COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF

LIFE
 1.CELLULAR ORGANIZATION
All cells have the same basic structure:
• A membrane that enclose the cell and controls
materials that move in and out
• An internal fluid known as the cytoplasm
where the organelles are suspended
• A nucleus that contain the hereditary genes
called DNA
• Organisms can either be made up of only one
cell ( unicellular) or made up of many cells
( multicellular)
 2. METABOLISM
All living things uses energy
• The sum of all chemical processes that
maintain the living state of an organism is
called metabolism.
• All organisms use energy to grow, and all
organisms transport this energy from one
place to another within cells using special
energy –carrying molecules called ATP
 3. HOMEOSTASIS
All living things maintain stable internal
conditions. While the environment often varies
a lot, organisms act to keep their interior
conditions relatively constant in a process called
homeostasis.
The human body maintains an internal
temperature of 37°C ( 98.5°F), however hot or
cold the weather maybe.
 4. REPRODUCTION
• All living things reproduce. Reproduction
involves the transfer of genetic information
from parents to offspring.
• Asexual reproduction produces offspring that
are genetically identical to a single parent,
while sexual reproduction involves two
parents contributing genetic informstion to
produce a unique offspring.
 5. HEREDITY
• All organisms possess a genetic system that is
based on the replication and duplication of a
long molecule called deoxyribonucleic acid
( DNA) .
• The information that determines what an
individual organism will be like is written in a
code dictated by the sequence of the DNA
molecule.
• Each set of instruction within the DNA is called
a gene
• Because the DNA is faithfully copied from one
generation to the next, any change in a gene is
also preserved and passed on to future
generation . The transmission of
characteristics from parent to offspring is
called heredity
UNIFYING THEMES IN LIFE SCIENCE
 1. LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
There is a hierarchy of increasing complexity
within cells, from the molecular level of DNA
( where the chemistry of life occurs),to the
organelle level( where the cellular activities are
organized) ,to the cellular level ( the smallest
level of organization)
 2. THE FLOW OF ENERGY
Energy is used by organisms to grow and do
work. Almost all the energy that all living things
need is obtained from the sun.
Plants capture the energy from sunlight and use
it to make complex molecules in a process called
photosynthesis.
 3. EVOLUTION
The theory of evolution helps explain how all
kinds of organisms came into existence.
Charles Darwin proposed the theory of
evolution by natural selection which presumes
that organisms with more favorable traits would
be more likely to survive and reproduce in a
certain environment.These favorable traits are
called adaptations.
 4. INTERACTING SYSTEM
Living things interact with each other and with
the environment .
Ex. Flowering plants and insects have been
coevolving through cooperation
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
A relationship exists between structure and
function at all levels of biological organization. In
bilogy, structure is always related to function.
Ex. The hummingbird has a long tongue that is
used to suck nectar easily
 ECOLOGY
Ecology is the study of complex communities of
organisms in relation to their environment.They
need substances like water, nutrients and gases
from the environment.
 SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Knowledge from biological science can be
applied to specific problems in the society to
improve human life.