Characteristics of Living Things

Defining a living thing is a difficult proposition, as is defining lifethat property possessed by

living things. However, a living thing possesses certain properties that help define what life is.
Defining "life" is a very difficult task, some living things appear to be non-moving and
unresponsive to the environment at first glance. To be considered alive, an object must exhibit all
of the characteristics of living things.
The characteristics that all living things share are:
1. Living Things are Composed of Cells:
A cell is the smallest unit of structure and function in something that lives. And even an organism
made up of only one cell still meets the criteria for being a living thing. Cells are extremely tiny,
and cannot be seen by the unaided human eye.
Some organisms, such as algae, are composed of a single cell (called unicellular organisms),
while others, such as animals, are composed of many (called multicellular organisms). Singlecell organisms have everything they need to be self-sufficient. In multicellular organisms,
specialization increases until some cells do only certain things.
2. Living Things Have Different Levels of Organization:
Living things have a level of complexity and organization not found in lifeless objects. Living
things must be able to organize simple substances into complex ones. Both molecular and
cellular organization.
At its most fundamental level, a living thing is composed of one or more cells. These units,
generally too small to be seen with the naked eye, are organized into tissues. A tissue is a series
of cells that accomplish a shared function. Tissues, in turn, form organs, such as the stomach and
kidney. A number of organs working together compose an organ system. An organism is a
complex series of various organ systems.
3. Living Things Obtain and Use Energy:
Organisms use energy and can get energy from a source. Living things use energy within their
cells. This energy powers all kinds of processes, such as reproduction, growth, or body
temperature regulation. Some living things take in nutrients, such as eating food or absorbing
materials through roots or a cell membrane. Other living things get energy from the sun. The
complex relationships between many organisms in an environment allow for energy to be passed
between them.
Plants take in the energy from the sun and use it to produce food, and animals eat other
organisms. This taking of energy from one source and using it to create energy in another way is
done through a complex chemical process called metabolism.
Living things exhibit a rapid turnover of chemical materials, which is referred to as metabolism.
Metabolism involves exchanges of chemical matter with the external environment and extensive

transformations of organic matter within the cells of a living organism. Metabolism generally
involves the release or use of chemical energy. Nonliving things do not display metabolism.
4. Living Things Respond To Their Environment:
All living things are able to respond to stimuli in the external environment. For example, living
things respond to changes in light, heat, sound, and chemical and mechanical contact. To detect
stimuli, organisms have means for receiving information, such as eyes, ears, and taste buds.
To respond effectively to changes in the environment, an organism must coordinate its responses.
A system of nerves and a number of chemical regulators called hormones coordinate activities
within an organism. The organism responds to the stimuli by means of a number of effectors,
such as muscles and glands. Energy is generally used in the process.
Organisms change their behavior in response to changes in the surrounding environment. For
example, an organism may move in response to its environment. Responses such as this occur in
definite patterns and make up the behavior of an organism. A behavior is a complex set of
responses. The behavior is active, not passive; an animal responding to a stimulus is different
from a stone rolling down a hill. Living things display responsiveness; nonliving things do not.
5. Living Things Grow and Develop:
All organisms show growth and development; that is, specialization of cells or structures. (Even
unicellular organisms show a tiny amount of growth, and single cells repair and use materials
from the environment to replace internal structures as needed.) An organism gets larger as the
number of its cells increases. Their cells increase in number or grow in size, and they develop
different characteristics as they do so.
Growth requires an organism to take in material from the environment and organize the material
into its own structures. To accomplish growth, an organism expends some of the energy it
acquires during metabolism. An organism has a pattern for accomplishing the building of growth
structures.
During growth, a living organism transforms material that is unlike itself into materials that are
like it. A person, for example A baby develops in a mother's womb. At first, it looks like just a
mass of cells, but over time the head, limbs, and specific organs form and grow. Likewise, a seed
begins its life just under the soil and, over time, forms into a plant and grows up through the soil
towards the sun.
6. Living Things Reproduce:
Reproduction is not essential for the survival of individual organisms, but must occur for a
species to survive. Reproduction is the passing on of genetic information to a new generation.
Sexual reproduction is when DNA from two separate organisms combines to form a unique new
individual. Some living things reproduce asexually, meaning they make an identical copy of their
DNA, which carries genetic instructions that help create a new living form. Asexual reproduction

could look like a single celled organism splitting into two, or a mold sending spores out into the
surrounding area.
A living thing has the ability to produce copies of itself by the process known as reproduction.
These copies are made while the organism is still living. Among plants and simple animals,
reproduction is often an extension of the growth process. More complex organisms engage in a
type of reproduction called sexual reproduction, in which two parents contribute to the formation
of a new individual. During this process, a new combination of traits can be produced.
Asexual reproduction involves only one parent, and the resulting cells are generally identical to
the parent cell. For example, bacteria grow and quickly reach maturity, after which they split into
two organisms by a process of asexual reproduction called binary fission.
7. Living Things Adapt To Their Environment:
Adaptation means that living things alter themselves to adjust to their changing environments.
Homeostasis of living things means having the ability to maintain an internal stable condition.
Living organisms have the ability to adapt to their environment through the process of evolution.
During evolution, changes occur in populations, and the organisms in the population become
better able to metabolize, respond, and reproduce. They develop abilities to cope with their
environment that their ancestors did not have. Evolution also results in a greater variety of
organisms than existed in previous eras. This proliferation of populations of organisms is unique
to living things.
Some adaptations can take short periods of time. Organisms that live in forests that have been
devastated by fire learn to survive in new ways. Other adaptations can take a long time, such as
the changing length of the human jaw from the Neanderthal man to modern day man.
8. Nutrition
The intake and use of nutrients. This occurs in very different ways in different kinds of living
things.
9. Movement
All living things move in some way. This may be obvious, such as animals that are able to walk,
or less obvious, such as plants that have parts that move to track the movement of the sun. Some
organisms move in a very obvious way, such as a running animal or a sprouting seed. Other
living things move in a way that is more difficult to detect.