Introduction

There is a large variety of things around us. Some of these are

living things whereas others are non-living things.
Those things which need food, water and air for their survival
are called living things. All the animals need food, water and air
to survive or live, so all the animals (including human beings)
are living things.
Those things which do not need food, water and air for their
survival are called non-living things. For example, a table or
chair do not need food, water or air to survive, so a table and a
chair are non-living things.
The living things are called organisms. Thus, all the plants and animals are organisms.
Characteristics of living things
The characteristics of living things are given below:
(i) Living things need food, air and water.
(ii) Living things can grow.
(iii) Living things can move by themselves.
(iv) Living things can respond to stimuli (or changes around
them). They are sensitive.
(v) Living things respire (release energy from food).

[65]
(vi) Living things excrete (get rid of waste materials from their body).
(vii) Living things can reproduce. They can have young ones.
(viii) Living things have a definite life-span (after which they die).

List out some animals, plants and other objects found in different habitat.
In the forest On mountains In the desert In the sea Any other?

Suggested Answers
In the On In the In the Any other?
forest mountains desert sea
Lion Yak Camel Fishes
Tiger Brown Bear Snake Sharks
Deer Chiru Spiders Octopus
Rabbit Lizards Crab

Food
All the living things (plants and animals) need food to stay alive. They also need air and water.
The plants make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. But animals obtain their food
from plants or other animals. Food gives the material for growth and energy to carry out various
life processes taking place inside the living things.

Growth

[66]
Growth means increase in size. All the living things can grow.
The young ones of all living things (plants and animals) grow
and become bigger in size with the passing of time.

All the living things grow from a ‘single cell’. The growth in living things is from within the living
thing (or living organism). As a living thing grows the number
of cells in its body go on increasing. Non-living things do not
grow.

Aim
To demonstrate growth in plants
Procedure
Sow some wheat seeds in moist soil. Keep watering them daily.
Observation
In a few days, tiny seedlings emerge from these seeds. Observe them daily. In few weeks, the
seedlings become much bigger.

True or False
1. Cell is the basic unit of life.
[67]
2. All the living things need food to stay alive.
3. Green plants are called autotrophs.
Movement
All the living things move by themselves (without any external help). Animals can move from one
place to another or they can move their body parts. For example, a frog moves when it jumps
into a pond.

The plants are fixed in the soil at a place, so they cannot move like animals from place to place.
The plants can move only parts of their body such as leaves, flowers, shoots and roots. The plant
parts move towards a stimulus such as sunlight, water or gravity. Non-living things cannot move
[68]
by themselves. For example, a rock is a non-living thing which cannot move by itself from one
place to another.
Response to Stimuli
All the living things respond to changes around them. The changes in surrounding to which
living things respond are called stimuli (‘stimuli’ is the plural of stimulus). The living things show
response to external stimuli such as heat, light, touch, sound, smell, taste, water and chemicals.
For example, if a man touches a very hot object accidentally, he quickly pulls his hand away from
the hot object. In this case, the stimulus is heat and the man responds by moving his hand away
from the hot object.
Stimuli Phenomenon of response

(1) Water Hydrotropism

(2) Temperature Thermotropism

(3) Light Phototropism

(4) Gravity Geotropism
(5) Touch Thigmotropism

Aim
Place a potted plant in a room a little away from a window through which sunlight enters some
time during the day. Continue watering the plant for a few days. Does the plant grow upright, like
plants out in the open? Note the direction in which it bends, if
it is not growing upright. Do you think, this may be in response
to some stimulus?
All living things respond to changes around them.
Plants respond to light. If a potted plant is kept in the open
space, the stem of plant grows straight up towards the source
of light "sun".
Non-living things do not respond to changes in their
surroundings. For example, a rock is a non-living thing which does not respond to stimuli like
heat, light, touch, sound and smell etc.

[69]
What happens if we move from a dark room into bright
sunshine suddenly?
Explanation
While coming out from a dark room to bright sunshine
suddenly, our eyes feel a glaring effect. This is due to the reason
that in dark room the pupil is dilated, so when we come out in bright light, a large amount of
light enters our eyes, and we feel glare. But after sometime, the pupil responds by contracting
and we are able to see clearly as less light enters our eyes now.

