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The characteristics of living things begin with the organization from the molecular level to the organismal level. Organisms are able to acquire energy and break it down for cellular use. This energy is used to maintain an internal environment that is conducive to cellular processes.
All living organisms share several key characteristics or functions: order, sensitivity or response to the environment, reproduction, adaptation, growth and development, homeostasis, energy processing, and evolution. When viewed together, these characteristics serve to define life.
- Lisa Bartee, Walter Shriner, Catherine Creech
- 2017
- Order. Organisms are highly organized, coordinated structures that consist of one or more cells. Even very simple, single-celled organisms are remarkably complex: inside each cell, atoms make up molecules; these in turn make up cell organelles and other cellular inclusions.
- Sensitivity or Response to Stimuli. Organisms respond to diverse stimuli. For example, plants can bend toward a source of light, climb on fences and walls, or respond to touch (Figure 2).
- Reproduction. Single-celled organisms reproduce by first duplicating their DNA, and then dividing it equally as the cell prepares to divide to form two new cells.
- Growth and Development. All living things increase in size and/or change over their lifespan. For example, a human grows from a baby into an adult and goes through developmental processes such as puberty.
Jun 12, 2012 · Most scientists use seven life processes or characteristics to determine whether something is living or non-living. The table below describes seven characteristics of most living things and contains references to earthworms to explain why we can definitely say that they are 'living'.
Nov 21, 2023 · 1) Reproduction - Two cats mating and giving birth to kittens. 2) Metabolism - Photosynthesis in plants (creating usable energy). 3) Response to stimuli - Seeking shade when it becomes too hot....
All living organisms are made up of cells, use energy, maintain homeostasis, respond to stimuli, reproduce, adapt to changes in the environment, and pass on characteristics to their off-springs. If you study biology, characteristics that define life is one of the foremost things that you will learn. All living organisms exhibit these features.
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Aug 17, 2023 · Living things respond to stimuli and adapt to environmental changes. A living organism can detect changes in the environment, especially by cells that function as receptors. For instance, humans have five fundamental senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste.
