Characteristics of Living World

All living organisms grow and increase in mass and number of individuals. Growth, reproduction, ability to sense the environment and mount a suitable response is unique features of living organisms. Given below are some characteristic features of the Living world:

Respiration

• Aerobic respiration: Aerobic respiration is a chemical process in which oxygen is used to make energy from sugars. Aerobic respiration is also known as aerobic metabolism and cell respiration.
• Anaerobic respiration: Anaerobic respiration takes place in the absence of oxygen. examples include alcohol fermentation and lactic acid fermentation.

Nutrition

• Autotrophic Nutrition: It is a type of nutrition in which plants make their own food .they are interdependent on themselves. example- plants. Autotrophic nutrition is of two types: phototrophic, and chemotrophic.
• Heterotrophic Nutrition: It is a type of nutrition in which an organism is dependent on another organism for food. example -humans. Heterotrophic nutrition is of three types: herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous.

Excretion

The process of moving out waste material from the body is known as excretion.

Locomotion/Movement

Locomotion is a term used to describe a movement of an organism from one place to another.

Reproduction

• Asexual Reproduction: A process where a single gamete is responsible for reproduction to take place i.e., new offspring is produced from a single parent. Examples: hydra and paramecium.
• Sexual Reproduction: Process where both the gametes take part in reproduction. Examples: fishes, and mammals.

Structural Organisation

• Unicellular: It is also known as a single-celled organism and only single cells perform all the functions needed for an organism to live. example- protozoa and Protista.
• Multicellular: Multicellular organisms consist of many cells to perform different functions. example-Dogs, cows.

Diversity

A large variety of anything is known as diversity. Diversity is a vast term to include different species, genes, and ecosystem levels. Thomas Lovejoy introduced the term biological diversity in 1980.

Biodiversity

A large variety of organisms or terms used to refer to the number of varieties of plants and animals on earth is termed biodiversity. there are three types of biodiversity: genetic, species, and ecological diversity. There are over 15 Lakh species in the world of which 10 Lakh are animals(8 Lakh of insects and 2 Lakh of others) and 5 Lakh of plants.

The living world is a complex network of interconnected organisms that engage in metabolism, reproduction, and response to environmental cues. We are aware of how intricately connected everything in the living world is. The diversity of living forms on earth gives it a wonderful environment to live and thrive. The abundance of diversity suggests the presence of numerous species with unique characteristics. The fact that an organism is either a living thing or a non-living entity is its most striking characteristic. As a result, in order to distinguish between a living item and a non-living one, we first need to define what a “living being” actually is.