Characteristics of Living Organisms

Characteristics of Living Organisms

• Living organisms have unique characteristics that distinguish them from non-living things.
• These characteristics include:
  • Organization: specific organization of structures and systems.
  • Metabolism: ability to carry out chemical reactions to sustain life.
  • Homeostasis: ability to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in the external environment.
  • Growth and Development: ability to increase in size and complexity.
  • Reproduction: ability to produce offspring.
  • Response to Stimuli: ability to respond to changes in the environment.
  • Movement: ability to change location or position.
  • Adaptation: ability to change and evolve over time in response to environmental changes.

Transfer of Information and Energy

• Transfer of information occurs through DNA, chemical signals, and electrical signals.
• Transfer of energy occurs through various processes, including metabolic reactions.

Levels of Biological and Ecological Organization

• There are multiple levels of organization, from molecules to ecosystems.

Reproduction

• There are two types of reproduction: asexual and sexual.
• Asexual reproduction involves the production of genetically identical offspring.
• Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of gametes (sperm and egg cells) and results in genetically diverse offspring.

Growth and Development

• Growth and development involve an increase in size and complexity of an organism.

Metabolism

• Metabolism refers to the chemical reactions that occur within an organism to sustain life.

Homeostasis

• Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment despite changes in the external environment.

Response to Stimuli

• A stimulus is a change in the environment that elicits a response from an organism.
• Response to stimuli can be in the form of movement, changes in behavior, or other reactions.

Movement

• Movement refers to the ability of an organism to change location or position.
• There are various structures that enable movement, such as muscles, bones, and flagella.

Adaptation

• Adaptation refers to the characteristics that are inherited and increase an organism's ability to survive in a particular environment.
• Adaptations can be structural, physiological, biochemical, or behavioral.

Evolution

• Evolution refers to the change in populations over time in response to changes in the environment.
• Evolution results in the adaptation of organisms to their environment.