponges get their nutrients through the process of photosynthesis, where they react carbon dioxide with water, in the presence of sun light to produce sugars and oxygen. Other sponges get their nutrients by absorbing them from the water.
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS ACTIVITY
ANSWER KEY
BIOLOGYGUY ©