All living things have certain characteristics. In order to be identified as being 'alive' they must have ALL of the following traits: They must grow, respire (breathe), use energy (nutrition/food), produce and excrete waste, move independently, be sensitive to changes in their environment (respond to stimulus),  and they must be able to reproduce. How can we tell if something is alive or just looks as if it is alive? Sometimes it can be tricky to tell the difference, for example if you stand and watch a plant, it probably doesn't look much like it's moving but if you put a houseplant on a windowsill and leave it for a day, you may notice that the leaves have turned towards the window. If you turn it around so the leaves are facing inside your house or classroom and come back again the next day, you should notice that the plant has moved again. Of course some things display some of the features of being alive, but aren't alive at all. One example of something which does some of the things on the list is a car. A car uses energy (usually petrol or diesel), it produces waste, it moves and may even appear to respond to outside stimulus if it has an alarm fitted. However, it cannot move independently. It does not reproduce and it doesn't respire, so a car is not alive. To check if something is alive we have to find evidence of all seven life signs. To help you remember the 7 signs of life you could use the word BERGMAN (Breathing, Excreting, Reproducing, Growing, Moving, Aware, Nutritient needing). There are, of course different ways of remembering, my favourite is German B, for which I imagine a little bumble bee from Germany being alive. He flies around with his children, stuffing his face with nectar, stopping off for the loo and getting annoyed by his children prodding him and being so full of energy that he gets out of breath!; Growing, Excreting (pooing), Reproducing (having baby bees), Moving, Aware (sensitive to being prodded and poked), Needing Nutrients (eating) Breathing. Another popular one is MRS. GREN which stands for Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion and Nutrition. You could use one of these or make up your own.
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