Chapter Notes:

Chapter 2 It’s Alive!! Or, Is It?

Section 1 Characteristics of Living Things

*Living things have Cells

*Living things sense and respond to change

*Stimulus – a change in an organism’s environment that affects the activity of the organism

*Homeostasis – the maintenance of a stable internal environment

*Living things reproduce

*asexual reproduction – a single parent produces offspring that are identical to the parent

*sexual reproduction – requires two parents to produce offspring that will share characteristics of both parents

*Living things use energy

*metabolism – the total chemical activities that an organism performs:

Making food, breaking down food, moving materials, etc.

*Living things grow and develop