Exploring the Characteristics of Living Things

Mrs. Arnold discusses the characteristics of living things, including cellular structure, reproduction, genetic code, growth, environmental response, homeostasis, metabolism, and evolution. She explains why viruses are not considered living due to their dependency on hosts for reproduction and gene regulation.

What is the smallest unit of life in an organism?

• Tissue

• Organ

• Molecule

• Cell

Which type of reproduction involves only one parent?

• Sexual reproduction

• Asexual reproduction

• Binary fission

• Budding

What carries the genetic code in living organisms?

• RNA

• Proteins

• DNA

• Lipids

What process do multicellular organisms usually go through during growth?

• Metabolism

• Development

• Photosynthesis

• Fermentation

How do living things respond to changes in their environment?

• By reproducing

• By stimulating a response

• By moving

• By mutating

What is the term for maintaining a stable internal environment?

• Homeostasis

• Metabolism

• Photosynthesis

• Adaptation

What is metabolism?

• The process of reproduction

• The process of photosynthesis

• The combination of chemical reactions in an organism

• The process of breathing

Over what time frame do organisms evolve?

• Weeks

• Hundreds of thousands or millions of years

• Days

• Years

Why are viruses not considered living?

• They cannot reproduce without a host

• They do not have proteins

• They do not have DNA

• They do not evolve

What are viruses made of?

• Cells

• Tissues

• Proteins, nucleic acids, and some lipids

• Organelles