1.5 Characteristics of Life

Unity in Diversity

1. ORDER

• All organisms exhibit complex organization

2. Regulation

• The environment outside an organism may change markedly, but regulatory mechanisms maintain an organisms’ internal environments within limits that sustain life.

homeostasis  • The ability to maintain

a relatively constant internal environment.

• EXAMPLES: body temp.

• Blood sugar levels• Water levels• pH

Kidney used for water regulation

Gets rid of wastes

3. Growth and development

• Each organism has a pattern of growth and development characteristic of its species.

4. Energy Utilization

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

-metabolism -photosynthesis

5. Response to the environment

• All organisms respond to environmental stimuli.

Eye spot (responds to light)

I’m outa here!

6. Reproduction

• DNA lends itself to precise replication, and all organisms reproduce their own kind.

7. Evolution

• Reproduction underlies the capacity of species to change (evolve) over time.