Living Things & Their Characteristics

Living things

All living things are natural things. They are produced by nature.

Living things need food

Living things need food to obtain energy, to grow and to stay healthy. Plants make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. Animals get their food from plants and other animals.

Living things breathe

All living things need to breathe. Different animals use different organs to breathe. For examples some animals use their nose to breathe, fish use their gills to breathe and worms breathe through their skin. We breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide through our nose. Plants breathe through openings present in their leaves called stomata.

Fish Breathe Through Gills

Living things grow and develop

When living things eat, they get energy which helps them in their growth. Living things grow from small to large and finally become adult to old . We human beings are born as babies and grow into adults. Seeds grow into baby plants and finally into big plants or trees.

Baby Grows into an adults 

Seed growing into a Plant

Living things die

All living things grow and become old then die.

Living things move

All living things show some sort of movements. They can move their body parts. Plants usually do not move from one place to another but can move their parts. For example, they move their root downward to obtain water, minerals and nutrients from the soil and the shoot upward for sunlight.  All living things show internal movement but some living things show external movement too, such as, walking, jumping, flying, swimming, etc.

Living Things Show

External Movement

Living things feel

• Living things react to changes in their environment.
• They usually respond to touch, light, heat, cold and sound, etc.

Living things reproduce

All living things produce new organisms of their own kind. Some animals produce babies and some lay eggs. Plants mainly reproduce through seeds which can germinate in suitable condition and grow into new plants.