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Ch. 1
Characteristics of Living Things
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Biology | study of life and how living things interact with the environment |
| Organism | has or once had the defining characteristics of life |
| Organization of humans | atoms > molecules > organelles > cells > tissues > organs > organ systems > organism |
| cell(s) | basic unit of structure and function of all living things |
| energy | constant supply to maintain metabolism, which is all the chemical reactions in a living thing |
| responds to stimuli | reaction to an internal or external stimulus |
| homeostasis | maintaining a stable and balanced internal condition |
| grows | get bigger |
| develops | maturing process; moving from one life stage to another |
| reproduction | creating a new generation of organisms |
| species | organism that breeds and produces fertile offspring like itself |
| heredity | passing on of genetic traits from parent to offspring |
| adaptation (adapt) | being able to change with a changing environment by passing on favorable traits to offspring (quicker process - takes a few generations) |
| evolve (evolution) | to gradually change and develop over a period of time (slow process - takes many generations) |