Characteristics of Living Organisms

• Movement: action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
• Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to release energy
• Sensitivity: ability to detect or sense changes in the environment (stimuli) and to make responses
• Growth: permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number or cell size or both
• Reproduction: processes that make more of the same kind of organism
• Excretion: removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste products of metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and substances in excess of requirements
• Nutrition: taking in of nutrients which are organic substances and mineral ions, containing raw materials or energy for growth and tissue repair, absorbing and assimilating them
• What are the characteristics of living organisms?

  movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutrition
• Dichotomous key: uses visible features to classify organisms. It is which gives you a choice of two features and you follow the one that applies: each choice leads to another choice until the organism is narrowed down to its genus and finally species.