IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS
Cells
- The basic component present in every living thing is the cell. Both plants and animals are made up of one to countless number of cells which carry out different sets of functions. Life before evolution began from a single cell. Similarly even today, life is generated from a single cell which then divides or multiplies to give rise to a complex living form.
Energy
- One of the most important characteristics of living things is the energy that they need to survive. Plants and animals, use various forms of energy for the development of their bodies. The complete use of chemical energy they use to carry out their life processes is called metabolism. Plants use the energy from the sun or solar energy to carry out photosynthesis which is the process for making their food (glucose). Animals and humans, however cannot produce their own food and are dependent on plants and other animals for their food and hence they are called the Heterotrophs. Therefore, energy is a common characteristic needed by all living things.
Growth
- One of the rule of nature is growth which is followed by all living things. As development is an involuntary process, every cell in living things has to age. Growth and change is a part of all living organisms as cells divide to give rise to new and identical ones. Sometimes due to some genetic defects, during differentiation, some cells mutate to form other types of cells and result in complex organisms. This process of constant development and growth is also called organogenesis.
Reproduction
- All organisms reproduce to continue their species' life. This is also one of the main characteristics of living things. Plants and animals have a reproductive system which is completely developed at puberty. There are two types of reproduction prevalent in nature, viz. sexual and asexual. The sexual reproduction involves the combination of genetic material to give rise to a single zygote that further develops into a bigger organism. The asexual reproduction involves the splitting of one organism or cell to form two separate individuals of the same species.
Death
- This is also considered as one of the most important characteristics of living things as whatever is created has to come to an end. Both plants and animals have limited life spans during which they go through their life processes like development and reproduction. As the cells age over a particular time period, these overgrown cells start becoming weak and lose their functions. They can't survive the atmospheric pressures and give in to them eventually. This is called death of the living things. They all have a particular age they live up to and then surrender to nature.
EXAMPLE
