Characteristics of Life and

Unifying Themes in Life

WEEK 1
1. Explain the evolving concept of life based on emerging pieces of evidence
WEEK 2
1. Describe how unifying themes (e.g., structure and function, evolution, and ecosystems) in the
study of life show the connections among living things and how they interact with each other and
with their environment
WEELK 3
1. Describe the different ways of how representative animals reproduce
WEEK 4
1. Describe the process of genetic engineering
2. Evaluate the benefits and risks of using GMOs
WEEK 5
1. Describe the general and unique characteristics of the different organ systems in representative
animals
2. Analyze and appreciate the functional relationships of the different organ systems in ensuring animal
survival
WEEK 6
1. Explain how populations of organisms have changed and continue to change over time showing
patterns of descent with modification from common ancestors to produce the organismal diversity
observed today
2. Describe how the present system of classification of organisms is based on evolutionary relationships
WEEK 7
1. Categorize the different biotic potential and environmental resistance (e.g., diseases, availability of
Objectives

1. name the unifying themes in the study of life;

2. describe the unifying themes illustrated;
3. explain the connection among living things and their interaction with
the environment;
4. give details on how these themes serve as the foundation in the
study of biology.
5. value life by taking good care of all beings, human, plants and
animals.
PREVIOUS LESSON
WHAT ARE THE EVIDENCES?
 WHAT ARE THE EVIDENCES?

Zircon Crystals Stromatolites biomarkers trilobite fossils dinosaur fossils homo erectus
ARRANGE
 ARRANGE

A=2 B=3 C= 7 D=1 E=6 F=5 G=4 H=8

Biology is the science
that studies life.
Life Science is unified by
certain themes.
What exactly is life?
 livings are alike in
several ways.

What are the shared properties that

make something “alive”?
What characteristics do all living things shared?
 Biology
All organisms share common
characteristics that guide in defining
what life is.

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO
ALL LIVING THINGS SHARE?
Characteristics biological characteristics or
properties and certain theme
of Life about how the living world
works.

properties shared by all living

things, passed down over
billions of years from the first
organisms to have evolved on
Earth.
 Characteristics /Properties of Life
▪ All groups of living organisms share several key characteristics
or functions:
✓ energy processing.
✓ order,
✓ sensitivity or response to stimuli,
✓ reproduction,
✓ adaptation,
✓ growth and development,
✓ regulation,
✓ homeostasis, and
When viewed together, these eight characteristics serve to define life.
Gathering and Using
Energy
 Biology
Gathering and Using Energy

Energy is the ability of organisms to do

work and allows them to perform vital
activities such as growth, movement, and
reproduction.
 Energy Processing
Living things have the ability to
use energy and matter to
• All organisms use a source of
ensure survival
energy for their metabolic
activities.
• Some organisms capture
energy from the Sun and
convert it into chemical
energy in food; others use
chemical energy from
molecules they take in.
Energy
• The ability of organisms to do work and allows them
to perform vital activities such as growth, movement
and reproduction.

• Energy is produced when complex organic matter

(carbohydrates, proteins) are broken down into
simple substances such as glucose and amino acids.
Cellular Respiration- the process by which energy is
released by the breakdown of food substances.
 Metabolism
• METABOLISM is the sum of all chemical processes,
reactions, and energy changes happening inside the
body of an organism, that maintain the living state of
an organism.
• Metabolic processes includes Nutrient uptake,
nutrient processing and waste elimination
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.
 Organisms acquire and process energy.

➢ Living organisms use a source of energy for their

metabolic activities.
➢ Some living organisms capture the light energy
and convert it into chemical energy in food.
➢ Some living organisms use chemical energy stored
in molecules obtained from food.
Nutrition -the process of having nutrients inside from the foods you consume.
Nutrients comprise of Proteins, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Fats and Minerals.
Plants and Animals need food as it is an essential supplement for all living organisms.
 Biology
Gathering and Using Energy

