Characteristics of Life Vocabulary

Fill in the blank: _______ is the sum of all chemical reactions that occur within an organism to maintain life.

• metabolism

• digestion

• respiration

• photosynthesis

Fill in the blank: _______ is the ability of an organism to maintain a stable internal environment.

• homeostasis

• metabolism

• respiration

• adaptation

An organism that can produce its own food using sunlight or chemicals is called an _______.

• autotroph

• heterotroph

• saprotroph

• phototroph

An organism that obtains energy by consuming other organisms is called a _______.

• heterotroph

• autotroph

• decomposer

• producer

An organism that uses chemicals to create energy is called a _______.

• chemoautotroph

• heterotroph

• photoautotroph

• chemolithotroph

An organism that uses sunlight to create energy is called a _______.

• photoautotroph

• chemoautotroph

• photoheterotroph

• chemoheterotroph

Fill in the blank: A trait that improves an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment is called an _______.

• adaptation

• mutation

• speciation

• gene flow

Fill in the blank: The gradual change in a species over time due to natural selection and genetic variation is called _______.

• evolution

• mutation

• adaptation

• speciation

Any change in the environment that causes an organism to react is called a _______?

• stimulus

• response

• reaction

• signal

Fill in the blank: The basic unit of life in all living organisms is called a _______.

• cell

• atom

• molecule

• tissue