Characteristics of Life

Directions: Read the passages below and answer the questions using your knowledge of
the characteristics of living organisms. Highlight your answers (minus 5 pts if not done)
Most people feel confident that they could identify a living thing from a nonliving
thing, but sometimes it’s not so easy. Scientists have argued for centuries over the basic
characteristics that separate life from non-life. Some of these arguments are still
unresolved. Despite these arguments, there do seem to be some generally accepted
characteristics common to all living things. Anything that possesses all these
characteristics of life is known as an organism.
The scientific term for a living thing is a(n) _____________________.
Section 1- CONTAIN ONE OR MORE CELLS
Scientists know that all living things are organized. The smallest unit of organization
of a living thing is the cell. A cell is a collection of living matter enclosed by a barrier known
as the plasma membrane that separates it from its surroundings. Cells can perform all the
functions we associate with life.
Cells are organized and contain specialized parts that perform particular functions.
Cells are very different from each other. A single cell by itself can form an entire living
organism. Organisms consisting of only a single cell are called unicellular. A bacterium or a
protist like amoebas and paramecia are unicellular. However, most of the organisms you
are familiar with, such as dogs and trees, are multicellular. Multicellular organisms contain
hundreds, thousands, even trillions of cells or more. Multicellular organisms may have
their cells organized into tissues, organs, and systems. Whether it is unicellular or
multicellular, all structures and functions of an organism come together to form an orderly
living system.
Functional cells are not found in nonliving matter. Structures that contain dead cells
or pieces of cells are considered dead. For example, wood or cork cut from a tree is made
up largely of cell walls. The cells are no longer functional.
1. All living things are ___________________.
2. What is the simplest level at which life may exist?
3. Are all cells alike?
4. All cells perform various jobs or ________________.
5. What surrounds a cell and separates it from its environment?
6. What is the difference between unicellular and multicellular organisms?
7. Give an example of a multicellular organism and an example of a unicellular
organism
8. Multicellular organisms can be organized into what other levels?
9. Circle/Highlight which of the following would be made of cells. Place a box around
the ones which only show cell walls.
Cork Sponge Wood Plastic Tree
 Characteristics of Life
10. Examine these 2 organisms. Which one is unicellular and which is multicellular
(label each)?

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Section 2- REPRODUCTION
Perhaps the most obvious of all the characteristics of life is reproduction, the
production of offspring. Organisms don’t live forever. For life to continue, organisms must
replace themselves. Reproduction is not essential for the survival of an individual organism.
However, it is essential for the continuation of an organism’s species. A species is a group
of similar-looking organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. If individuals
in a species never reproduced, it would mean an end to that species’ existence on Earth.
1. . Define reproduction
2. Must EVERY member of a particular species (one kind of organism) be able to
reproduce in order for the species to survive? Explain why or why not.
3. What would happen if all individuals in a species were sterile (not able to have
babies)?
4. . Reproduction is NOT essential for the survival of an individual ______________ but is
essential for the survival of the _____________.
5. What is meant by extinction?
There are two basic kinds of reproduction: sexual and asexual. Sexual reproduction
requires that two cells (sperm and egg) unite to produce the first cell of the new organism.
Organisms reproducing sexually do not always have “sex.” In many cases sperm and egg
are released into the water or vicinity where the organisms meet. Most familiar organisms –
from maple trees to birds and bees – reproduce sexually. In asexual reproduction, a single
 Characteristics of Life
organism can reproduce without the aid of another. Sometimes these organisms can just
divide themselves in two!
6. . Name and define the two basic kinds of reproduction
7. Identify which organisms are reproducing sexually and which are reproducing
asexually.

