A scientist discovered a specimen no one has ever seen before and believes it is living. He tested the specimen to determine if it is respiring, but the results were inconclusive. Over the weeks, he recorded the mass and dimensions and observed a sliver through the microscope. How will these last two pieces of evidence show that the specimen is living

Both show the characteristic of a living organism

Explanation:

A thing can be considered a living thing if it fulfills the criterion of a living organism or in simple terms the characteristics of a living organism. In the given question, the two features that are growth in the mass and size of the sliver are measured and observed through the microscope.

Since the growth is the characteristic feature of the living organism and the substance fulfills this condition therefore the specimen is considered a living organism.

Thus, both show the characteristic of a living organism is correct.

because the light is a great source of energy for the plants to survive. (i hope this )

genetic variation can be caused by mutation (which can create entirely new alleles in a population), random mating, random fertilization, and recombination between homologous chromosomes during meiosis (which reshuffles alleles within an organism's offspring).