1. True 2. True 3. True

Respiration
All the living things need energy to grow, move and stay alive. They get this energy from food
through respiration. Respiration is the chemical process in which food taken by an organism
combines with oxygen to release energy. This energy is used by the organism to carry out its
various life processes. All the living things (plants and animals) undergo respiration to obtain
energy from food.

[70]
In humans, the process of taking air into the lungs through
nose and then expel it through nose is called breathing. The
purpose of breathing in air is to provide oxygen to our body for
carrying out respiration.

The earthworm breathes through its skin. So, the earthworm

absorb oxygen (or air) needed for respiration through its thin
and moist skin having good blood supply.
The fish has special organs of breathing called gills. The fish
breathes by taking in water through its mouth and sending it
over the gills. When water passes over the gills, the gills extract
dissolved oxygen from this water. The carbon dioxide produced
during respiration is also expelled by the gills into the
surrounding water.
The exchange of gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) in plants during respiration takes place
through the tiny pores in their leaves called "stomata".
Plants use oxygen for respiration and release carbon dioxide.
The oxygen (of air) enters the plant leaves through stomata and
utilized in respiration. The carbon dioxide produced during
respiration inside the plant is also expelled from the leaves
through stomata. Non-living things do not respire. For example,
a rock is a non-living thing which does not undergo respiration.
Excretion
The living things produce some waste materials in their bodies
during the various life processes. Many of these waste materials
are poisonous to the living things so they have to be removed. The removal of waste substances
from the body of a living organism is called excretion. All the living things get rid of wastes from
inside themselves.

[71]
Some harmful or poisonous waste materials are also produced
in plants. Some plants remove their waste products as
secretions.
Non-living things do not excrete.
Reproduction

The process by which living organisms produce new members of their species is called
reproduction. Some animals reproduce by giving birth to their young ones whereas some
animals reproduce their young ones through eggs. For example, human beings reproduce by
giving birth to babies. The animals such as dogs, cats, cow, horse, deer, lion and tiger etc., also
reproduce by giving birth to their young ones. The animals like birds and fish reproduce through
eggs. Birds lay eggs which on hatching produce young ones.
When these eggs are hatched, young ones (baby birds) come
out of these eggs.
Some plants reproduce through cutting : A small part of a
plant which is removed by making a cut with a sharp knife is
called a cutting. A cutting may be a piece of stem, root or even a
leaf. The cutting should be made in such a way that there are
some buds (growing points) on it. In this method, a cutting of
the existing plant (say, of stem or shoot) having some buds on it is taken and its lower part is
buried in the moist soil.
After a few days, the cutting develops roots and grows into a new plant. The plants such as rose,
henna (mehndi), grapes, sugarcane and cactus, etc. can be grown by the cutting method.
What is life ?

[72]
Push your hand deep inside a sack of wheat. Do you find it is warm inside? There is some heat
being produced inside the sack of wheat. The seeds respire and in that process give out some
heat.
We see that respiration is a process that takes place in seeds even when some of the other life
processes may not be very active.
It may not be very easy to answer our question – "what then is life"? However, looking at all the
diversity of living beings around us, we can conclude that "life is beautiful"!

What are the differences between living and non-living things?

Explanation
Differences between Living and Non-Living Things
Living things Non-living things
1 Living things need food, air and water. 1 Non-living things do not need food, air and
water.
2 Living things grow. 2 Non-living things do not grow.
3 Living things can move on their own. 3 Non-living things cannot move on their own.
4 Living things respond to stimuli (changes 4 Non-living things do not respond to stimuli.
around them). They are sensitive. They are not sensitive.
5 Living things reproduce. 5 Non-living things do not reproduce.
6 Living things respire. They release energy from 6 Non-living things do not respire.
food.
7 Living things excrete. They get rid of waste 7 Non-living things do not excrete.
materials from their body.
8 Living things have a definite life-span after 8 Non-living things exist forever.
which they die.

[73]
1. Do all the living organisms show all the characteristics of life all the time?

