The difference between living and nonliving things

The key difference between living things and non-living things is that the living things are organisms that are alive and composed of cells and tissues while non-living things are objects or items that do not exhibit any sign of life.

Everything around us in our environment consists mainly of two main types such as living things and non-living things. All living things have one factor in common, that is life. Hence, living things are the things that are alive and show some actions such as breathing, growing, moving and reproducing. On the other hand, non-living things are the things that do not exhibit any growth. Furthermore, they do not have a life of their own. Moreover, they do not eat, sleep, reproduce, and respond to any forms of stimuli.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Living Things
3. What are Non-living Things
4. Similarities Between Living Things and Non-living Things
5. Side by Side Comparison – Living Things vs Non-living Things in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What are Living Things?

Living things are organisms that show signs of life and made up of cells. Besides, they could be unicellular or multicellular. In multicellular organisms, cells arrange together to form tissues. Different tissues in combination form organs and organs together form organ systems. Finally, these systems together form an organism. In living organisms, different species show different levels of living traits. Some are simple living organisms while others possess complex and advanced living systems.

Figure 01: Living Things

Hence, living things are organized and show anabolic and catabolic reactions. Moreover, they respire and release energy upon respiration. Also, living things depend on food, water and air. They perform regulated growth over time and reproduce. Furthermore, living things maintain their internal environment at constant levels irrespective to the changes in the external environment.

What are Non-living Things?

Non-living things are objects or items that do not show any signs of life. Therefore, they show no organization. In other terms, non-living organisms are not alive. Hence, they do not perform any of the functions that living things do. They do not grow, do not depend on water, food and air and do not perform homeostasis or metabolic reactions.

Figure 02: Non-living Things

Furthermore, non-living things originate from non-living materials. Therefore, they do not reproduce on their own. Even though living things are subjected to evolution, non-living things do not undergo such a phenomenon. Moreover, non-living things do not have a lifespan. Once obsolete, they could be recycled or reused.

What are the Similarities Between Living and Non-living Things?

• Both living and non-living things are present in the environment.
• They are the two major divisions of the environment.

The key difference between living things and non-living things is life. Living things possess a life hence they are alive while the non-living things do not have a life. Hence they are not alive. Furthermore, living things have living cells while non-living things do not have cells. Thus, it is another difference between living things and non-living things. Moreover, living things maintain homeostasis while non-living things are not capable of maintaining homeostasis. Also, living things undergo growth and development while non-living things do not. Thus, it is another difference between living things and non-living things.

Besides, living things depend on foods, water and air for the survival while the non-living things do not require anything to survive. Living things subject into evolution while the non-living things do not subject to evolution. Hence, it is also a difference between living things and non-living things.

Below is an infographic of the difference between living things and non-living things.

Summary – Living Things vs Non-living Things

Everything that surrounds us could be living things or non-living things. Living things have a life while non-living things do not have a life.  This is the key difference between living things and non-living things. Furthermore, living things constitute of cells while non-living things do not have a cellular organization. Moreover, living things show certain living characteristics such as growth, developments, breathing, reproduction, etc., while non-living things do not show such activities.  Besides, living things could be unicellular or multicellular. Non-living things are created from non-living materials. Non-living things do not have a lifespan. Once obsolete, they could be recycled or reused.

Reference:

1. Miller, Lisa. “What Distinguishes Living Things From Non-Living Things in Biology?” What Students Learn From Dissecting a Cow’s Eye | Education – Seattle PI, 29 Sept. 2016. Available here 

2. “What Is Life?” Khan Academy, Khan Academy. Available here  

Image Courtesy:

1.”Tree of Living Organisms 2″By Maulucioni y Doridí – Own work, (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2.”Plastic objects”By Cjp24 – Own work, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia