The Characteristics of Living Things – Lesson Summary

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Learning Objective

In this lesson we will learn about the characteristics that define living organisms.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

  • Define biology and give examples of different areas of biology.
  • Discuss the characteristics that all living things possess.
  • Distinguish between living and non-living things.

 
the characteristics of living things lesson contents

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Lesson Topics

1 | Introduction to Biology

2 | What is a Living Organism?

3 | Movement

4 | Respiration

5 | Sensitivity

6 | Coordination and Control / Circulation / Cells

7 | Growth

8 | Reproduction

9 | Excretion

10 | Nutrition

11 | Summary

Lesson Summary

  • Biology is the study of living things.
  • There is a defined set of characteristics that something must have to be considered as a living organism:
  • Movement – the ability to change position.
  • Respiration – the ability to break down food molecules to produce energy.
  • Sensitivity – the ability to respond to environmental changes.
  • Circulation / Coordination and Control / Cells – the ability to move substances around internally; the ability to regulate the internal environment; the fundamental building block of all living things.
  • Growth – the ability to irreversibly increase in size (mass).
  • Reproduction – the ability to produce offspring.
  • Excretion – the ability to remove waste materials.
  • Nutrition – the ability to take in food for energy and growth.
  • The characteristics of living things can be remembered using the mnemonic MRSCGREN, where each letter corresponds to the first letter of one of the characteristics.

 
mrscgren characteristics of life summary

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