CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING ORGANISMS

Biology is the study of living things. But, life is very difficult to define.For example, we often find difficulty to ensure if the virus is a living thing or a non-living thing. We must know some characteristics of the object to determine it is included in the group of living thing or non-living thing. Every living thing has the characteristics of living things. What are the characteristics of living things? After you knowing the characteristics of living things, you will find the variety of living organisms. The vary not only physically, but also structurally.
We must know the characteristics of living things to classify something is living thing or non-living thing. The characteristics of living things are as follow.

1. Movement
Movement is the change of position, either the hole or a part of the body. Every living organism can move freely or change its position. Human and animals need additional devices to move called movement devices. Movement devices can be the feet to run, fins to swim, wings to fly etc. See picture 2.1.1. On the other hand, movement of the plants only involve some part of their bodies, so that they look like unmoved. The end of the stalk moves to light arrival, roots go down deep into the soil and mimosa pudica‘s leaves shrink when they are touched.

2. Sensitivity
Sensitivity is the ability of living things to respond of stimulation. It means that every living thing react to everything changing around them. This reaction appear when the stimulation coming from the surruondings. Stimulation can be in the form of light, heat, coldness, smell, cold, gravitation, sense etc. Humans and animals using senses to identify the stimuli. For examples, eyes are sensitive to light, ears are sensitive to sound and nose is sensitive to smell thing. Palnts don’t has sense as humans and animals, but sensitive with stimuli. For examples, the end of branch always moves toward the coming light, the end of root is sensitive to gravitation force and the leaves of mimosa pudica shrink when they are touched.

3. Nutrition
Living things need food and water. Food is useful for retaining their survival, gaining some energies and growths. Whereas water plays a role as a solvent in the body. Every living thing has some different ways to gain food. Greeneries can produce their food by themselves by changing organic substances (water and carbondioxide) into organic substances (glucose) with the help of sunlight. The process is called photosynthesis. Because of their ability to produce their food by themselves, the plants are called autotrof. Animals and plants depends on other living organism, so that they are heterotrof.

4. Respiration
Respiration is the taking over of oxygen from surroundings and releasing of carbondioxide from the body. Oxygen is used to change nutrition into energy chemically. Gained energy is used to some kinds of body activities. Humans and animals which living on the land take a breathe using lungs. Water animals generally take a breath using gill and worms take a breath using skins. Plants breathe to take oxygen through stomata’s leaves and lentisel’s stalk.

5. Growth
Growth is the reversible increasing of volume and size of living things. This increasing happen because of the increasing of cell amount and size. Every living thing grow from small size to big size. Babies which are smaller when they were born will grow bigger. Seeds which are implanted will grow become seedling and then growth into bigger plant.

6. Adaptation
Adaptation is the ability of living things to adapt tyo their surroundings. There are three kinds of adaptation, i.e:
a. Morphological adaptation is the adaptation of their devices. For its examples, eagle has sharp claws to leap on its victim. Water lily has wide leaves to extend vaporized area.
b. Physiological adaptation is the adaption of living things to their surroundings using the function of body’s devices. For example, camel’s dirt is dry, but its urine is viscous.
c. Habitual adaptation is the adaptation of living things to their surroundings by showing certain attitude. For example, chameleon changes its skin’s colour.

7. Reproduction
Reproduction is the ability of living things to multiply for surviving their existence. There are two kinds of reproduction ways, i.e:
a. Generative reproduction is the reproduction which involves sperms and ovum.
b. Vegetative reproduction is the reproduction which doesn’t involve sperms and ovum.
There are natural and artificial vegetation.

8. Regulation
Regulation is the process of arraging appropriateness in the body of organisms which is controlled by nerves and hormones.

9. Excretion
Excretion is the process of releasing residues from body metabolism. Food oxidation process doesn’t only result in energy but also produce residues which must be released from the body. When the residues are not released from the body, they will be hazardous for the body.