8 Characteristics of Most Living Things (MERIGRAN)

M - MOVEMENT (LOCOMOTION)

Most animals move their whole bodies using their limbs.
Plants move only by growing part of theirselves towards or away from influences important to them (light, sounds, touch, temperature, etc.)

E - EXCRETION

It is the process involving the removal of metabolic waste products (such as carbon dioxide, water, mineral salts and nitrogenous waste products). These substances can be useless or harmful and so must be removed from the body of the organism.

R - REPRODUCTION

This process involves the production of an offspring (or offsprings). This process is necessary for the species to survive.

I - IRRITABILITY (COORDINATION & RESPONSE)

Organisms can sense and respond appropriately to any changes in the immediate surroundings (light, temperature, etc.). They react to these changes in a way beneficial to themselves (folding of Mimosa leaves when touched, growth of plants towards the light).

G - GROWTH

Growth is an increase in the cell numbers, size, dry mass or volume of an organism as a result of converting absorbed food into living protoplasm. This may make the organism more complex or even change its form (egg of a butterfly becoming a caterpillar, germination of a seed into a seedling, etc.)

R - RESPIRATION

It is the oxidation of food substances with the release of energy in living cells. The energy released is used for movement, growth, reproduction, etc.

A - ADAPTABILITY (HOMEOSTASIS)

Organisms have the ability to adjust and adapt themselves to changes in their environment. This adaptability increases their chances of survival and the preservation of their own species.

N - NUTRITION (FEEDING)

This is the process in which living things take in food substances and convert them into the living protoplasm of the organism.