MRS GREN
These seven words summarize the main characteristics of life.
What is MRS GREN?
The smallest unit of life capable of carrying out all life functions.
What is a cell?
The process that releases energy from food molecules inside cells.
What is respiration?
Maintaining a stable internal environment despite external changes.
What is homeostasis?
The process by which living organisms increase in size and mass.
What is growth?
This characteristic allows organisms to produce offspring and pass on genes.
What is reproduction?
Organisms with only one cell that performs all life processes.
What are unicellular organisms?
This molecule acts as the “energy currency” in living cells.
What is ATP?
A change in the environment that triggers a reaction in an organism.
What is a stimulus?
Random changes in DNA that can create new traits in organisms.
What are mutations?
The process by which living organisms remove metabolic waste
What is excretion?
Cells that perform similar functions form this level of organization.
What is a tissue?
The sum of all chemical reactions in an organism.
What is metabolism?
In humans, this organ system is primarily responsible for maintaining homeostasis.
What is the nervous system?
The fusion of two specialized cells restores the normal number of chromosomes in an organism.
What is fertilization?
The ability of an organism to detect and respond to changes in its surroundings.
What is sensitivity?
These organisms have specialized cells organized into tissues and organs.
What are multicellular organisms?
The process that converts light energy into chemical energy in plants.
What is photosynthesis?
This type of feedback mechanism counteracts changes to maintain balance.
What is negative feedback?
The gradual process by which favorable traits become more common in a population over many generations.
What is natural selection?
The process of taking in materials for energy, growth, and repair.
What is nutrition?
The principle stating that all living things are made of cells.
What is the cell theory?
The two opposing processes that make up metabolism.
What are anabolism and catabolism?
Plants grow toward light due to this type of response.
What is phototropism?
This type of cell division allows organisms to grow, repair tissues, and produce identical cells.
What is mitosis?