What makes something alive?
Understand the Problem
The question is exploring the characteristics that define living things. It provides an overview of key traits such as being made of cells, growth and development, reproduction, response to stimuli, energy usage, homeostasis, adaptation, and DNA presence.
Answer
Growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, metabolism, homeostasis, and adaptation.
To be considered alive, an entity generally needs to exhibit characteristics such as growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, metabolism, homeostasis, and adaptation to the environment.
Answer for screen readers
To be considered alive, an entity generally needs to exhibit characteristics such as growth, reproduction, response to stimuli, metabolism, homeostasis, and adaptation to the environment.
More Information
These criteria help differentiate living things from non-living things, even if some entities, like viruses, challenge these definitions because they exhibit some but not all of these traits.
Tips
A common mistake is thinking one characteristic is sufficient for life, but multiple criteria must be met.
Sources
- Online Biology Textbook - Characteristics of Life - onlinebiolibrary.edu
- Biology Basics: What is Life? - Science Learning Hub - sciencelearn.org.nz
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