Chapter 2 - Characteristics Of Life Flashcards
Organism
An organism is a living thing
The Characteristics of Life
There are two characteristics of life, metabolism and continuity of life. These characteristics can be divided into a further five, Organisation Nutrition Excretion Reproduction and Response
Continuity of Life
The continuity of life refers to how living organisms arise from other living organisms of the same type.
Metabolism
Metabolism refers to the sum of all chemical reactions in an organism
Anabolic reaction
These are reactions that involve smaller molecules and energy being used to form larger molecules
Catabolic Reaction
These involve the breakdown of large molecules into smaller molecules and energy
Life
Life is when all characteristics of living things are present in an organism
Organisation
This refers to the ordered way in which living things are organised structurally
Nutrition
This refers to the way that organisms obtain and use food
Excretion
This refers to the removal of metabolic waste products from the organism
Response
This refers to the way in which organisms react to stimuli in their environment
Stimuli
This refers to anything that causes a reaction in an organism or in any of its parts
Autotrophic
This refers to organisms that produce their own food eg. Plants
Heterotrophic
This refers to organisms that consume food made by other organisms
Reproduction
This refers to an organisms ability to produce new individuals of its own kind and pass on its genetic information to that individual
