NEET Class neet Answered

Non-living things cannot respond to the stimuli in their environment. All living things are able to sense and respond to stimuli around them such as light, temperature, water, gravity and chemical substances. Consciousness and response to stimulus is the defining property of all living organisms. Plants respond to light, water temperature. Unicellular organisms also sense their environment and respond accordingly. However, under conditions such as coma, the person does not react to external stimuli and does not show normal reflex responses. This is because although the person is alive, his brain is functioning at its lowest stage of alertness and hence, cannot react or respond normally. This is the only exceptional case, otherwise sensitivity is definitely a defining property of living organisms.