Question

__________ is the defining property of living organisms.

A) Reproduction

B) Consciousness

C) Self replication

D) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: All living organisms share many main features or functions: order, environmental awareness or reaction, replication, growth and development, control, homeostasis and processing of resources. These features help to characterize life as seen together. 

Complete answer:

Self-consciousness is characterized as a sense of ability to perceive physical, chemical or biological changes within their surroundings or environmental stimuli. With the aid of sensory organs, animals are able to feel the world. Therefore, the fundamental property of living beings became consciousness. All living organisms share several main characteristics or functions: order, environmental sensitivity or reaction, reproduction, development and growth, control, homeostasis and processing of energy. These characters, when seen together, help to characterize life.

Organisms respond to different stimuli that are complex. Plants, for example, may bend toward a light source, climb on fences and walls, or adapt to contact. And small bacteria may travel towards or away from chemicals or light (a technique called chemotaxis) (phototaxis). Movement towards a stimulus is considered to be a positive response, whereas a negative response is considered to be movement away from a stimulus.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Consciousness is not a brain operation, but a kind of action that is, of course, like all other behavior, regulated by the brain. At the interface between three components of animal interaction, human consciousness emerges: conversation, play, and the use of resources.