Life ; Living organisms have life and that is why they are distinct from non-living objects .But a very pertinent question arises as what is life ? The other question may be asked such as what is shape of life and how has it come into existence ? Honestly, no categorical answer is available to these questions .However , some speculations or hypothesis are available in this context .Some believe that life is a power state of the body , others have taken life as steady and dynamic state of the living matter ,i.e., the protoplasm and certain others have considered it to be the total sum of chemical reactions taking place in the body of the living organism.But many others have explained the life as the body's ability to utilize and convert energy .These definations suggest that the life is an abstract phenomenon. Characteristics of Living Objects It is certainly difficult to define life but every object possessing life shows certain activities which are attributes of life .These are common to all living objects or living organisms and therefore are refered as to characteristics of life or life forms .On the basis of these characteristics , the living objects can be easilly distinguished from the non-living ones . These include the following; [1] living objects have definite shape and size and therefore , every object has a distinct appearence and that is why one living objects or organism can be ditinguished easiy from another . [2] Living object are highly ordered and possess protoplasm.Body of all living objects is composed of living matter called protoplasm ,whose chemical composition includes large complex such as proteins ,carbohydrates, fat, water and nucleic acid .Such combination of chemical is not found in non-living objects. [3] Living objects show cellularity .In every living object the living matter is divided into unit structures called cell .Body of some living objects is made of only one cell ,whereas the body of other living objects is made of only one cell , whereas the body of other living object is formed by more than one cell .On the contrary , the body of non-living objects doesnot show cellular organization . [4] Livng objects move .Living objects are able to move their body part of whole body .Most animals are able to move their whole body and move from one place to another .The movement involving change of place ,is called locomtion. [5] Living objects feed and utilize food after procesing .Every living object takes in food or better say chemicals. Animals take food from plants or other animals which is feed on plants .The food of animals consists of complex organic molecules .In their body , the complex molecules are changed into simpler molecules [digestion] which are absorbed and again organised to form complex molecules which become part of the protoplasm[assimilation] and also supply materials for growth ,repair and energy release . [6] Living objects grow . Every living objects shows increase in size and weight . This phenomenon is called growth .The growth in organism is caused by a process which involves the intake of new materials from the outside and their subsequent mixing with the protoplasm as its part.
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