Life Science

Characteristics of Living Things

5 Kingdoms of Living Things

• Animals (humans, elephants, octopus, birds)

• Plants (trees, grass, weeds, shrubs, flowers)

• Fungi (mushrooms, molds, yeast)• Protist (amoeba, paramecium,

euglena)• Monera (bacteria)

Characteristics of Living Things

1) Are made up of cells

2) Can move3) Can perform

complex chemical activities

4) Grow and develop5) Respond to their

environment6) Reproduce

Living Things are Made of Cells

• Cells are the basic building blocks of living things

• Cells come only from other cells

• Single celled called (unicellular)

• Many celled called (multi-cellular)

Living Things Can Move

• Why Move?• Need to move to find

food and shelter• Need to avoid

danger• Need to search for a

mate• Plants move to get

more sun/water

Living Things Perform Complex Chemical

Activities• Ingestion-taking in food

(plants make food)• Digestion- food is

broken down into simpler substances

• Respiration-use oxygen to produce energy

• Excretion-process of getting rid of wastes

Living Things Grow and Develop

• Growth - gaining cells

• Development-part of growth process when dramatic changes take place

• Metamorphosis • Life span-maximum

length of time a species can be expected to live

Living Things Respond to their Environment

• Stimulus-any change in the environment that produces a response (smells, noise, light, water,)

• Response-action, movement, or change in behavior (blinking)

Living Things Need to Reproduce

• Living things will become extinct if they do not reproduce

• 2 types (sexual/asexual)

• Sexual - 2 parents• Asexual - 1 parent