why do living things share common characters

Question

secret66 · Answer

Because they are living things :P

anonymous · Answer

Welcome to  OpenStudy @Ilove04!

secret66 · Answer

hehe! Welcome! Didn't see that you were new here :D

anonymous · Answer

Characteristics may differ, but they are generally: 

1. Living Things are Composed of Cells: 
Single-cell organisms have everything they need to be self-sufficient. 
In multicellular organisms, specialization increases until some cells do only certain things. 

2. Living Things Have Different Levels of Organization: 
Both molecular and cellular organization. 
Living things must be able to organize simple substances into complex ones. 
Living things organize cells at several levels: 

Tissue - a group of cells that perform a common function. 
Organ - a group of tissues that perform a common function. 
Organ system - a group of organs that perform a common function. 
Organism - any complete living thing. 

3. Living Things Use Energy: 
Living things take in energy and use it for maintenance and growth. 

4. Living Things Respond To Their Environment: 
Living things will make changes in response to a stimulus in their environment. 

5. Living Things Grow: 
Cell division - the orderly formation of new cells. 
Cell enlargement - the increase in size of a cell. Cells grow to a certain size and then divide. 
An organism gets larger as the number of its cells increases. 

6. Living Things Reproduce: 
Reproduction is not essential for the survival of individual organisms, but must occur for a species to survive. 
All living things reproduce in one of the following ways: 
Asexual repoduction - Producing offspring without the use of gametes. 
Sexual reproduction - Producing offspring by the joining of sex cells. 

7. Living Things Adapt To Their Environment: 
Adaptations are traits giving an organism an advantage in a certain environment. 

8. Living things contain DNA at one point in there life cycle.

anonymous · Answer

Compliments of YA.

anonymous · Answer

Here's the physical link- http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110829195301AAh7JG1

aaronq · Answer

because we have a common point of divergence.