Whether something is living or nonliving seems to be obvious. You are certainly alive, and the human beings who are talking or walking around are alive as well. You may also remember the trees and flowers from a park - they are also alive. But, what are the characteristics of living things that non-living things do not have? Read this article to find out!
It seems like a common characteristic of living things is movement. However, flowers don’t get up and walk around like humans, but they are alive. Similarly, the waves of oceans can wash the shore, which means they’re moving, but waves and oceans are certainly considered as non-living. So if “movements” do not determine whether something is alive or not, what are the true characteristics of living things?
1. Responsiveness to the environment.
All living things respond to their environment. If you, who are certainly alive, feel cold, you’ll turn on the heater, or wear more clothes; However, a rock, which is non-living, won’t have any actions no matter how cold it is. By responding and adjusting to an environment, organisms, or living creatures can adapt and live better.
2. Growth and development
Do you know how you looked when you were younger? Have you noticed that you may be a lot taller than a few years ago? All living organisms have the ability to grow and develop. But this is not the case for non-living things. If you have had a teddy bear with you since you were a little child, you’ll notice that it has never become bigger or taller.
3. Reproduction
All living things, whether that is referring to humans, animals, plants, or the small invisible species like bacteria, will reproduce, or, make more of themselves. This is important to living organisms because not being able to reproduce brings the extinction of this type of species, or the death of the last individual of this species. Imagine rabbits aren’t able to reproduce, and the number of them reduces because of the hunters or predators’ activities – soon there will be no rabbits on Earth.
4. Complex chemistry
All living organisms have a complex chemistry. From atoms to molecules, from energy processing to chemical reactions, the complex chemistry allows living things to stay alive. For example, you eat food and drink water every day, but why is that important? Substances called enzymes in your body will break down the food and soon they are transferred to energy for us to perform daily activities.
5. Homeostasis maintenance
Have you ever had a fever? This is an example of homeostasis imbalance. Homeostasis refers to the ability for our body to stay balanced internally no matter how the outside environment changes. For example, if you’re walking in a desert, and the temperature is very high, you will start to sweat, which will cause your body temperature to stay around 37 degrees Celsius, but not increase with the outside temperature.
6. Organization
The simple substances come together and form complex things. Cells are the basic building structures of living organisms. A single bacterium is made of a single cell, while humans are made up of up to trillion cells! Through a process called mitosis, the cells undergo division and replication, which makes more cells. A group of cells that perform a common function is called a tissue, tissues that perform a common function form an organ, and organs that perform a common function form an organ system, and finally, all organ systems come together to form the organisms – or the living things.
7. Passing traits onto offspring
Have you ever noticed that siblings always look alike? That is because of a molecule called DNA in our cells. When organisms reproduce, the DNA is passed on to the offspring, which brings certain traits of the parents to the offspring as well.
The seven characteristics of living things listed above seem simple, but when they come together, they are able to define all of the living things in the world.
Written by: Benetta Wang
Sources:
CK-12 Foundation. “Characteristics of Life.” CK-12 Foundation, 20 Feb. 2020, www.ck12.org/biology/characteristics-of-life/lesson/characteristics-of-life-advanced-bio-adv.
Created for Kids. “Characteristics of Life | Living & Non-Living Things | Biology for Kids.” YouTube, uploaded by Created For Kids, 17 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdCL9hEqUk0.
Comments