All living organisms share several key characteristics or functions that serve to define life. The following are the eight characteristics of life:
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Order: All living things are highly organized, from the smallest cell to the largest organism.
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Sensitivity or Response to the Environment: Living organisms respond to changes in their environment, such as light, temperature, or sound.
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Reproduction: Living organisms are capable of reproducing, either sexually or asexually.
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Growth and Development: Living organisms grow and develop throughout their lifespan.
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Regulation: Living organisms maintain a stable internal environment, or homeostasis, to survive.
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Energy Processing: Living organisms acquire and use energy to carry out their life processes.
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Adaptation through Evolution: Living organisms evolve over time to better survive in their environment.
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Heredity: Living organisms pass on genetic information from one generation to the next.
It is important to note that these characteristics are not a hierarchy, and all traits are equal.
