'2025 Leaving Certification Food, COL, and Scientific Method Practice Exam – The All-in-One Study Guide for Exam Success!'

Living organisms typically respond to their environment by reacting to stimuli from their surroundings. This response is crucial for their survival and is part of their biological processes. Stimuli can include changes in temperature, light, sound, and other environmental factors. Organisms utilize various mechanisms, such as movement, physiological changes, or behavioral adaptations, to effectively respond to these stimuli.

For instance, a plant may grow towards a light source, or an animal may flee from a perceived threat. These responses help organisms interact with their environment, find food, reproduce, and avoid harm, demonstrating their ability to perceive and react to changes around them.

The other choices describe responses that do not accurately reflect how most living organisms operate regarding environmental interaction. Adapting to changes without any reaction or becoming inactive does not account for the observable behaviors and physiological changes that are characteristic of living things. While changing physical structure can occur over generations through adaptation, immediate responses to stimuli are the more fundamental and typical way organisms engage with their environments.