Aim: What is the difference between living and nonliving

things?

Characteristics of Living ThingsAny living thing is called an organismVary in sizeHave different behaviors and needs1. Made up of small units called cells

Some organisms are one celledSome are many celledEach cell contains heredity material and has a structure

2. Interact with their surroundingsResponds to stimuli

Homeostasis-organisms ability to keep the proper conditions inside no matter what is going outside the body

3. Use energyComes directly or indirectly from the Sun-is the source of all energy

4. Grow and developAll organisms have a life span

5. Reproduce

Nonliving Things

•Don’t have these characteristics•Don’t need things in order to survive•Examples:•Water•Air•Rocks•Clouds

Aim: What are the basic needs of all living things?

1. Place to liveSome need a hot environmentSome need a cold environmentSome live in the oceanFew live on the bottom of the ocean

Organisms surroundings must provide for all of its needs

2. Raw Materialsall living things need waterMost organisms made up of 50 % H2O

Humans made up of 60-70% H2O

Need proteins, fats and sugars

Aim: How do we classify living things?

ClassificationEarly classifications included grouping plants depending on how they were used and animals on human traits, such as courageous

Aristotle classified living things by how they lookedExample: Animal categories included hair or no hair, four legs or two legs

Carolus Linnaeus came up with a new system of classification based on the structure of the organism

Modern classificationIncludes Linnaeus’ systemSimilarities of internal and external factors

study fossils, hereditary information and early stages of development

Scientists use all of this information to find and organisms phylogeny

Today’s Classification SystemOrganisms are grouped into six

kingdomsKingdom is the first and largest

categoryOrganisms are placed into these

kingdoms based on various characteristics

Smallest classification is a speciesOrganisms that belong to the same species can mate and reproduce

Aim: How do scientists name organisms?

Binomial NomenclatureTwo-word naming system used by Linnaeus

Used by modern scientistsFirst word identifies the genus of the species

Second words tells you something about the organism-what it looks like, lives or who discovered it

Examples: Red Maple Tree=Acer Rubrum

Using Scientific NamesUsed for four reasons:

1. Help avoid mistakes2. Organisms with similar

evolutionary history are classified together in the same genus

3. Give descriptive information4. Allows information about

organisms to be organized easily and efficiently

Tools for Identifying OrganismsField guides

Have descriptions and illustrations of organisms

Information about where they live

Can identify species from around the world

Dichotomous keysDetailed list identifying characteristics that includes scientific names

Arranged in stepsCan identify and name species