Which of the following statements about living and non-living being is/are correct? 1. While living being can demonstrate growth and repair, non-living being cannot. 2. While living being demonstrates metabolic processes, non-living being does not. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- (a)1 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)Both 1 and 2
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2
Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. Growth and self-repair are features of living beings that non-living things lack, so statement 1 is correct. Metabolism — the sum of the chemical reactions that build up and break down molecules — occurs only in living beings, so statement 2 is also correct. Both distinguishing features hold.
- (a)1 only — This wrongly rejects statement 2. Metabolism is indeed exclusive to living beings, so statement 2 is also correct.
- (b)2 only — This wrongly rejects statement 1. Growth and repair from within are genuine features of living beings that non-living matter lacks.
- (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements describe real distinctions between living and non-living beings, so neither can be dismissed.
Living beings share defining characteristics that non-living matter lacks: organised cellular structure, growth from within, metabolism, responsiveness to stimuli, reproduction, and the ability to repair damage. Statements 1 and 2 each name one such genuine distinction.
The distractors test whether you accept both distinctions. A crystal can 'grow' by adding material on its outside, but biological growth (from within, with self-repair) and metabolism are true living-only traits — so 'Both 1 and 2' is right.
- Living beings grow from within and can repair injured or worn parts.
- Metabolism — the total of an organism's chemical reactions — occurs only in living beings.
- Other signs of life include cellular organisation, response to stimuli, and reproduction.
- Non-living things may change (a crystal enlarging), but they do not metabolise or self-repair.
Both growth/repair and metabolism separate living beings from non-living matter.
- Treating a crystal's enlargement as biological growth.
- Assuming only one of the two statements can be correct.
A statement-evaluation item (1 / 2 / both / neither) on features that separate living from non-living beings.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is a characteristic of all living organisms?
- (a)movement from place to place
- (b)metabolism
- (c)presence of chlorophyll
- (d)ability to fly
Answer(b) metabolism — every living organism carries out metabolic reactions.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following is not a feature of living beings?
- (a)growth from within
- (b)reproduction
- (c)crystallisation
- (d)response to stimuli
Answer(c) crystallisation — a physical process of non-living matter, not a life feature.