What are the six requirements of life?

To be classified as a living thing, an object must have all six of the following characteristics: It responds to the environment. It grows and develops. It produces offspring. It maintains homeostasis. It has complex chemistry. It consists of cells.

bio.libretexts.org - 1.4: Characteristics of Life - Biology LibreTexts

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What do a bacterium and a whale have in common?

Do they share characteristics with us? All living organisms, from the smallest bacterium to the largest whale, share certain characteristics of life. Without these characteristics, there is no life.

Characteristics of Life

Look at the duck decoy in Figure below. It looks very similar to a real duck. Of course, real ducks are living things. What about the decoy duck? It looks like a duck, but it is actually made of wood. The decoy duck doesn’t have all the characteristics of a living thing. What characteristics set the real ducks apart from the decoy duck? What are the characteristics of living things?

This duck decoy looks like it’s alive. It even fools real ducks. Why isn’t it a living thing?

To be classified as a living thing, an object must have all six of the following characteristics: It responds to the environment. It grows and develops. It produces offspring. It maintains homeostasis. It has complex chemistry. It consists of cells. Response to the Environment All living things detect changes in their environment and respond to them. What happens if you step on a rock? Nothing; the rock doesn’t respond because it isn’t alive. But what if you think you are stepping on a rock and actually step on a turtle shell? The turtle is likely to respond by moving—it may even snap at you! Growth and Development All living things grow and develop. For example, a plant seed may look like a lifeless pebble, but under the right conditions it will grow and develop into a plant. Animals also grow and develop. Look at the animals in Figure below. How will the tadpoles change as they grow and develop into adult frogs? Tadpoles go through many changes to become adult frogs. Reproduction All living things are capable of reproduction. Reproduction is the process by which living things give rise to offspring. Reproducing may be as simple as a single cell dividing to form two daughter cells. Generally, however, it is much more complicated. Nonetheless, whether a living thing is a huge whale or a microscopic bacterium, it is capable of reproduction. Keeping Things Constant All living things are able to maintain a more-or-less constant internal environment. They keep things relatively stable on the inside regardless of the conditions around them. The process of maintaining a stable internal environment is called homeostasis. Human beings, for example, maintain a stable internal body temperature. If you go outside when the air temperature is below freezing, your body doesn’t freeze. Instead, by shivering and other means, it maintains a stable internal temperature. Complex Chemistry All living things—even the simplest life forms—have a complex chemistry. Living things consist of large, complex molecules, and they also undergo many complicated chemical changes to stay alive. Thousands (or more) of these chemical reactions occur in each cell at any given moment. Metabolism is the accumulated total of all the biochemical reactions occurring in a cell or organism. Complex chemistry is needed to carry out all the functions of life.

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What are the 3 main ingredients for life?

This video excerpt from NOVA explains what astrobiologists consider to be the three basic ingredients of life—water, organic compounds, and energy.

pbs.org - Life's Basic Ingredients - NOVA - PBS

NARRATOR: So what is it about Earth, the third planet out from the sun, that makes life possible?

The answer lies in three key ingredients. First, all life is made up of organic molecules consisting of carbon, in compounds that include nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen, among others. Although organic molecules aren't alive themselves, they are the basic building blocks of every living organism. Life also needs a liquid, like water. In water, the basic organic molecules can mix, interact and become more complex. The last ingredient is an energy source, like the sun, to power the chemical reactions that drive all life, from the smallest microbe to us.

NARRATOR: Earth has two of the three ingredients needed for life: water and energy from the sun. But what about organic molecules, the chemical building blocks of life; how did they, get to Earth?

Some scientists believe the answer may lie in the furthest reaches of the solar system, beyond Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and even Neptune. Here, three billion miles from the sun, is a vast ring of comets and other debris, called the Kuiper Belt. Astrobiologist Danny Glavin and his team think comets are the key to understanding how the final ingredients necessary for life arrived on Earth.

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