Living Things Basics
What is the smallest unit of life?
What is a cell?
What characteristic contains instructions for an organism's traits and life processes?
What is genetic material (DNA)?
What is an organism?
What is an individual living thing?
A sunflower turns toward sunlight. What characteristic does this demonstrate?
What is response to stimuli?
Is a mushroom living or nonliving?
What is living?
What do all living things need to obtain to carry out life processes?
What is energy?
What characteristic describes an organism reacting to light, sound, or touch?
What is response to stimuli?
What is a stimulus?
What is a change in the environment that causes a response?
A puppy becomes an adult dog. What characteristic does this demonstrate?
What is growth and development?
Why is fire not considered alive even though it grows and uses energy?
Because it is not made of cells and does not perform all characteristics of life.
What characteristic allows living things to produce offspring?
What is reproduction?
What characteristic allows an organism to maintain stable internal conditions?
What is homeostasis?
What is metabolism?
What are the chemical processes that keep an organism alive?
What is homeostasis?
A seed appears inactive for months. Why can it still be considered alive?
Because it contains living cells and can resume growth and metabolism when conditions are suitable.
What is the processes of becoming larger AND undergoing changes over time?
What is growth and development?
What characteristic explains why organisms need food or sunlight?
What is obtaining and using energy?
What is the difference between a unicellular and a multicellular organism?
A unicellular organism has one cell; a multicellular organism has many cells.
A bacterium divides to produce two bacteria. What characteristic does this demonstrate?
What is reproduction?
Why is a virus generally not considered a living organism?
Because it is not made of cells and cannot reproduce or carry out metabolism independently.
Why is a rock considered nonliving even though it can become larger?
Because it does not consist of cells or perform life processes; it grows by accumulating material.
What characteristic describes inherited traits that help populations survive in their environments over generations?
What is adaptation?
What is the difference between growth and development?
Growth is an increase in size or cell number; development involves changes in form or function.
Over many generations, a desert plant population develops traits that help conserve water. What characteristic does this demonstrate?
What is adaptation through evolution?
A robot moves, uses energy, and responds to commands. Explain why it is not considered alive.
Because it is not made of cells and does not carry out the complete set of biological life processes.
A scientist discovers an unfamiliar object that moves, grows, and uses energy. Explain why these observations alone are not enough to prove that the object is alive.
Nonliving things an also move, grow, or use energy. Scientists need additional evidence, including cellular organization and other characteristics of living organisms, to determine whether the object is alive.