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Section 3- GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Adults don’t always look like the babies of a species. All organisms begin their lives
as single cells. Over time, these organisms grow and take on the characteristics of their 4
species. Growth results in an increase in the amount of living material and the formation of
new structures. All organisms grow, and different parts of organisms may grow at different
rates. Organisms made up of only one cell may change little during their lives, but they do
grow. On the other hand, organisms made up of numerous cells go through many changes
during their lifetimes. Think about some of the structural changes your body has already
undergone in your short life. All of the changes that take place during the life of an
organism are known as its development.
1. How do all organisms begin life?
2. What is the difference between growth and development?
3. Do unicellular organisms GROW or DEVELOP?
4. Do multicellular organisms GROW or DEVELOP?
 Characteristics of Life
5. Identify which graphic BEST shows growth and which BEST shows development.

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A snowball grows when you roll it over fresh snow! Why isn’t it a living thing? The
growth of the snowball is not internal. It does not grow by producing more cells like
organisms. It just adds more material to the outside. Someone has to roll the snowball. It
won’t grow bigger by just sitting there and it certainly cannot change liquid water or 5 solid
ice into new snow from which it can grow larger. This is one of the differences between
growth of a living thing and growth of a nonliving thing.
6. How is the growth of a living thing different from the growth of a nonliving thing?
Section 4- OBTAIN AND USE ENERGY
Energy is the ability to make things change. Energy is important because it powers
life processes. It provides organisms with the ability to maintain balance, grow, reproduce,
and carry out other life functions. Some organisms obtain energy from the foods they eat
or, in the case of plants and several other types of organisms, the foods that they produce.
Organisms that get energy from the food they eat are called heterotrophs. Organisms that
use energy from the sun to make their own food (which they then use for energy) are called
autotrophs. The process is called photosynthesis. X
As you’ll learn, energy doesn’t just flow through individual organisms; it also flows
through communities of organisms, or ecosystems, and determines how organisms interact
with each other and the environment.
1. Define energy.
 Characteristics of Life
2. Why is energy important to a living organism?
3. .What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?
4. What is the name of the process that plants use to make their own food using energy
from the sun?
5. . Identify each of the organisms below as either a heterotroph or an autotroph.

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Section 5- RESPOND TO THE ENVIRONMENT / MAINTAIN HOMEOSTASIS
Living things live in a constant connection with the environment, which includes the
air, water, weather, temperature, any organisms in the area, and many other factors. These
external environmental factors act as stimuli and can cause a response from living things.
Organisms need to respond to the changes in order to stay alive and healthy. For example,
if you go outside on a bright summer day, the sun may cause you to squint. Perhaps the
bark of an approaching dog causes you to turn your head quickly. Just as you are
constantly sensing and responding to changes in your environment, so are all other
organisms. For example, a specialized leaf of the Venus’ flytrap senses the light footsteps of
a soon-to-be-digested green bottle fly. The plant responded to this environmental stimulus
by rapidly folding the leaf together.
An organism must respond to changes in the internal environment as well. Internal
conditions include the level of water, nutrients, and minerals inside the body. It also refers
to body temperature and hormone levels. Adjustments to internal changes help organisms
maintain a stable internal environment. The regulation of an organism’s internal
environment to maintain conditions suitable for life is called homeostasis. Or you can just
think of it as keeping everything in BALANCE! For example, you have a “thermostat” in
your brain that reacts whenever your body temperature varies slightly from 37°C (about
98.6°F). If this internal thermostat detects a slight rise in your body temperature on a hot
day, your brain signals your skin to produce sweat. Sweating helps cool your body.
 Characteristics of Life
The ability of mammals and birds to regulate body temperature is just one example of
homeostasis. Mechanisms of homeostasis enable organisms to regulate their internal
environment, despite changes in their external environment.
1. What are some environmental factors (stimuli) that organisms respond to?
2. . Organisms must also respond to ________________ factors in order to stay healthy &
survive.
3. .What are two internal factors that organisms respond to?
4. Give two examples from the reading of how living things respond to changes in their
environment.
5. If light is applied to a human eye, how does it respond?
6. Describe homeostasis