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Variety & Characteristics of Living Things (What is a living thing? (A…
Variety & Characteristics of Living Things
What is a living thing?
A thing that is alive
Need air, food & water to survive
Can grow
Can die
Can respond to changes
Can reproduce
Can move by themselves
Are animals, plants, fungi or bacteria
Plants
Can make their own food
Grow in different places, which can be unusual
Land Plants: Grow on land, includes ground, trees, buildings, walls and even drains
Water Plants: Grow in water, include lakes, ponds and rivers
Can be broadly classified into 2 groups
Flowering Plants: Produce flowers when they become adult plants, flowers develop into fruits that contain seeds
Non- flowering plants: Plamts that cannot produce flowers
Parts of a plant
Roots: Found underground, anchor the plant to the ground, absorbs water and mineral salts
Stem: Found above the ground, supports the plant, holds up the leaves to trap sunlight for making food
Leaves: Trap sunlight to make food for the plants
Flowers: Only found on flowering plants, have different shapes, sizes and colours
Fruits: Onky found on flowering plants, have different shapes, sizes and colours, may not be edible
Fungi
Are a large group of living things found in many places
Some fungi are very tiny - can be on seen clearly through a microscope
Feed on other living things, which may be dead or alive. They break down the matter they grow on into simpler substances and absorb them
Reproduce by spores
Useful fungi: Some mushrooms can be eaten, yeast can be used to make bread, beer or wine
Harmful Fungi: Can grow on living plants and animals, mould can cause thigs to spoil when they grow on them
Animals
May be similar or different in terms their shapes, sizes, apperances, outer covering and how they reproduce
Can be classified into groups such as amphibians, birds, fish, insects, mammals and reptiles
Amphibians
Live on land and in water
Breathe through lungs on land and mois skin in water
Have thick skin and reproduce by laying eggs
Birds
Have a covering of feathers and a beak
All lay eggs
Fish
All live in water
Most have an outer covering of scales and lay eggs
Have fins to help them swim and gills to help them breathe
Types of animals (cont.)
Insects
Have a hard outer covering/ exoskeleton
Has three body parts and 6 legs
Most lay eggs
Mammals
Have an outer covering of hair
Most give birth to their young
The young feed on their mother's milk
Reptiles
Have dry skin, usually covered with scales
Breathe using lungs
Most lay eggs
Bacteria
Are a large group of living things found in many places
Obtain food like fungi
Can ony be seen under a microscope
Bacteria can be useful like being used to make cheese or can be harmful by grwoing on our food and spoiling it or making us ill