Science Vocab 7th Grade - Characteristics of Life

Unicellular

Organisms made up of only 1 cell.

Multicellular

Organisms made of many cells, at least more than 1.

Prokaryotes

Cells that don’t have a nucleus

Eukaryotes

Cells that do have a nucleus.

Water

Helps to digest, transport, dissolve and more.

Nucleic Acids

Makes up genetic material and creates protein.

Protein

Used to build and repair tissue and perform many cellular functions

Lipids

Stores energy and makes up tissue

Carbohydrates

Broken down to provide energy (sugars)

Glucose

Organism

Any individual living thing in the world.

Cell

The basic units of all living organisms.

Autotrophs

Organisms that make their own food

Heterotrophs

Organisms that gain energy by consuming other organisms for food.

Photosynthesis

The process in which plants take energy from the sun and turn it into glucose using carbon dioxide and water.

Cellular Respiration

The process of an organism turning sugars and oxygen in food into usable energy

ATP

Usable energy made from cellular respiration.

Excretion

After using resources, all living things remove waste which is called excretion.

Growth

The process of becoming larger. To grow, organisms either create more cells or the cells grow larger.

Development

The process of changing overtime in an organism’s life.

Life Span

The length of time an organism lives.

Asexual Reproduction

The production of offspring from one parent which is called cloning because the child is genetically identical to the parent.

Sexual Reproduction

The production of offspring from 2 parents. The child looks like both parents because they have genetic material from both.

Stimulus

Any change in the environment that causes the organism to respond.

Homeostasis

Processes that occur in an organism that allow it to maintain stable conditions internally.

What is the formula for cellular respiration?

Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + ATP