Why do living things need food, water and the ability to get rid of waste?

Answer is option D i.e. All of these.

Explanation:

This can be very well explained with the help of the Carbon cycle. The carbon is present in all the living organisms as well as dead organisms. The atmosphere which is a physical environment contains various gases such as carbon dioxide, etc. This carbon dioxide is transferred to another living organism, say plants, in the process of photosynthesis. These plants are then eaten by animals, thus here, the matter is being transferred from one living organism to another. Again, the matter from these animals either in the form of waste or dead organisms gets transferred to the soil, which is again the part of the physical environment. Therefore, the correct answer to this is option D i.e. all of the above.