Suppose an organism uses energy but it does not grow, reproduce or does not perform any other function. Can it be called a living thing?Give reasons to support your answer.

No. There are seven-to-eight characteristics of life, including growth and reproduction, specifically. An organism MUST demonstrate these behaviors to be classified as a functional, living organism. If any of these boxes are left unmarked, the organism in non-living.

The organism above uses energy, but does not express any behaviors that indicate growth, homeostasis, response to stimuli, etc. To compare, think of it as a fire. This organism may not be a fire, and may not exhibit any physical traits similar to a fire, but they both use energy. And, at this current state in science, and likely centuries in the future, we do not consider fire 'alive'. So, in turn, we would not consider this organism to be living, or any organism missing these characteristics of living.