Living Objects and Characteristics

Basically, there are 9 characteristics of living things.

  1. Growth (development of body)
  2. Cellular body structure
  3. Dynamics
  4. Breathing
  5. Excretion (taking out wastes)
  6. Reaction
  7. Reproduction
  8. A fixed life and death

1. Growth in living organisms

Every living organism is small at the time of birth. It grows eventually. A small calf becomes an ox. Mango seed gives birth to a small plant which becomes a tree. Non living things don't do these activities, they do not breathe and do not make new things. 

After getting full development of the body some growth maintains body parts. If you get a cut then new skin comes and fills the wound, nails also increase. This is also a growth. 

2. Living things are made up of cell

Every living being or plant and their body are made up of microorganism cell. These are so small that they can only be seen with the help of microscope. Every cell has a living structure; many activities are done in this living structure. Most of the growth in living objects is due to the increase in the number if cells, new cells are formed with the help of old cells.

Every living organism has a different cell. Some organism are made up of one cell like bacteria, amoeba etc, there are known as single cell animals.

Many other organisms are made up of multi cell organisms like flies, humans, elephant, horse etc. These are known as multi cell organisms.

The big the organism, the more cells, cat has more cells than mouse, cow has more cell than cats and elephants have more cell than cows.

Banana plant has more cell than rose plants or guava trees. Bunyan tree has more cells than banana plants.

3. Dynamism

Every microorganism moves. Everyone has his own pace for walking like horse, cow insects, birds etc. We can move many parts of our body. Plants also have mobility, they move while standing at one place, sunflower moves in the direction of the sun. Leaves move towards light. Roots move towards water. All these movements are from inside of the organism. These movements are not outside the body. Leaves of some trees get close in the night and open during the day. Sensitive plants get down when touched and becomes straight after some time.

4. Food is needed by living organisms

Every organism needs food. If you are kept hungry for some time, you will feel weakness. Whatever food you eat gives you growth. This growth is seen in bones, muscles or blood in your body. If an organism does not get food for a longer period of time, he will become weak and die soon. Plants make their own food. Some animals eat the plants or parts of plants. Some animals are carnivores - they eat those animals who become big after eating plants.

5. Breathing in living things

(energy generation by the use of oxygen)

We breathe (inhale or exhale) from day to night. Maximum organism inhale air and exhale it. Animals living in water like fish keeps inhaling water and exhaling it. They absorb oxygen mixed in water, this oxygen in form of air or water is used by cell as a powerful energy building. They do their own work from less energy. During this time carbon dioxide is formed in body and is exhaled by cells.

Breathing activities are similar in plants and organisms. Plants take oxygen inside with the help of small pores in their leaves and stem. In this way, human take oxygen inside breathing practices and exhale carbon dioxide.

6. Excretion

(taking out wastes by living organisms)

The body of living organisms makes water products due to the result of physical activities which are toxic. It is essential to take them out from human body. The urine of organisms also has waste products other than water. Some of the toxic elements that come out of body are sweating. Some examples of excretion are gums firm plants, falling and drying of old leaves from plants, etc.

7. Reaction by living objects

Whenever your hand touches a fork or unknowingly you touch a hot utensil, then you instantly take your hand back. Any situation related to pricking or touching hot objects by which a body reacts is called stimulation and the action to that stimulate is called reaction.

Many situation of same kind happens in every living organism. Plants go down in night or roots move towards water is also a reaction by plants. Stimulation always happens against temperature, light, sound, touch and chemicals.

8. Reproduction or giving birth to a child

Every living organism gives birth to a new generation or child. Cow gives birth to calf. Birds lay eggs by which their children come out. Frog and fish also lay eggs, if any species does not reproduce then that species comes to an end. Seeds grow from plants and these seeds make new plants from roots or branches. Simplest single cell organism like bacteria or amoeba also reproduces from one method or the another.

9. There is no fix life of the living organisms

Every living thing is born and it grows in size and gets old in completing the activities of life, it dies afterwards. Different organisms have different life expectancy, some have less life and some have big life.

Diversity of Living Organisms

There are thousand and lakhs of living organism on the earth. They are from big to small and micro small un size. Their colour and formation is different too, some give children and some lay eggs. Some organism like amoeba or bacteria reproduces by diving into two parts, some fly in the air and some jump from one tree to another tree. Some crawl deep in ocean. Some animals crawl in desert and some other organisms move inside other organisms body.