Earth and Life Science
Quarter 2 – LESSON 2
The module has three lesson namely:
• Lesson 1 – Characteristics of life
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Identify the different characteristics of
life;
2. Describe the movement of energy in the
environment
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the
basic principles of ecology;
Characteristics of Life
In learning of life, there is a collection of
biological features or properties and certain
themes about how the living world works that
are discoursed. These characteristics is
common to all living things, transferred down
to its offspring over billions of years since the
first organisms appeared on Earth.
1. Cellular Organization
All cells have the same 3 basic structure: a
nucleus that contains the genetic information of
an organism; a cell membrane that surrounds
the cell and manages chemicals that move in
and out; and an internal fluid known as the
cytoplasm where organelles are floating.
An organism may be unicellular like a bacteria or multicellular like the sparrow or Maya
All levels of life have systems of related parts.
- A system is an organized group of
interacting parts.
- A cell is a system of chemicals and
processes. It is the basic unit of life.
- A body system includes organs that
interact.
- An ecosystem includes living and non-
living things that interact.
2. Heredity
All organisms contain DNA or
deoxyribonucleic acid. It
contains all the information on
how an organism will be. DNA is
composed of set of genes.
All information will be copied
and passed on to the next
generation.
Traits are being inherited and
transferred.
- The continuity of life depends on the
inheritance of biological information
in the form of DNA molecules.
- The genetic information is encoded in
the nucleotide sequences of the DNA
(Deoxyribonucleic acid).
3. Homeostasis
All living things retain normal conditions. While
the surroundings may differ a lot, organisms will
actively or passively keep their internal
conditions relatively constant is a process called
homeostasis. As an example, despite varying
temperature all over the world, a human body
maintains a temperature of 37˚C.
Organisms must maintain homeostasis
to survive in diverse environments.
- Homeostasis is the maintenance of
constant internal conditions.
- All living organisms must live in a
stable environment.
4. Organisms Reproduce
- It is necessary part of living;
process of making more of one’s own
kind.
5. Metabolism
All living things need energy move, grow, think and
all other internal processes necessary to survive.
Energy from the sun is harnessed by photosynthetic
organisms like plants. Organisms that cannot make
their own food consumes other organisms to survive,
where consumed food is converted into usable energy.
All of these situations are examples of metabolism or
the totality of all the biochemical processes to sustain
the living state.
The
Movement of
Energy
Organisms acquire and process energy.
- Living organisms use a source of energy for their
metabolic activities.
- Some living organisms capture the light energy
and convert it into chemical energy in food.
- Some living organisms use chemical energy stored
in molecules obtained from food. In addition to the
properties mentioned, the two additional unifying
themes in the study of life include the scientific
inquiry and science, technology and society.
Energy is important for all
organisms to do the basic processes
necessary to be alive. Majority of the
energy that we utilize comes from
the sun. Photosynthetic organisms
such as plants and algae harness the
energy of the sun to produce their
own food.
Plants in turn are consumed by secondary
consumers for sustenance. Through
photosynthesis, plants can utilize the light
from the sun to produce food and provides
food for herbivores.
One such example of
Movement of energy is a
water buffalo or locally known
as a carabao.
The theory of evolution explains why an
organism may change in order to adapt to its
surroundings in order for their kind to survive.
Through Charles Darwin and his
expeditions to the Galapagos Islands lead him
to write his infamous book called “On the
origin of the species, by means of natural
selection”. The survival of the fittest suggests
that an organism who can adapt faster to its
environment may have a higher chance to
survive.
An example of
evolution is the
flying fox or giant
fruit bat.
Although a mammal but similarly to other
birds of flight, it developed skin
membrane that enables it to fly to evade
predators and easier access to its food.
Evolution explains the unity and
diversity of life.
- Evolution is the change in living
things over time. The genetic
makeup of a population of a species
changes.
- It accounts for both the diversity and
the unity of life.
Organisms are interdependent with one another.
- Organisms have evolved to live and interact with other
organisms.
Living things of different species
may interact with each other to
increase its survivability. A lichen is
symbiosis or interaction of fungus
and an algae or a cyanobacteria. The
fungus provides the living structure
and the cyanobacteria produces the
food for the both of them.
Ecology is the branch of
Biology that deals with the
study with communities of
organisms and their
interaction with themselves
and to their environment.
What I
Have
Learned
1. There are four concepts regarding the origin of life namely:
Extraterrestrial origin, Theory of Panspermia, Divine Creation
and Primordial Soup Theory.
2. The Extraterrestrial Origin is a theory that explains that life
originated on another planet outside the Solar System. Life was
then carried to Earth and colonized Earth.
3. The Panspermia Theory The theory presumes that the “seed”
of life exists all over the universe and can be propagated
through space by asteroids or meteoroid that life on Earth
originated from those seeds.
4. Living things need energy for metabolism. The
primary source of energy for all living things is the
sun.
5. Homeostasis is the ability of an organism to
keep conditions constant inside its body when
the outside environment changes.
6. Heredity is the passing down of
traits from its ancestors to its
decedents via DNA.
7. Cellular organization refers to the composition of
a cell.
8. Levels of organization refers to the increasing
complexity of living things.
9. Majority of energy that the
Biosphere has comes from the
sun by the way of photosynthesis
of photosynthetic organisms
such as plants.
10. Evolution is the slow process where an
organism changes to better adapt to its
environment for survival
11. Interaction of Systems refers to the
collaboration of different groups of organisms.
12. Ecology is the study of the
interdependence of organisms
with each other and to their
environment.