1. No, it is not necessary. For example, seeds are living and

are stored for months. But neither they grow nor
reproduce, nor move nor feed. When these seeds are
sown in the soil, they germinate and grow into whole
plants. Also, when they are stored, they respire without
air (anaerobically).
Differences between plants and animals
Plants Animals
1 Green plants make their own food by the process 1 Animals get their food from plants or other
of photosynthesis. (Autotrophic nutrition) animals. (Heterotrophic nutrition)
2 Plants do not move from place to place since they 2 Animals move from place to place since
lack organs for locomotion. they have organs for locomotion.
3 Plants grow throughout their life. (Unlimited 3 Growth in animals is limited up to a certain
growth) period.
4 Plants show growth at the tips of shoots and 4 Animals show uniform growth in their
roots. (Localised growth) body. (Diffused growth)
5 Plants lack sense organs and they show slow 5 Animal have sense organs and show quick
response to external stimuli. response to external stimuli.
6 Plant cells have cell wall and chloroplasts. 6 Animal cells do not have cell wall and
chloroplasts.
Habitat
All the living organisms (plants and animals) prefer to live in
those places which are best suited to their needs. The place (or
surroundings) where a plant or animal lives is called its
habitat. A habitat provides food, water, air, light, shelter
(protection) and a place for breeding to the plants and animals
living in it. All the habitats can divided into two main groups :
Terrestrial habitats and Aquatic habitats.
Terrestrial habitats
A land based habitat is called a terrestrial habitat. Some of the examples of terrestrial habitats
are: Desert, Mountains (or Hills), Forest, Grassland, Garden, Field, Soil and Homes.

[74]
Aquatic habitats
A water based habitat is called an aquatic habitat. Thus, the plants and animals which live in
water are said to live in an aquatic habitat. Some of the examples of aquatic habitats are Pond,
Lake, River, Swamps (an area with water logged ground) and Oceans (or Sea).
Components of a habitat
A habitat does not consist of only living organisms. In a habitat, soil, water, air, light, temperature
and many other components of physical environment are also present. Thus, a habitat includes
both biotic and abiotic components of the environment.

Biotic components
The term "biotic" means "living". So, the living things in a habitat are its biotic components. The
living things in a habitat are plants, animals and micro organisms.
Abiotic components
The term "abiotic" means "non-living". So, the non-living things
in a habitat are its abiotic components. The various non-living
things in a habitat are soil, rocks, air, water, sunlight and
temperature etc.

Aim
To show the effect of some abiotic factors on the germination
of seeds to form young plants.
Procedure
Take a small heap of moong seed.

[75]
(i) Keep some dry moong seeds in a sunny room (where sunlight is available).
(ii) Keep some moong seeds completely submerged in water for a few days.
(iii) Soak some moong seeds in water for a day, then drain out water.
(a) Keep some soaked and wet moong seeds in sunlight for a few days.
(b) Keep some soaked and wet moong seeds in a completely dark place for a few days.
(c) Keep some soaked and wet moong seeds in a very cold place like a refrigerator (or with
ice around them) for a few days.
Observation
(i) After a few days we will observe that the dry moong seeds do not germinate at all
showing that water (or moisture) necessary for the germination of seeds to grow into
plants.
(ii) The moong seeds kept completely submerged also do not germinate showing that air is
also necessary for the growth of plants.
(iii) (a) The wet moong seeds kept in sunlight germinate and grow
maximum.
(b) Those kept in dark do not grow much showing that sunlight is necessary for the
growth of plants.
(c) The wet moong seeds kept in a very cold place (like a refrigerator) grow very, very
slowly showing that temperature (heat or warmth) is necessary for the growth of
plants.
Conclusion
Abiotic factors such as water, air, sunlight and temperature (or heat) are very important for the
growth of plants. In fact, these abiotic factors are very important for the existence of all living
organisms, plants as well as animals.
Adaptations
A living thing can survive in a particular habitat, if its body is suited (or adapted) to the
conditions or environment of that habitat. Plants and animals develop special characteristics or
features in their body in order to survive in their habitat (or surroundings). The presence of
specific body features (or certain habits) which enable a plant or an animal to live in a particular
habitat is called adaptation.
There are some changes that can happen in an organism over a short period of time to help them
adjust to some changes in their surroundings. For instance, if we live in the plains and suddenly
go to high mountain regions, we may experience difficulty in breathing and doing physical
exercise for some days. We need to breathe faster when we are on high mountains as there is
lower levels of oxygen in air. After some days, our body adjusts to the changed conditions on the
high mountain. Such small changes that take place in the body of a single organism over short
periods, to overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings, are called

[76]
acclimatisation. These changes are different from the adaptations that take place over thousands
of years.
Some terrestrial habitats and their adapatations
Some of the important terrestrial habitats are
1. Deserts 2. Mountain regions and 3. Forests (or Grasslands)
1. Deserts
Adaptation in desert animals
The animals like desert rats and desert snakes survive in the hot desert having lack of water due
to the following adaptations :-
(i) They live in burrows. During the daytime, the desert rats and snakes dig deep burrows in
the sand and stay in them when it is very hot. The burrows stay cool during the day and
hence protect these animals from the sun’s heat as well as loss of water from their body.
The desert rats and desert snakes come out of the burrows only during cool night in
search of food.

