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Unit 1

BIO.1A - Characteristics of Life

Unit 1: Need to Know and Be Able to Do

BIO.1A.1 - Living vs. Nonliving

Need to know

  • The characteristics of life: made of one or more cells, reproduces, responds to stimuli, uses energy and nutrients to grow, maintains homeostasis, and adapts and changes over time.
  • Being made of atoms, moving, and having mass and volume are not traits unique to life.
  • A nonliving thing is described by the absence of a life characteristic.

Be able to do

  • Sort statements into Living and Nonliving categories.
  • Recognize a life characteristic written in negative form, such as cannot maintain homeostasis, does not respond to stimuli, lacks cellular structure, or cannot adapt and change.
  • Judge a criterion-and-reasoning pair and reject it if either half is wrong, even when the conclusion sounds right.
  • Evaluate another student's criteria list and remove criteria that also describe nonliving things.

Watch out for

  • When a sorting task specifies equal groups, uneven columns signal an error.
  • Cellular structure and adapting over time may be described only in negative form.
  • Reject answer choices that reverse a criterion, such as saying nonliving things reproduce while living things do not.

BIO.1A.2 - Cell Theory

Need to know

  • The three tenets: all living things are made of one or more cells; the cell is the basic unit of structure and function; and all cells come from preexisting cells.
  • Schleiden concluded that all plants are made of cells.
  • Schwann concluded that all animals are made of cells.
  • Virchow concluded that all cells come from preexisting cells.
  • Hooke observed cork under a microscope and named the structures cells.

Be able to do

  • Match each cell-theory statement or discovery to the correct scientist.

Watch out for

  • Schleiden and Schwann are commonly swapped. Remember Schleiden for plants and Schwann for animals.

BIO.1A.3 - Levels of Organization

Need to know

  • The order from least to most complex is cell → tissue → organ → organ system → organism.
  • The full hierarchy applies only to multicellular organisms.
  • Bacteria are unicellular and therefore have no tissues, organs, or organ systems.

Be able to do

  • Put levels of organization in order from images of real structures, not only from words.
  • Read a plant sequence such as a single cell, a sheet of cells, a leaf, and a whole tree.
  • Classify a structure by its composition and function, such as identifying the bladder as an organ made of tissues.

Watch out for

  • A sequence may skip organ system and show only four levels.
  • Distinguish a drawing of one cell from a microscope field containing many cells, which may represent tissue.
  • Reject a choice if either its cellularity statement or its tissue statement is wrong.

BIO.1A.4 - Are Viruses Living?

Need to know

  • Evidence for living: viruses contain genetic information, can replicate inside a host, and change over time.
  • Evidence for nonliving: viruses must use living cells to make more viruses, are not made of cells, do not grow or develop, do not obtain or use their own energy, and do not maintain homeostasis on their own.
  • Scientists have not settled the question. Evidence can support either claim.

Be able to do

  • Match each piece of evidence to the claim it supports.
  • Complete a Living and Nonliving evidence table.
  • Sort traits into virus, cell, or both: genetic material belongs to both; obtaining and using energy belongs to cells; using a host to reproduce belongs to viruses; and maintaining homeostasis belongs to cells.

Watch out for

  • Say that viruses cannot reproduce independently, not that they cannot reproduce.
  • Viruses do not replicate by mitosis, are not larger than bacteria, and do not infect only animal cells.
Unit 1 Flashcards

Study the essential terms for characteristics of life.

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Unit 1 Interactive Review

Review scientific method, characteristics of life, cell theory, cellular organization, and viruses.

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Unit 1 Review Quiz

Complete 25 single-choice questions with immediate feedback and a final score.

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Living vs. Nonliving Sort

Sort examples by whether they are living or nonliving and review the evidence for each choice.

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Cell Theory Sort

Sort statements and examples according to the principles of cell theory.

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Cellular Organization Sort

Sort examples by their level of biological organization.

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Viruses Sort

Sort virus characteristics and compare viruses with living cells.

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Characteristics of Life Matching

Match examples and descriptions with the characteristics shared by living things.

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Living vs Nonliving Characteristics

Sort characteristics and examples based on whether they describe living or nonliving things.

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Cell Theory Scientists Matching

Match each scientist with their contribution to the development of cell theory.

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Cell Theory Picture Matching

Match cell theory concepts with the correct pictures and examples.

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Cellular Organization Image Order

Arrange images of biological organization from least to most complex.

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Cellular Organization Order

Arrange the levels of cellular organization in the correct order.

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Viruses: Living or Nonliving

Classify evidence about viruses as living or nonliving characteristics.

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Blooket and Wayground Reviews

Open the Unit 1 section of the Biology Review Doc for Blooket games and Wayground reviews.

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