Final answer:
Living organisms are characterized by homeostasis, cellular organisation, metabolism, response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and evolution. These characteristics are used to determine if something is alive and explain the diversity of life and evolutionary relationships.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Characteristics of Life
All living organisms are defined by several key characteristics, which include homeostasis, cellular organisation, metabolism, response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and evolution. These traits are the criteria used by biologists to determine whether something is alive. Let's match the listed characteristics with their corresponding life processes.
- Homeostasis: All living things are able to maintain a constant internal environment.
- Cellular organisation: All living things are made of one or more cells, the basic unit of structure and function in organisms.
- Metabolism: All living things use materials and energy, which is evident in their complex chemical processes.
- Response to stimuli: All living things detect changes in their environment and respond to them.
- Reproduction: All living things produce new, similar organisms through sexual or asexual reproduction.
- Growth and Development: All living things grow larger and change forms during the organism's life cycle.
- Evolution: All living things change gradually over time as a result of adaptation and natural selection.
Understanding these characteristics helps explain the great diversity of life and how all organisms—from microscopic bacteria to humans—are related through the process of evolution.