How the camel is adapted to survive in the desert environment?

Explanation
[77]
Camel lives in hot desert where water is scarce. The body structure of a camel helps it to survive
in desert conditions. Camel is adapted to live in a desert because of its following special features
-
1. The camel has long legs which help to keep its body away from the hot sand in the desert.
2. A camel can drink large amount of water (when it is available) and store it in the body.
3. A camel’s body is adapted to save water in the dry desert as follows : A camel passes small
amount of urine ; its dung is dry and it does not sweat.
4. A camel’s hump has ‘fat’ ‘stored in it. In case of emergency, a camel can break down stored
fat to obtain water.
5. A camel has large and flat feet which help it to walk easily on soft sand (by preventing it
from sinking into soft sand).
Adaptations in desert plants
Some of the adaptations which help the desert plants to survive in hot and dry environment of a
desert are as follows :
(i) The leaves in desert plants are either absent, very small or present in the form of spines
(thorns). This helps in reducing the loss of water from the leaves through transpiration.
(ii) Since the leaves of desert plants are either absent, very small or form spines the stems of
desert plants are modified to perform the function of leaves. Thus, in desert plants
photosynthesis is usually carried out by their green stem.
(iii) The stems of desert plants are modified for storing water. The stems of desert plants are
also covered with a thick waxy layer (called cuticle) which prevents the loss of water from
it.
(iv) Most of the desert plants have long roots which go deep into the soil for absorbing water.

Adaptations in mountain regions

The mountain habitats are usually very cold and windy.
Adaptation in mountainous plants

[78]
There is lot of rain in mountain regions. It is very cold during winter and snowfall may also
occur. The rain and snow may damage the mountain trees and plants.
The trees can survive in extremely cold and windy mountain habitats due to the following
adaptations :
(i) The trees in mountain are usually cone-shaped having sloping branches. This shape of the
mountain trees make the rain-water and snow to slide off easily without damaging the
branches and leaves.
(ii) Many mountain trees have small, needle-like
leaves due to which these leaves lose very little
water in windy conditions. The needle like leaves
have a thick waxy layer to reduce the loss of
water through transpiration and to protect them
from damage by rain and snow.
Adaptation in mountainous animals
The animals living in mountain habitats are also adapted to the extremely cold environment
present there.
Adaptation in yak :
Yaks have long hair on their body to protect them from cold by keeping them warm.

Adaptation in mountain goat:

(i) The mountain goat has long hair to protect it from cold and
keep it warm.
(ii) The mountain goat has strong hooves for running up the
rocky slopes of mountain for grazing (The hard and rough
feet of an animals are called hooves).
Adaptation in snow leopard :
Snow leopard lives in mountains where snow is present. The
snow leopard is adapted to live in extremely cold places having
snow as follows:
[79]
The snow leopard has thick fur on its body. This fur protects the snow leopard from cold and
keeps it warm. The snow leopard has also fur on its feet and toes. This protects its feet from cold
when it walks on the snow.
Adaptations in forests and grass land
The adaptations in lion and deer to the forest habitat are described below:
Adaptation in Lion
(i) The lion has long, strong and sharp claws in its front
legs to catch its prey. The lion can withdraw the claws
inside the toes so that they do not become worn out
and blunt when it walks.
(ii) The lion has eyes in front of its head which enable it to
have a correct idea of the location of its prey. This helps
it in catching the prey.
(iii) The lion is light brown in colour. The light brown colour helps the lion to hide in dry
grassland (without being noticed) when it hunts for prey.
Adaptation in Deer
The deer is a herbivorous animal which eats only the plant
material as food. The deer is adapted to the forest habitat in the
following ways :
(i) The deer has eyes on the sides of its head which enables it
to see in all directions at the same time. The all round
vision of deer helps it to see its predator animals like lion
(which kill it), in all the area around it.
(ii) The deer has big ears. The big ears help the deer to hear the movements of predators very
easily.
(iii) The speed of deer helps it to run away from the predators (like lion) which try to catch it.
(iv) The deer has brown colour. The brown colour of deer helps it to hide in dry grasslands
without being noticed by lion etc.
(v) The deer has strong teeth for chewing hard plant stems of the forest.
Adapations in aquatic habitats
Some aquatic habitats
The important aquatic habitats are
1. Oceans
Many sea-animals have streamlined bodies to help them move in sea water easily.
2. Ponds, lakes and rivers

