Characteristics of Living Organisms · NCERT Biology

Which statement correctly explains why 'growth' is not a defining characteristic of life?

  1. Living organisms do not grow at all throughout their entire life.
  2. Growth in living organisms occurs only from the outside surface.
  3. Non-living objects like mountains also grow by accumulation of material.
  4. Growth is synonymous with death in all lower organisms.
Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: Non-living objects like mountains also grow by accumulation of material.

Non-living objects like snow mountains and sand dunes increase in mass through extrinsic growth (accumulation from outside). Since a defining property must be exclusive to living beings, growth fails this criterion.

Difficulty: Medium Question 3 of 20

Practice all 20 Characteristics of Living Organisms questions

Keep practicing

More Characteristics of Living Organisms questions