1. Organization: Living things are highly organized, meaning they are composed of one or more cells, which are the basic units of life.
2. Metabolism: Living things carry out chemical reactions that maintain life, including the intake and transformation of energy. This includes processes like photosynthesis (making food from sunlight) and respiration (breaking down food for energy).
3. Growth and Development: Living things increase in size and complexity over time. This involves producing new cells and organizing them into tissues and organs.
4. Responsiveness: Living things are able to sense and respond to changes in their environment. This can involve movement, adaptation, or other reactions.
5. Homeostasis: Living things maintain a relatively stable internal environment despite external changes. This includes regulating temperature, pH, and other important factors.
6. Reproduction: Living things produce offspring that are similar to themselves. This can be sexual (involving the combination of genetic material from two parents) or asexual (involving only one parent).
7. Adaptation: Living things evolve over time, adapting to their environment to increase their chances of survival and reproduction.
Important Note: While these characteristics are generally accepted, there are some grey areas. For example, viruses exhibit some characteristics of life, such as reproduction, but lack others, like metabolism. Therefore, the definition of life can be complex and subject to debate.