[80]
 Ponds, lakes and rivers are "fresh-water" aquatic habitats. The plants which grow in
water are called aquatic plants.

How many types of aquatic plants are there? Explain.

Explanation
There are three types of aquatic plants (or water plants). These are described below :
(a) Some aquatic plants float on the surface of water. e.g. water-lettuce and water hyacinth.
(b) Some aquatic plants are partly submerged in water. The roots are fixed in the soil below
water at the bottom of pond, lake or river. The stems of such plants grow up to the surface
of water while the leaves and flowers float on the surface of water. e.g. water lily and
lotus.
(c) Some aquatic plants are completely submerged in water. The roots of submerged plants
are also fixed in the soil below water at the bottom of pond, lake or river. All the parts of
such plants (including stem, branches and leaves) grow under water. e.g. Hydrilla and
Vallisneria.
Adaptations in aquatic plants (or water plants)
The aquatic plants show a number of adaptations. Some of the adaptations are as follows :
(a) The aquatic plants have very short and small roots whose main function is to hold the
plant in place. All the parts of an aquatic plant are surrounded by water, so an aquatic
plant can absorb water and dissolved minerals directly from the surface of their stems,
branches and leaves.
(b) The stems of aquatic plants are soft, hollow and light, having large spaces filled with air.
The aquatic plants do not need strong stems because the surrounding water of a pond,
lake or river keeps them up.
(c) The submerged aquatic plants have narrow and thin ribbon-like leaves which can bend in
the flowing water of rivers and streams and hence do not obstruct the flow of water.

[81]
How the frog is adapted to live in water and on land?
Explanation
The animal like frog have ponds as their habitat. Frogs can live
inside water as well as on land near the pond.
(a) Frogs have webbed back feet which help them to swim
in water. This adaptation helps the frogs to live life in
water.
(b) Frogs have strong back legs for leaping (jumping) and catching their prey. This adaptation
helps the frogs to live life on land.
⮚ Some sea-animals like squids and octopus do not have streamlined body shape. But when
squids and octopus move in sea-water, they make their body shape streamlined. Such
animals stay deeper in the ocean near the sea-bed and catch any prey that moves towards
them.

[82]
Partially submerged plants
aquatic plants
Submerged plant
Floating plants

[83]
• Food
• Growth
• Movement
• Response to stimuli
• Respiration
• Excretion
• Reproduction
• Life-Span
Characteristics
Habitat and Components
Living Organisms
Adaptation

[84]
 Desert
Mountain regions
Forest and grasslands
Aquatic region
Biotic
Abiotic
Animals
Plants
Light, air temperature
water, soil etc.
Plants
Animals
Animals
Cactus
Camel, Desert rat,
Desert Snakes
Animals
Lion and Deer
Floating plants,
Submerged plants
Completely submerged plants
Yak, mountain goat,
snow leopard
Plants
Terrestrial
Aquatic
• Deserts
• Mountains or hills
• Forests and Grasslands
• Pond
• Lake
• River
• Swamps
• Ocean or seas
Plants
Animals
Types
Components
Microbes
Mountain
tree
Fish

[85]
 SOME BASIC TERMS
1. Adaptation : The ability of living organisms to adjust themselves to their surroundings
2. Aquatic habitat : Habitat with water.
3. Biotic component : Living things in an surrounding .
4. Excretion : removal of metabolic waste.
5. Growth : Increase in mass and size of a body.
6. Habitat : Natural environment where an organism lives.
7. Living : Being alive.
8. Reproduction : Giving birth to young ones.
9. Respiration : Burning of food.
10. Stimulus : Any change in environment.

[86]