Look around you! You can see trees, birds, toys, books, and even your friends. But do you know that some of these things are living and some are non-living? How can we say if something is living or non-living? Let's learn about these in detail.
Living things are anything that can grow, move, and respond to their surroundings. They eat, breathe, reproduce, and can change over time. Animals, plants, fungi, and even small bacteria are examples of living things.
Living things are alive. They are made by nature, not by humans. Plants and animals are examples of living things.
Non-living things are objects that don't have life. They don't grow, move on their own, or react to their environment like living things do. Things like rocks, water, air, and even your toys or books are non-living. They are very important because they help all living things stay alive, just like water and air!
Non-living things can be categorized as either natural or man-made.
1. Living Things Move
Animals move from place to place to find food, water, shelter and to stay safe from enemies. This movement is called locomotion.
Different animals move in different ways:
Various plants also show movement in different ways:
Sunflowers turn towards light
All living things need food and water to live. Food gives the energy to do different life activities.
3. Living Things Grow
All animals are born small but as time passes they become bigger. Look at your childhood pictures. You have grown from a baby to a child. All animals also grow.
4. Living Things Breathe
Place your hand on your chest. What do you feel? We feel our chest moving up and down. This is due to breathing. Animals breathe by different means
5. Living Things Can Feel
All living things can feel. When we feel cold, we cover ourselves with woolen clothes.
6. Living Things Reproduce
All living thingsreproduce, that is, they produce other living beings of their own kind. This is called reproduction.
Different ways of reproduction are:
Reproduction is crucial for the survival and continuation of species.
7. Living Things Go Through A Life Cycle
Living things are born, grow, reproduce, get old and die after some time. However, non-living things do not show such life cycle.
These are the following characteristics of non-living things:
1. Non-living things cannot move.
2. They do not need food and water.
3. They cannot grow.
4. Non-living things cannot breathe.
5. They cannot feel.
6. They cannot reproduce.
7. They cannot go through a lifecycle.
We can see that non-living things are just opposite of living things in their characteristics.
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Chapter Notes: Living & Non-Living Things
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19 videos|65 docs|30 tests
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1. What are the main differences between living things and non-living things? | ![]() |
2. Can you give examples of living and non-living things? | ![]() |
3. What are the characteristics of living things? | ![]() |
4. Why is it important to understand the differences between living and non-living things? | ![]() |
5. How do non-living things affect living things? | ![]() |