- Nutrient uptake and processing

- Waste elimination
 Gathering and Using Energy
Biology
Nutrient uptake and processing
Nutrition -the biochemical and physiological
process by which an organism uses food to
support its life. It provides organisms with
nutrients, which can be metabolized to create
energy and chemical structures.
 Biology
Gathering and Using Energy
Waste elimination
Excretion is elimination of metabolic
waste, which is an essential process in
all organisms.
 Biology
Gathering and Using Energy
Waste elimination
Metabolic processes produce waste products such as
carbon dioxide, water, salts, urea and uric acid.
Accumulation of these wastes beyond a level inside
the body is harmful to the body. The excretory organs
remove these wastes. This process of removal of
metabolic waste from the body is known as excretion.
 Biology
Gathering and Using Energy
homeostasis

➢ The maintenance of the body’s internal

environment.
➢ The tendency of an organism to
maintain a stable internal state.
 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 maintain an internal temperature of 37°C

(98.5°F), however hot or cold the weather may be.
 homeostasis
Biology
Cooling Down
The human body’s temperature regulatory center is the hypothalamus in the
brain. When the hypothalamus receives data from sensors in the skin and brain
that body temperature is higher than the setpoint, it sets into motion the
following responses:

Blood vessels in the skin dilate (vasodilation) to allow more blood from the
warm body core to flow close to the surface of the body, so heat can be
radiated into the environment.
As blood flow to the skin increases, sweat glands in the skin are activated to
increase their output of sweat (diaphoresis). When the sweat evaporates from
the skin surface into the surrounding air, it takes the heat with it.
Breathing becomes deeper, and the person may breathe through the mouth
instead of the nasal passages. This increases heat loss from the lungs.
 Homeostasis
➢ To function properly, cells require
appropriate conditions such as
proper temperature, pH, and
concentrations of diverse chemicals.
➢ These conditions may, however,
change from one moment to the
next.
➢ Organisms are able to maintain
internal conditions within a narrow
range almost constantly, despite
environmental changes, through a
process called homeostasis or
“steady state”—the ability of an
organism to maintain constant
internal conditions.
 Homeostasis
➢ Example:

➢ many organisms regulate their body

temperature in a process known as
thermoregulation.
Organisms that live in cold climates, such as the
polar bear have body structures that help them
withstand low temperatures and conserve body
heat.
In hot climates, organisms have methods (such
as perspiration in humans or panting in dogs)
that help them to shed excess body heat.
Organisms must maintain homeostasis to survive
in diverse environments.
➢ Homeostasis is the maintenance of constant
internal conditions.
➢ All living organisms must live in a stable
environment.
Adaptation and Evolution

Irritability
Motility
Adaptation
Evolution
 Sensitivity or Response to Stimuli

• Organisms respond to diverse stimuli.

• Responsive processes allow organisms to react to changes in
their surroundings.
▪ Response may include:

Movement/motility
irritability
individual adaptation and
evolution
 Biology
Adaptation and Evolution
Motility – movement such as walking,
flying, swimming, gliding etc.
-to search for food, to reproduce, and
respond to changes in the environment.
 Biology
Adaptation and Evolution
Irritability/sensitivity – the ability of an
organism to respond appropriately against a
stimulus.
Trophism/response- the reaction of an
organism to stimuli.
 Sensitivity or Response to Stimuli
Example
➢ plants can grow toward a source of
light or respond to touch.
➢ Even tiny bacteria can move toward or
away from chemicals (a process called
chemotaxis) or light (phototaxis).
➢ Movement toward a stimulus is
considered a positive response, while
movement away from a stimulus is
considered a negative response.
 Biology
Adapting and Evolving
Adaptation – the ability to adjust to
changes in the environment.
 Adapting Biology
and Evolving
Evolution – refers to the changes in characteristics
of a group of organism (population) over time.

Evolutionary adaptation – a gradual or rapid

change in body structure or behavior to be
better suited and to survive a new environment.
 Adaptation
• All living organisms exhibit a “fit” to their
environment.
• Biologists refer to this fit as adaptation
and it is a consequence of evolution by
natural selection, which operates in every
lineage of reproducing organisms.
• Examples of adaptations are as diverse
as unique heat-resistant Archaea that
live in boiling hot springs to the tongue
length of a nectar-feeding moth that
matches the size of the flower from
which it feeds.
Examples include:
▪ the long necks of giraffes for feeding in the
tops of trees,
▪ the streamlined bodies of aquatic fish and
mammals,
▪ the light bones of flying birds and
mammals,
▪ and the long daggerlike canine teeth of
carnivores.
 Adaptation and evolution
• Characteristics an organism has that may
help it survive.
• Adaptations are not constant. As an
environment changes, natural selection
causes the characteristics of the
individuals in a population to track those
changes.
 Evolution explains the
unity and diversity of life.
➢ Evolution is the change
in living things over
time.
➢ The genetic makeup of
a population of a species
changes.
➢ It accounts for both the
diversity and the unity
of life.
 Organisms are interdependent with one another.

