Final answer:
Growth is the biological process that enables living organisms to increase in size and maturity. It encompasses the addition and enlargement of cells, the increase of non-cellular material, and the maintenance of balance within the body's systems through homeostasis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of increasing in size and maturity is known as growth. This biological process is fundamental to all multicellular organisms, including humans. Growth involves several key changes: an increase in the number of cells through cell division, an increase in non-cellular material such as mineral deposits in bones, and a limited increase in the size of existing cells.
In plants, growth also includes an increase in length, thickness or girth, root hairs, and leaf number. This is driven by cell divisions in the meristems followed by cell expansion. Another facet of growth, called hypertrophy, refers to the increase in size of a structure, such as a muscle during exercise.
Homeostasis is related to growth as it is the maintenance of a steady state of body systems that living organisms strive to maintain even as they grow in size and complexity. All these aspects showcase the intricacies and comprehensiveness of the growth process in living things.