Summary
Living organisms share several key characteristics that define life, including movement, respiration, sensitivity, homeostasis, growth, reproduction, excretion, and nutrition. These characteristics enable organisms to survive, grow, and reproduce in their environments.
Exam Tips
Key Definitions to Remember
- Movement: Action by an organism causing a change of position or place.
- Respiration: Chemical reactions breaking down nutrient molecules to release energy.
- Sensitivity: Ability to detect changes in the environment and respond.
- Homeostasis: Maintaining a stable internal environment.
- Growth: Permanent increase in size and dry mass.
- Reproduction: Processes that produce more of the same kind of organism.
- Excretion: Removal of toxic materials and waste products.
- Nutrition: Taking in materials for energy, growth, or development.
Common Confusions
- Confusing respiration with breathing; respiration is a chemical process.
- Mistaking excretion for egestion; excretion is removing metabolic waste.
Typical Exam Questions
- Which process is carried out by all organisms? Growth
- Which process occurs both in plants and animals? Excretion
- Which cells have structures that can move? 1 and 4
What Examiners Usually Test
- Understanding of each characteristic of living organisms.
- Ability to differentiate between similar processes like excretion and egestion.