What Are You Made Of?

Organic Compounds and Characteristics of Living Things

Organic Compounds

Carbohydrates are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. This is your main source of energy. Proteins contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur. They are the main "building blocks" of amino acids. Lipids, also known as "fats", are made up of carbon and hydrogen, and stores extra fat. Nucleic Acids contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and stores your genetic information. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is an example of nucleic acids.

Characteristics of Living Things

There are six characteristics all living things have. All living things have a celluar structure. Homeostasis is a process where an organism maintains an internal environment. These include actions such as sneezing, belching, or having injuries healed naturally. Heredity is where traits are passed down by parent to child. There are two ways for an organism to reproduce. When two living things reproduce, it is called sexual reproduction. When one living thing reproduces, it is called asexual reproduction. Over long periods of time, some living things can evolve to something slightly different. This can be something such as the human evolution, how we are primates of the family Hominidae and have evolved over the centuries. When organisms depend on each other for survival, it is called interdependence. For example, a flower depends on a pollinator to spread pollen. All living things need energy to survive. A lot of energy is achieved from the sun, and is often passed up the food chain.