(i) Characteristics used for hierarchical classification of living organism’s are-
(a) Their cellularity, whether unicellular or multicellular
(b) The mode of nutrition
(c) The mode of reproduction
(ii) Characteristics mean features or qualities of any organism.
(iii) The characteristics of body design used for classification of plants is different from those used for classifying animals because the basic body designs are different based on the need to prepare food or obtain it by consuming other organisms.
Plants have structures like chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll necessary for the synthesis of food. Organisms that acquire food lack such structures.