Looking at Differences in

Living Organisms

TEKS 6.12A Understand that all organisms are composed of one or more cells.
TEKS 6.12B Recognize that the presence of a nucleus determines whether a cell is prokaryotic or eukaryotic.

Living organisms are made up

of small building blocks called
cells.

A cell is the basic unit of

structure in an organism.

Cell comes from the Latin

word cella meaning
chamber.

Cells come in all sizes and

shapes,

but to see most cells,

you need to use a microscope.

Organisms may be composed

of only one cell,

or of many cells.

Single-celled organisms
are also known as
unicellular.

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Bacteria (bak-TEER-ee-uh)
are the most numerous
unicellular organisms on
Earth.

A single-celled organism can

carry out all the activities
that keep the organism alive
and allow it to reproduce,

or make more of its own

Multi cellular organisms,

like most fungi, plants &
animals are composed of
many cells.
These cells are specialized to do
tasks to keep the organism alive and
help it reproduce.

Another way to think about

the difference in cells is
whether it contains a nucleus
(NOO-klee-us).

A nucleus is a dense area in a cell

that contains the chemical
instructions that direct the cells
activities.

Organisms made up of cells

without a nucleus are called
prokaryotes
(PRO-care-ee-oats).

All Eubacteria and Archaebacteria are prokaryotes.

Living organisms that are made up

of cells that do contain a nucleus
are called eukaryotes
(YOU-care-ee-oats).
Hint to remember:
YOU
are a Eukaryote!

Eukaryotic cells tend to be

much

bigger
than prokaryotic cells.

Some organisms get their food

from consuming other organisms
and are known as heterotrophs.

Other organisms are

responsible for making their
own food from a process that
is called photosynthesis. This
involves taking light from the
sun and converting it to
chemical energy.

Organisms can reproduce

sexually and/or asexually. The
process of sexual
reproduction involves the
fusion (coming together) of
two parent sex cells. For
example, human reproduction
involves the fusion of the
sperm cell (male sex cell) and
the egg (female sex cell).

The process of asexual

reproduction involves the
creation of offspring from one
parent only. For example, if the
arm of a starfish breaks off it
can not only regenerate, but the
broken off piece can become an
entirely new starfish.