Final answer:
Lightning is a nonliving thing since it does not satisfy the criteria for life, which include cellular structure, reproduction, and homeostasis among others.
Step-by-step explanation:
Lightning is considered a nonliving thing. While it can grow and requires fuel (in the form of electric potential) and oxygen to sustain itself, it does not meet essential characteristics required for life. To be classified as a living thing, an object must show all the following six characteristics: it must respond to the environment, grow, develop, produce offspring, maintain homeostasis, have complex chemistry, and be made up of cells. Lightning, though dynamic and energetic, does not satisfy these criteria as it does not have a cellular structure, cannot reproduce, and does not have the biological processes necessary for life such as homeostasis or growth and development in the biological sense.