BIOSPHERE is the sum of all living things on the Earth.

All living things have characteristics in common:

1. All have a similar chemical composition: they consist mainly of organic
substances.
2. They carry out three main life functions: nutrition, sensitivity (interaction) and
reproduction.
3. All living things are made up of cells (unicellular – one cell; pluricellular –
many cells).

CHEMISTRY OF LIFE
All living things are made up of about 20 chemical elements. The most abundant in
living things are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. Any chemical element that
forms part of organic matter is called a bioelements.
These element combines to form to kind of substances in the living things:

1. Organic substances: they are unique to living things, they all contain
significant amount of carbon. They are:

Biomolecules Use/function
 Carbohydrates Provide energy
 Lipids Energy reserve
 Protein Build structures.
Help immune system
Body movement
 Nucleic acid information Transfer genetic information

2. Inorganic substances: they contain very little or no carbon. The principal

inorganic substances are:
 Water: necessary for chemical reactions and transport other substances.
 Mineral salt. Dissolved in body fluids or forming part of solid structures.
LIFE FUNCTIONS
All living things carry out at least three essential life functions:
1.-NUTRITION
It is the series of processes that enable living things to obtain matter and energy. There
are two groups:
Autotrophs: they combine inorganic compounds with energy from the Sun or from
chemical reaction to produce their own organic compounds.
Heterotrophs: they use organic compounds produced by autotrophs to get the energy
they need.

2.-INTERACTION
This function enable living thing to interact with other living thingsand with their
environment. It also makes possible that living things react and respond to changes in
their environment.

3.-REPRODUCTION
It is the process by which living things produce new individuals or offspring. The
reproduction can be:
 Sexual: a male and a female each contribute a sexual cell (gamete) and when
these two gametes join the result is a descendant with characteristics from both
parents.
 Asexual reproduction: one parent produces a new living thing that is identical
to it.
CELLS:BASIC CHARACTEISTICS AND TYPES

All living things are made up of cells. (Robert Hooke was the first to use this term).
Cells are the smallest structural unit of life that can function independently and carry
out the 3 life functions.

PART OF A CELL
There are several structures of cells but all have the basic structure in common:
 Cell membrane: a thin layer that covers the entire cell, it is made up principally
of lipids and it regulates the passing of substances.
 Cytoplasm: a jelly substance inside the cell with organelles that have
specialized functions.
 Genetic material: primarily DNA that gives instructions and controls the cell
activities.

TYPE OF CELLS
They are classified into 2 types depending on how and where genetic material is
located.
 Prokaryotic cell: genetic material floats throughout the cytoplasm.

 Eukaryotic cells: genetic material is inside a nucleus surrounded by a nuclear

membrane.