Organisms have evolved to live and interact with other

organisms.

Ecology deals with the interactions of living organisms

with one another and their environment.
 Regulation
• Even the smallest organisms are complex
and require multiple regulatory
mechanisms to coordinate internal
functions, such as the transport of
nutrients, response to stimuli, and coping
with environmental stresses.
• For example, organ systems such as
the digestive or circulatory systems
perform specific functions like
carrying oxygen throughout the body,
removing wastes, delivering nutrients
to every cell, and cooling the body.
Reproducing and Continuing Life

Growth
Development and reproduction
Heredity
 Reproduction involves the transfer of
genetic information from parents to
Reproduction offspring.

> Asexual Reproduction - produces

offspring that are genetically identical to a
single parent.

> Sexual Reproduction - involves two

parents contributing genetic information to
produce a unique offspring.
 Organisms reproduce.
➢ It is necessary part of living; process
of making more of one’s own kind.
 Biology
Reproducing and continuing Life
Growth – an increase in size and volume by
converting food to become a part of body
cells. (increase in number of body cells).
Intussusception –growth from within the cells.
Organogenesis – process of cell
differentiation and formation of new organs
 Growth and Development
• All organisms grow and develop
according to specific instructions
coded for by their genes.
• These genes provide instructions
that will direct cellular growth and
development, ensuring that a
species’ young will grow up to
exhibit many of the same
characteristics as its parents.
 Biology
Reproducing and continuing Life
Development and reproduction –

Development is the process of maturing

and acquiring new skills or features. It
involves changes in both structure and
function.
 ReproducingBiology
and continuing Life
Development and reproduction –
Reproduction is the process by which living organisms
create new individuals of the same species and this
process ensures the continuation of life.
Reproduction is the process by which living organisms
create new individuals of the same species and this
process ensures the continuation of life.
heredity 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.

> The transmission of characteristics from

parent to offspring is called heredity.
> 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.
> The transmission of characteristics from
parent to offspring is called heredity.
 Traits are being inherited and
transferred.
➢ The continuity of life depends on
the inheritance of
biological information in the form of
DNA molecules.
➢ The genetic information is encoded
in the nucleotide sequences of
the DNA.
 Biology
ORGANIZATION of LIFE
 Order

Ø Organisms are highly organized

structures that consist of one or
more cells.
 Levels of Organization of Living Things
• Living things are highly organized and structured,
following a hierarchy on a scale from small to large.
• The atom is the smallest and most fundamental unit
of matter. It consists of a nucleus surrounded by
electrons. Atoms form molecules.
• A molecule is a chemical structure consisting of at
least two atoms held together by a chemical bond.
Many molecules that are biologically important
are macromolecules, large molecules that are
typically formed by combining smaller units called
monomers.
 Cellular
Organization
§ Organisms can either be made up of only
one cell (unicellular) or made up of many
cells (multicellular)
• All cells have the same basic structure: a
membrane that encloses the cell and
controls materials that move in and out; an
internal fluid known as the cytoplasm where
the organelles are suspended; and nucleus
that contains the hereditary genes called
DNA.
Organisms can either be made
up of only one cell (unicellular)
or made up of many cells
(multicellular)
All levels of life have systems of related parts.
➢ A system is an organized group of interacting parts.
➢ A cell is a system of chemicals and processes. It is the
basic unit of life.
➢ A body system includes organs that interact.

➢ An ecosystem includes living and nonliving things

that interact.
 Structure and function are related in
biology.
➢ Structure determines function.
➢ The structure is the shape of the object.
➢ The function is the object’s specific role.
 Scientific Inquiry

The process of science includes observation-based

discovery and the testing of explanations through
the hypothetic-deductive.

Scientific credibility depends on the repeatability of

observation and experiments.
Science, Technology and Society

Many technologies are goal-oriented applications of

science.

The relationships of science and technology to

society are now more crucial to understand than
ever before.
Science, Technology and Society

Science makes products useful to man