Bertuldes, Cherie Ann A.

BAF
November 22, 2017
The 7 Characteristics of Life:
1. Living Things are Composed of Cells:
Single-cell organisms have everything they need to be self-sufficient.
In multicellular organisms, specialization increases until some cells do only certain things.
2. Living Things Have Different Levels of Organization:
Both molecular and cellular organization.
Living things must be able to organize simple substances into complex ones.
Living things organize cells at several levels:
Tissue - a group of cells that perform a common function.
Organ - a group of tissues that perform a common function.
Organ system - a group of organs that perform a common function.
Organism - any complete living thing.
3. Living Things Use Energy:
Living things take in energy and use it for maintenance and growth.
4. Living Things Respond To Their Environment:
Living things will make changes in response to a stimulus in their environment.
A behavior is a complex set of responses.
5 . Living Things Grow:
Cell division - the orderly formation of new cells.
Cell enlargement - the increase in size of a cell. Cells grow to a certain size and then divide.
An organism gets larger as the number of its cells increases.
6. Living Things Reproduce:
Reproduction is not essential for the survival of individual organisms, but must occur for a species to
survive.
All living things reproduce in one of the following ways:
Asexual reproduction - Producing offspring without the use of gametes.
Sexual reproduction - Producing offspring by the joining of sex cells.
7. Living Things Adapt To Their Environment:
Adaptations are traits giving an organism an advantage in a certain environment.
Variation of individuals is important for a healthy species.
The scientific method merely refers to a broad framework for studying and learning more about the world
around us in a scientific manner.

Steps of the Scientific Method

1. Make an Observation

Scientists are naturally curious about the world. While many people may pass by a curious phenomenon
without sparing much thought for it, a scientific mind will take note of it as something worth further thought
and investigation.

2. Form a Question

After making an interesting observation, a scientific mind itches to find out more about it. This is in fact a
natural phenomenon. If you have ever wondered why or how something occurs, you have been listening to the
scientist in you. In the scientific method, a question converts general wonder and interest to a channelled line
of thinking and inquiry.

3. Form a Hypothesis

A hypothesis is an informed guess as to the possible answer of the question. The hypothesis may be formed as
soon as the question is posed, or it may require a great deal of background research and inquiry. The purpose
of the hypothesis is not to arrive at the perfect answer to the question but to provide a direction to further
scientific investigation.

4. Conduct an Experiment

Once a hypothesis has been formed, it must be tested. This is done by conducting a carefully designed and
controlled experiment. The experiment is one of the most important steps in the scientific method, as it is used
to prove a hypothesis right or wrong, and to formulate scientific theories. In order to be accepted as scientific
proof for a theory, an experiment must meet certain conditions it must be controlled, i.e. it must test a single
variable by keeping all other variables under control. The experiment must also be reproducible so that it can
be tested for errors.

5. Analyze the Data and Draw a Conclusion

As the experiment is conducted, it is important to note down the results. In any experiment, it is necessary to
conduct several trials to ensure that the results are constant. The experimenter then analyses all the data and
uses it to draw a conclusion regarding the strength of the hypothesis. If the data proves the hypothesis correct,
the original question is answered. On the other hand, if the data disproves the hypothesis, the scientific inquiry
continues by doing research to form a new hypothesis and then conducting an experiment to test it. This
process goes on until a hypothesis can be proven correct by a scientific experiment.

Chemistry of Life

The elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorusare the key building blocks of the
chemicals found in living things. They form the carbohydrates, nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids (all of which
will be defined later in this chapter) that are the fundamental molecular components of all organisms. In this
chapter, we will discuss these important building blocks and learn how the unique properties of the atoms of
different elements affect their interactions with other atoms to form the molecules of life. These interactions
determine what atoms combine and the ultimate shape of the molecules and macromolecules, that shape will
determine their function.