Describing Life 1-1


The word biology is easy to define.   It is the study of living things.  But consider for a minute or two what this means.  Think about the different kinds of living things you know.

Make a list of at least 25 different forms of life.
Lions, tigers, bears, dogs, roses, apple trees, beetles, sharks, mushrooms, algae, paramecium, lemurs, bobcat, caribou, pigs, cotton, mice, eagles, wolves, E. coli, athletes foot, moss, penguins, alligators, sponges

What is an Organism?  List the characteristics that an organism would have.

  • An organism is a living thing.
  • Use energy
  • Definite shape and size
  • Eventually dies  (limited life span)
  • Grows
  • Responds to changes in the environment.
  • Reproduces
  • Evolve or change over time

Do all living things always have these characteristics?  Why or why not?  Be sure to include examples.
  • No, viruses can be dormant(non-living) for many years and then reproduce when conditions are right.  Plant seeds can also do the same more or less.

Life Processes 1-2


 Living things carryout many different kinds of processes.  Some of these processes, such as growth, reproduction, and the use of energy, already have been discussed as basic characteristics of life.  These, of course, are not the only processes carried out by living things.  Many of these life processes are necessary for maintaining a fairly constant environment within an organism.

What is homeostasis?  Why do u think this is important?

  • Condition of a constant internal environment. 
  • To keep things operating smoothly.

What is nutrition?  What is the difference between ingestion and digestion?
  • Taking in food from the outside environment and changing it into a useable form.
  • Ingestion is taking food in while digestion is breaking it down.

What is transport?  What is a necessary part in complex organisms?
  • The distribution (delivery) of substance through out an organism.
  • Complex organisms must have a circulatory system to deliver nutrients to all cells.

What is respiration?  What is the difference between aerobic and anaerobic?
  • Releasing chemical energy from food.
  • Aerobic uses oxygen while anaerobic does not

Explain the difference between synthesis and assimilation.
  • Synthesis is the production of complex substance by the body while assimilation is the using of these materials
  • Ex.  Proteins being made are synthesis.  Growing muscle with these proteins is assimilation.

What is growth?   How does growth differ, as organisms get more complex?
  • Growth is the increase in size of an organism.
  • As organisms get more complex then increase in number of cells as well as in size.  Cells also become specialized.

What is excretion?
  • Removal of waste from an organism's body (urination)



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