characteristics of living things

1. Characteristics of Living
Things (pg 8)

2. All living things:

3. 1. Share a universal genetic
code
• All organisms use DNA to store the
information they need to live, grow, and
reproduce

4. 2. Grow and Develop
• Growth can involve adding more cells, or
cells getting larger
• Development = changes during a lifetime

5. 3. Respond to their environment
• Detect a condition in the environment (a
stimulus) and respond

6. 4. Reproduce
• Production of offspring (Sexual or Asexual)

7. 5. Maintain a stable internal
environment
• Keeping a constant internal environment,
even when external conditions change
dramatically, is called homeostasis

8. 6. Obtain and use material and
energy
• Chemical reactions that break down
materials and then reassemble them to
build the organism are called metabolism

9. 7. Groups of organisms evolve
over time
• All living things share a common origin
more than 3.5 billion years ago and have
evolved over time into the species present
today

10. 8. Made of cells
• All living things are composed of one or
more cells

11. Output (pg 9)
• Foldable