Biology Basics: Characteristics of Life 2025

development

change in skills or abilities

growth

addition of mass

homeostasis

condition of a stable internal environment in an organism

organism

an individual living thing

reproduction

process by which living things produce new organisms of their own kind

response

reaction to a stimulus

stimulus

signal to which we respond

metabolism

chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain life

sexual reproduction

process where cells from individual parents combine to create a new organism

asexual reproduction

process where a single organism produces genetically identical offspring

cell

smallest structures that are considered to be alive

evolution

process where species change over long periods of time

catabolic metabolism

process that breaks molecules apart and releases energy

anabolic metabolism

process that builds molecules up and uses energy