The characteristics of life

Question 1

What are the characteristics of living organisms

Answer 1

1. are made up of cells
2. process energy
3. are highly ordered
4. reproduce
5. grow and develop
6. are homeostatic
7. form populations that can evolve and adapt

Question 2

Regarding cells, what are the two different categories organisms can consist of

Answer 2

Unicellular or multicellular

Question 3

Energy utilization:

Organisms take in energy and _____________________________

Answer 3

Organisms take in energy and transform it to perform all
life’s activities

Question 4

What are some examples of functions that organisms preform from taking in energy

(2)

Answer 4

supplying cells with nutrients and transporting substances through the organism

Question 5

How do plants take in energy, and what is this process called

Answer 5

They harness light energy from the sun and produce their own nutrients - photosynthesis

Question 6

Who are known as the primary producers of food on earth

Answer 6

Plants, algae, and certain bacteria

Question 7

What does it mean to say that organisms are highly ordered

Answer 7

Organisms are highly organized, coordinated structures that consist of one or more cells

Question 8

True or false:

Simple, single celled organisms are remarkably complex

(if true, explain)

Answer 8

True: inside each cell, atoms make up molecules; these in turn make up cell organelles and other cellular inclusions.

Question 9

How do organisms and plants respond to the environment?

Answer 9

• Organisms respond to physical or chemical changes to their external or internal environment
• Plants respond to changes in the
  angle of light - phototrophism

Question 10

Response to changes are examples of ________

Answer 10

Responses to changes are examples of adaptations

Question 11

What does reproduction reffer to

(2)

Answer 11

Reproduction refers to the production of offspring or the increase in number of individuals of a species

Question 12

What are the two types of reproduction, and explain

Answer 12

Sexual reproduction - requires
two parents to produce offspring
Asexual reproduction- requires only a
single individual to produce like
individuals

Question 13

Many unicellular organisms increase their numbers by _____________

Answer 13

Many unicellular organisms increase their numbers by simple cell division

Question 14

What is a key feauture of reproduction?

Answer 14

offspring tend to have characteristics that resemble those of their Parent(s).

Question 15

Why do organisms have characteristics that resemble those of their parents?

Answer 15

all living organisms contain inheritable material composed of DNA

Question 16

What does DNA stand for?

Answer 16

deoxyribonucleic acid

Question 17

Define growth

Answer 17

GROWTH: Increase in size of cell (ex muscles after working out) or number of cells (ex baby → adult) or both

Question 18

Define development

Answer 18

DEVELOPMENT: All changes that take place during an organism’s life

Question 19

Why do multicellular organisms pass through a more complicated process for growth and developpment, and what is it called?

Answer 19

They pass through a more complicated process of differentiation and organogenesis (because they have so many more cells to develop).

Question 20

This statement is for which characteristic of life?

All organisms maintain relatively constant
internal conditions, different from their
environment

Answer 20

Homeostasis

Question 21

Homeostasis is a ________ involving ________ where the response to a stimulus alters ____________ and may itself become a new stimulus

Answer 21

Homeostasis is a self-adjusting mechanism involving feedback where the response to a stimulus alters the internal conditions and may itself become a new stimulus

Question 22

Homeostasis works to maintain what?

Answer 22

Homeostasis works to maintain the organism’s internal environment within tolerance limits

Question 23

What has been a central, underlying feauture of life (and when did it arise

Answer 23

Evolutionary change has been a central, unifying feature of life since it arose 4 billion years ago

Question 24

Life evolves as a result of what?

Answer 24

Life evolves as a result of interaction between organisms and their environments

Question 25

What is a consequence of evolution?

Answer 25

The adaptation of organisms to their environment

Question 26

What is biological evolution refer to?

Answer 26

the fact that DNA of populations of organism can change over many generations, as a result of evolution, some organisms become more successful at survival and reproduction.Populations become better adapted to the environment in which they live.