Classification of living thingsFrom the picture:
Characteristics of living things
There are 7 characteristics which make living things different from non-living things.
How would you define the characteristics of living things?
Living things take in materials from their environment that they use for growth or to provide energy.
Living things inhale and exhale air.
BREATHING
MOVEMENT
All living things move.
All living things excrete. It is the removal of toxic materials from the body of the organism.
EXCRETION
Growth
Growth is seen in all living things; it is the permanent increase in cell number and size.
All living organisms have the ability to produce offspring.
REPRODUCTION
All living things are able to sense and respond to stimuli around them such as light, temperature, water, gravity and chemical substances.
Sensitivity
A motor car needs petrol and air in order to move. It produces waste gases.
Which characteristics of living organisms are similar to those of the motor car?
Why is a car not a living organism?
Whilst many non-living things carry out one or more of the above characteristics; only living things possess all of these characteristics.