Living things around us

Key Notes :

Definition of Living Things:

Living things are organisms that show the characteristics of life, such as growth, movement, reproduction, respiration, and the ability to respond to their environment.

Characteristics of Living Things:

• Growth: Living things grow in size and complexity.
• Reproduction: Living organisms reproduce to create offspring.
• Movement: All living things show movement, either internal (e.g., flow of blood) or external (e.g., walking).
• Respiration: They take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide, producing energy from food.
• Response to Stimuli: Living things respond to changes in their environment, like plants growing toward sunlight.
• Excretion: They get rid of waste products produced by their metabolic activities.
• Nutrition: Living organisms need food to grow and survive.

Classification of Living Things:

• Plants: They are autotrophic (produce their own food) and mostly non-motile. Examples include trees, shrubs, and grasses.
• Animals: They are heterotrophic (depend on other organisms for food) and can move. Examples include mammals, birds, fish, and insects.

Habitat and Adaptation:

• Habitat: Living things live in different environments such as forests, oceans, deserts, and wetlands.
• Adaptation: Organisms are adapted to their environments. For example, fish have gills to breathe underwater, and cacti store water to survive in deserts.

Dependence on Other Living Things:

• Food Chains: Living organisms are part of food chains and webs, where they depend on each other for survival. For example, plants provide food for herbivores, and herbivores are prey for carnivores.
• Symbiosis: Some living things live in close associations, like bees pollinating flowers.

Importance of Living Things:

• They help maintain ecological balance.
• Plants provide oxygen and food.
• Animals contribute to biodiversity and balance in ecosystems.

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