Olympiad Notes: The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings | Science Olympiad Class 6 PDF Download

Types of Habitats

Aquatic Habitat

• Definition: Organisms living in water.
• Examples: Ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans.
• Medium: Water serves as the habitat medium.

Terrestrial Habitat

• Definition: Organisms living on land.
• Examples: Forests, deserts, mountains.
• Medium: Air is the habitat medium.

Mountain Habitat

• Special terrestrial habitat with low temperatures and snow-covered areas.
• Flora and fauna: Grasses, mosses, snow bears, foxes, water fowl, musk deer, wolves.

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Adaptation in Habitats

• Adaptation is the alteration of features enabling organisms to survive in specific habitats.

Components of a Habitat

Light

• Sunlight is crucial for energy.
• Impacts growth, flowering, seed germination.
• Animals in dark habitats have reduced eyes (e.g., Proteus, Amblyopsis).
• Nocturnal animals (active at night): bats, owls, etc.

Temperature

• Regulates various aspects of life.
• Desert animals (e.g., camel) have adaptations for heat, like thick skin and long legs.

Water

• Essential for survival.
• Adaptations in aquatic plants (poorly developed roots, buoyant structure) and desert plants (succulent stems, reduced leaves).
• Fish adaptations: streamlined body, gills for respiration.

Interactions in Habitats

Biotic and Abiotic Components:

• Organisms are interdependent.
• Living things need water, air, and nutrients.
• Cells are the basic units of life.
• Life is characterized by growth, movement, feeding, responsiveness, excretion, respiration, cellular structure, reproduction, and adaptation.

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Characteristics of Living Things

Growth

• Irreversible increase in size and weight.
• Influenced by various factors.

Movement

• Change in position.
• Locomotion in animals; plants show various movements.

Cellular Structure

• Basic units in organisms.
• Organized differently in various species.

Nutrition

• Food and water are vital.
• Autotrophs synthesize food; heterotrophs cannot.

Respiration

• Oxygen combines with food for energy release.
• Breathing process in animals.

Excretion

• Removal of waste from organisms.

Response to Stimuli

• Reaction to changes in surroundings.
• Various stimuli affect plants and animals.

Reproduction

• Process of producing offspring.

Adaptation

• Change in features to survive in specific habitats.

Key Definitions

• Biotic Component: Living things in a habitat.
• Excretion: Removal of waste from organisms.
• Habitat: Where organisms survive, flourish, and reproduce.
• Stimulus: Factors triggering responses in plants and animals.