Trees, plant life..Alive?

Question

I cant understand how plant life is alive. Is it like animals but without ears mouth and such? How can this be? Are they different from actual living. Can you really call them living? Is there another word for it? Can they feel pain? Very very confusing.

Answer 1

life is defined as matter that increases in mass by some type of process.  Life is the accumulation of matter.  We accumulate matter by eatting things.  Plants accumulate mass by striping carbon molecules off of co2, and drawing nitrogen from the air and ground.  The goal of living organisms is to reproduce.  Yes, you can call them living.  They technically do have mouths, millions of them, all over their leaves, called stomas.  They dont feel pain because the pain that we know is caused by electrical signals, something we havent detected in plants.

A simple freshman biology class will help clear things up a little more.  The vast majority of living organisms on earth arent animals, they are bacteria, plant, fungi, and viruses.

Answer 2

There are three criteria that define life:

1. Eats

2. Expels waste

3. Reproduces

Trees do all three therefore they are alive.

Everything from a virus to an ecosystem is alive.

Answer 3

anything that grows is considered to be alive even fungi and it doesn't matter how much or how fast it grows.  I don't know if they feel pain but I know they hurt due to the fact that they can die from being heavily cut down.