Final answer:
An organism needs resources such as food and water from its environment to live, which serve as sources of energy and matter necessary for growth and reproduction. These resources highlight the interdependence of living things within an ecosystem.
Step-by-step explanation:
An organism obtains food, water, and other necessary substances from its environment to live, grow, and reproduce. These resources are essential for an organism because they are sources of energy and matter, which are not internally synthesized in sufficient quantities. The environment provides both abiotic factors like soil, air, and temperature, as well as biotic factors, which include other living organisms. The interactions with these environmental factors exhibit the interdependence of living things.
Organisms must continuously exchange these resources with their environment to maintain organization, which encompasses growth and reproduction. This exchange underscores the reality that organisms are not closed systems; their survival and success are contingent on a dynamic relationship with their surroundings.