7 characteristics that make living things different from non-living things
Movement
Reproduction
Sensitivity
Growth
Respiration
Excretion
Nutrition
Movement
Living things are able to move about
Reproduction
Living things produce offspring
Sensitivity
Living things notice and react to changes in their surroundings
Growth
Living things grow, increasing in size and complexity
Respiration
Living things need energy to carry out the functions that keep them alive, respiration is the process by which food is turned into energy
Excretion
Living things have to get rid of unwanted waste products
Nutrition
Living things need to take in food so that respiration can occur, nutrients in food help to build, maintain and repair the organism
A car is similar to a living organism because it needs "nutrition" (fuel), it can move and it produces waste (it excretes)
A car is different from a living organism because it cannot grow and it is not sensitive to changes in the environment, furthermore, it does not reproduce
Fire is not alive. Despite sharing many characteristics with living organisms, it cannot reproduce and it is not sensitive to its environment, so it is not alive
