Question

‘Growth is not a defining property of life’. Give reason.

Answer 1

Hint:Growth is defined as a constant increase in size, mass, volume and number. All living organisms grow during certain periods of their life.

Complete answer:
>Growth can be regarded as a fundamental property of life but it is not the defining property. This is because growth can be also seen in non living organisms.
>Non living organisms show growth by accumulation of external materials. For example a sand dune or a soil mould can constantly grow and increase in size by piling up of sand and soil respectively. This means non living things show an extrinsic growth.
>Living organisms grow constantly by increasing their size mass and number by cell division i.e they show an intrinsic growth. For example: Plants, animals and human beings.
>Hence, growth is not the criteria to define life.

Additional information :
>Living organisms grow in a regulated manner while non living organisms grow in an unregulated manner.
>Living organisms grow with time while non living organisms do not grow with time.
>Growth in case of living organisms is irreversible whereas its reversible in case of non living organisms.
>Consciousness which is the ability to respond to a stimulus and the state of being aware of our surroundings is considered as a defining property of life. It is only seen in living organisms.

Note:Cell division is a process by which a parent cell divides and produces daughter cells. It contributes to growth and reproduction in living beings. It is of two types: Meiosis and Mitosis.
Meiosis is a reductional division where a single cell divides twice to produce four gamete cells.
Mitosis is an equational division where a single cell divides only once to form two identical daughter cells.