- Organization & Complexity - Organisms in order to be alive must have a level of organization, and contain a systematic and dependable method of assuming all 6 other traits of life
- Consume Energy - Living Things must take in energy from their environment, change it, manipulate it, and use it to facilitate growth and reproduction. Metabolism.
- Maintain Homeostasis - Regulate their bodies and other internal structures to certain normal parameters.
- Respond to Stimuli - Environmental changes cause living things to react through behavior, metabolism, and physiological change.
- Reproduce - Arguably, one of the more enjoyable aspects of life. Sexual or asexual, living things must make copies of themselves.
- Growth - Growth involves the conversion of consumed materials into biomass, and reproduction.
- Adapt to Environment - Occuring over generations, life must adapt through changes in it's environment
Used by some to distinguish life from that considered inorganic, such as fire, or a virus.
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