What is charactistics of a living …

All living things have some common characteristics which help them to survive and distinguish them from non-living things. They are:

i. Food: All living things require food to survive. They also need water and air to stay alive.

ii. Growth: All living things grow by increasing their body size with the passage of time.

iii. Movement: All living things move themselves or their body parts. For example – birds fly in the sky.

iv. Response to stimuli: All living things respond to changes around them. Such changes in the environment to which living things respond are called stimuli. Examples of external stimuli are heat, light, touch, sound, etc. for example – if a man touches a very hot object accidentally, he quickly pulls his hand away from the hot object. In this case heat is a stimulus.

v. Respiration: All living things need energy for their growth, movement and their life processes. They get energy from the food they eat by the process of respiration.

vi. Excretion: Excretion is the process of getting rid wastes by living beings. All living organisms need to excrete waste products from their body which mainly includes the removal of carbon dioxide, urea, water and faeces.

vii. Reproduction: All living organisms reproduce to produce new members of their species. Animals reproduce their own kind. The mode of reproduction may differ in different kinds of organisms. Some animals reproduce by giving birth to their young ones like human beings. Some animals produce their young ones through eggs like hens, pigeons, etc.

viii. Life span: All living things have a definite life span. The living things start their life when they are born as babies or hatched from eggs.