Question

An organism must have a ________ in order to be considered living.

A. brain


B. metabolism

C. nervous system

D. stimulus

Answer 1

An organism must have six things in order to be considered living.

1.) Cellular structure-All living things are composed of cells. These cells are highly complex and specialized. The specialized cells form specific tissue structures. These tissues will form organs and different systems of the body of a living organism.

2.) The must find and use energy-All living things must eat. All living must find a source of energy (food) and be able to use that energy in order to maintain life.Once the energy levels drop, a living thing must feed again. (*The would be the metabolism.*)

3.) Growth and development-All living things must grow and develop, while using energy to do so. It has to mature in order to be able to handle it's environment.

4.) Reproduction-This is major characteristic of living things. In order for a species to survive it has to be able to pass its genetic material. Certain asexual organisms can inpregnate themselves in order to produce the necessary offspring to carry on the genetic material.

5.) Responses to it's surroundings-A living thing must have the ability to maneuver through its environment. Certain triggers—like heat, light, cold, darkness—give the organism clues (that they respond to internally via nerves, hormones and chemical regulators) as to how to react in certain scenarios. Without this particular ability, a living thing wouldn't last very long.

6.) Adaptation and evolution-In order to be considered a living thing, an organism has to have the ability to change over time based on the changes of the environment around it. Once they can't adapt, they die off.

Hope that helps! n_n