NCERT Solutions for Class 6 Science - The Living Organisms - Characteristics and Habitats

Q1. What is a habitat?
Ans: A habitat is the place where an organism lives; it is its home. The surroundings that provide food, water, air, shelter and other needs for an organism make up its habitat. Many kinds of plants and animals may share the same habitat.

Different Habitats

Q2. How are cactus adapted to survive in a desert? 
Ans: Cactus has several features that help it survive in dry desert conditions:

• Leaves are modified into spines, which reduce water loss by lowering the surface area exposed to air.
• The stem is thick and fleshy to store water and also takes part in photosynthesis.
• Stem is covered with a thick waxy layer that helps to retain water by reducing evaporation.
• They lose very little water by transpiration.
• Roots grow deep or spread widely to absorb scarce water from the soil.

Cactus Plant

Q3. Fill up the blanks:
(a) The presence of specific features, that enable a plant or an animal to live in a particular habitat, is called __________.
Ans: The presence of specific features that enable a plant or an animal to live in a particular habitat is called adaptation.

Adaptation refers to special features that help plants and animals survive in their environments.
For example, the thick fur of polar bears helps them survive in cold habitats.

(b) The habitats of the plants and animals that live on land are called __________ habitat.
Ans: The habitats of the plants and animals that live on land are called terrestrial habitats.

Terrestrial habitats are land environments such as forests, deserts and grasslands where land-based plants and animals live.

(c) The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called __________ habitat.
Ans: The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called aquatic habitats.

Aquatic habitats are water-based environments like ponds, rivers and oceans, where water-dwelling plants and animals live.

Habitat

(d) Soil, water and air are the __________ factors of a habitat.
Ans: Soil, water and air are the abiotic factors of a habitat.

Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of a habitat, such as soil, water and air, which support life by providing necessary resources.

(e) Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them are called__________. 
Ans: Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them are called stimuli.

Stimuli are changes in the environment, such as light, sound or temperature, that cause plants and animals to respond.
For example, we feel cold and put on warmer clothes.

Q4. Which of the things in the following list are nonliving? 
Plough, Mushroom, Sewing machine, Radio, Boat, Water hyacinth, Earthworm
Ans: Plough, sewing machine, radio and boat are non-living things.
They are non-living because they do not show life processes such as growth, respiration, reproduction or response by themselves.

Q5. Give an example of a non-living thing, which shows any two characteristics of living things.
Ans: A bus or a machine.
Characteristics

• They can move like living beings when powered.
• They need energy (for example, fuel or electricity) to do work.

Bus

Q6. Which of the non-living things listed below, were once part of a living thing? 
Butter, Leather, Soil, Wool, Electric bulb, Cooking oil, Salt, Apple, Rubber 
Ans: Butter, leather, wool, cooking oil, apple and rubber were once part of living things.
Brief reasons: Butter is made from milk (animal product), leather comes from animal skin, wool is from sheep, cooking oil is obtained from plants or animals, apple is a part of a living plant (fruit), and natural rubber comes from the sap of rubber trees.

Q7. List the common characteristics of the living things. 
Ans: Living things have the following common characteristics:

• They need food. Food provides energy and materials for growth and activities.
• They respire and excrete. Respiration releases energy; excretion removes waste produced in the body.
• They respond to their environment. Living things react to changes such as light, heat or touch.
• They reproduce. Living organisms produce young ones to continue their kind.
• They grow and show movement. Most living things increase in size, and many can move in some way.

Q8. Explain why speed is important for survival in the grasslands for animals that live there. 
(Hint: There are few trees or places for animals to hide in grassland habitats.)
Ans: Grasslands have few trees or hiding places, so animals cannot hide easily from predators. Speed helps animals in two ways:

• Prey animals (for example, deer) can escape predators by running fast.
• Predators (for example, cheetahs) that hunt in grasslands are also fast, which helps them catch prey.

Therefore, being fast increases the chance of survival for both prey and predators in grassland habitats.