Made of Cells
All living things are made of one or more of these basic units of life.
✅ Answer: What are cells?
All living things need this to carry out their life processes.
✅ Answer: What is energy?
A change in an organism's environment that causes a response is called this.
✅ Answer: What is a stimulus?
A puppy becoming larger is an example of this characteristic of life.
✅ Answer: What is growth?
You start sweating during a hot afternoon. Your body is trying to maintain stable internal conditions. Name this characteristic.
✅ Answer: What is homeostasis?
A bacterium consists of only one cell. This type of organism is called this.
What is a unicellular organism?
A plant captures sunlight and uses it to make food. This demonstrates which characteristic of living things?
✅ Answer: What is obtaining and using energy?
You accidentally touch something hot and quickly pull your hand away. This demonstrates which characteristic of life?
✅ Answer: What is responding to stimuli?
A caterpillar changing into a butterfly is an example of this characteristic.
✅ Answer: What is growth and development?
A bird produces chicks. Which characteristic of living things is demonstrated?
✅ Answer: What is reproduction?
A dog, tree, and human are made of many cells, so they are described using this term.
✅ Answer: What is multicellular?
A rabbit eats grass. The rabbit is gaining this from its food.
✅ Answer: What is energy?
A plant grows toward a sunny window. Identify the stimulus.
✅ Answer: What is light?
True or False: Growth and development mean exactly the same thing.
✅ Answer: What is False?
💡 Growth involves an increase in size, while development involves changes during an organism's life.
When you're cold, your body begins to shiver to help maintain a stable internal temperature. What characteristic does this demonstrate?
✅ Answer: What is homeostasis?
Explain why a rock does not meet the cellular characteristic of life.
✅ Answer: What is a rock is not made of cells?
does not grow
does not reproduce
does not respond to a stimulus
does not use energy
Plants and animals both require energy, but they obtain it differently. Plants capture energy from sunlight, while animals generally obtain energy by doing this.
✅ Answer: What is eating other organisms or consuming food?
A deer hears a loud noise and runs away. Identify both the stimulus and the response.
✅ Answer: What are the loud noise (stimulus) and running away (response)?
A seed sprouts, grows roots and leaves, and eventually becomes an adult plant. Name the characteristic of life being demonstrated.
✅ Answer: What is growth and development?
A sunflower is made of cells, grows, uses energy, and responds to sunlight. Give two pieces of evidence that support the claim that the sunflower is living.
✅ Answer: What are any two of the following: it is made of cells, grows and develops, uses energy, or responds to stimuli?
Scientists discover something new at the bottom of the ocean. What evidence involving cells would support the claim that it is living?
✅ Answer: What is evidence that it is made of one or more cells?
A student says, "Plants don't need energy because they don't move around like animals." Explain why the student is incorrect.
What is plants need energy to grow, develop, repair cells, reproduce, and carry out other life processes?
A plant closes its leaves when touched. Explain how this provides evidence that the plant is living.
✅ Answer: What is the plant detects a stimulus, touch, and responds by closing its leaves?
A crystal can become larger over time. Does this alone prove that the crystal is alive? Explain.
✅ Answer: What is no, because growth alone is not enough evidence to classify something as living; living things demonstrate the characteristics of life?
Scientists discover an unknown object. It uses energy, grows, is made of cells, responds to its environment, and reproduces. Based on this evidence, what conclusion should scientists make?
✅ Answer: What is the object is most likely a living organism because it demonstrates multiple characteristics of life?