Respuesta :
For something to be alive, it has to have essential characteristics. Some non-living elements share some of these characteristics with living things, but not all of them. That is what distinguishes one from the other.
The characteristics that all living things have are:
organization; sensitivity; growth; reproduction; homeostasis; and metabolism.
As regards organization, the minimum unit of life is the cell. For something to be a living thing, it has to be a cell or have multiple cells. They have organelles and organize to perform different actions.
The following characteristic is sensitivity, which means that the thing has to react to a stimulus by giving a response.
Living things grow. In other words, they increase in size thanks to the elements that they take from the exterior and process them taking what they need to grow. To do so, they use metabolism.
Metabolism is the combination of catabolism( the elements that the organism destroys) and anabolism( the elements that the organism builds). Metabolism is also essential for homeostasis. These are the different reactions that an organism has to have a balance.
The last essential characteristic is reproduction. Living things have to reproduce themselves, there are different methods, and they depend on the type of living thing that they are.
In conclusion, fire is not a living thing because it does not have cells that can have metabolism, sensitivity, homeostasis, and it can not reproduce itself.
A living thing has six main characteristics:
- organization
- sensitivity
- growth
- reproduction
- homeostasis
- metabolism
Even though the fire seems like a living thing because it is consuming wood, making noises, and moving, as many living things do, it is not alive because it does not have cells. As it does not have cells, it can not have homeostasis, react to stimuli, or grow as cells do. It might look like a living thing, but it is not since it does not have the six characteristics that every living thing has.
Learn more about living things here:
https://brainly.com/question/17993517?referrer=searchResults
