Section 1 a) Summary

All living organisms share the seven same basic characteristics:

Movement- the ability to move

Respiration- the ability to create chemical energy

Sensitivity- the ability to sense a change in environment

Growth- the ability to develop and mature/increase in cell size or number

Excretion- the ability to remove waste substance from the body

Nutrition- the ability to obtain nutrients

Using the acronym "MRS GREN" is an easy way to recall all of the processes.
--> read the "key words" and "specification" pages for further explanation and depth.

Each of the life processes plays a key part in ensuring the organism can live.

Movement allows the organism to adapt to avoid predators, catch prey, or produce food.

Respiration gives the organism energy and allows it to carry out all of the other life processes.

Sensitivity allows the organism to react to its surroundings, helping it survive through changes in environment such as increased temperature.

Growth allows the organism to increase in maturity and size so it can carry out other processes more efficiently, e.g. a larger plant has more leaves for photosynthesis.

Excretion allows the organism to remove waste from the body and prevent poisoning from toxic substances such as urea and carbon dioxide.

Nutrition gives the organism the nutrients required for respiration to be carried out, along with other processes such as growth.

If it carries out all of these processes, it is classified as a living organism.