Chapter 1.1, Problem 5MI

Summary Introduction

To determine:

Distinguishing characters of living things.

Introduction:

In this world, two types of substances are found, they are living and non-living. Living substances are capable of performing basic functions of life, whereas non-living organismsare not.

Explanation of Solution

There are 8 unique characteristics of living things.These features of life are absent in the non-living substances. The characteristics of living things are given below:

1. Cellular organization: Cell is the fundamental unit of life. It is a structural and functional unit of an organism. Some organismsare made up of many cells, which work in coordination with one another (multicellular), and some organisms are single-celled (unicellular). So, if something is alive, it must be made up of cells.
2. Nutrition:Living things obtain material from the environment they live into perform various metabolic processes and growth.
3. Respiration: All living organisms perform the process of respiration. In this process, they release energy by breaking down food substances. This energy is used to carry out different processes. 
4. Movement/ locomotion: All living things can move.
5. Response to stimulus:Living organisms can sense and respond to different stimuli, such as light, temperature, chemical substances, etc.
6. Reproduction: All the living organisms reproduce and give rise to offspring similar to them. They pass the genetic information, which code for all the characteristics of the organism. 
7. Growth and development:Growth and development are observed in all living organisms.Multicellular organisms grow withan increase in cell size and cell count and the unicellular organisms grow by increasing their cell size. 
8. Excretion: All living organisms produce some metabolic wastes, which needs to be excreted out of their body.