Final answer:
Only spontaneous reactions in an organism would mean that it would continuously experience a decrease in free energy and an increase in entropy. However, the presence of non-spontaneous reactions is essential because they consume energy to maintain crucial life processes. A balance between the two types of reactions is necessary for an organism's survival.
Step-by-step explanation:
If only spontaneous reactions occurred within an organism, the organism would constantly trend toward a decrease in free energy and an increase in entropy. Spontaneous reactions are those that occur without external energy input and tend to move towards more stable states while releasing energy. In a living system, these reactions often release energy that can be harnessed for biological processes.
However, not all necessary biological reactions are spontaneous; some essential life processes require a continual input of energy in the form of non-spontaneous reactions. These are crucial for tasks like synthesizing large biomolecules, muscle contraction, and active transport across cell membranes. Without these non-spontaneous reactions, an organism would not be able to sustain the proper balance of biological processes required for life.
Overall, a balance between spontaneous and non-spontaneous reactions is vital for maintaining life. The spontaneous reactions provide the energy and increased disorder needed for metabolic processes, while non-spontaneous reactions consume energy to build complex structures and perform orderly functions within the cell, both of which are necessary for a cell's metabolism and, by extension, an organism's survival.