Chapter 10
🦋 Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics
Curiosity | NCERT Grade 6 Science
📚 Table of Contents
📷 Living and non-living things around us
🌱 10.1 Living vs Non-living
Everything around us can be divided into living and non-living things. But how do we tell them apart?
| Living Things | Non-living Things |
|---|---|
| Show movement | Cannot move on their own |
| Grow in size | Do not grow |
| Need food (nutrition) | Do not need food |
| Breathe (respire) | Do not breathe |
| Respond to stimuli | Do not respond |
| Reproduce | Do not reproduce |
| Excrete waste | Do not excrete |
| Eventually die | Do not die (but can be destroyed) |
❓ Can a car be living? NO!
A car moves but it doesn't grow, reproduce, breathe, or excrete. Movement alone cannot decide if something is living. All characteristics together determine if something is living!⚡ 10.2 Characteristics of Living Beings
📌 1. Movement
- Animals move from place to place
- Plants don't move from place to place but show other movements
- Flowers opening and closing, Chhui-mui (touch-me-not) folding leaves when touched
- Drosera (insectivorous plant) — hairs move inward to trap insects
📌 2. Growth
All living beings increase in size over time. Plants grow taller; animals grow larger; microorganisms multiply.📌 3. Nutrition (Need for Food)
All living beings need food for energy, growth and repair. Plants make their own food (photosynthesis); animals eat other organisms.📌 4. Respiration
- All living beings breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide
- Plants have tiny pores called stomata on leaf surfaces for gas exchange
- Breathing is part of a bigger process called respiration
📌 5. Excretion
All living beings remove waste products from their body. Humans excrete through urine and sweat. Plants excrete excess water as droplets (visible on grass in morning).📌 6. Response to Stimuli
- A stimulus = anything that prompts a living being to respond (touch, light, sound)
- When you step on a thorn → you pull away (pain stimulus)
- Touch-me-not plant folds leaves when touched (touch stimulus)
- Plants grow toward light (light stimulus)
📷 Touch-me-not (chhui-mui) plant responding to touch stimulus
📌 7. Reproduction
All living beings produce new individuals of their own kind. This ensures continuity of life. Without reproduction, species would become extinct.When a living being can NO LONGER perform these functions despite having food, water, and air — it is said to be dead. 💔
🌱 10.3 Germination of Seeds
📖 Germination
Germination = The process by which a seed sprouts and begins to grow into a new plant. Essential conditions for seed germination:
- 💧 Water (moisture) — Seeds absorb water to start growing; dry seeds don't germinate
- 🌡️ Suitable Temperature — Too cold or too hot prevents germination
- 💨 Air (Oxygen) — Seeds need oxygen for respiration during germination
💡 Sunlight is NOT directly required for germination (but IS needed for growth afterward). Seeds in dark soil germinate normally!
| Condition | Result |
|---|---|
| No water (dry) | Seed does NOT germinate ❌ |
| Too much water (waterlogged) | Seed rots ❌ |
| Right moisture | Seed germinates successfully ✅ |
| Very cold / very hot | No germination ❌ |
🌿 10.4 Growth & Movement in Plants
- Phototropism — Plants grow towards light
- Geotropism — Roots grow downward (towards gravity)
- Hydrotropism — Roots grow towards water
- Climbers — Wind around objects placed near them
- Flowers open and close at specific times of day
🔄 10.5 Life Cycles of Animals
📷 Life cycle diagram showing stages of growth
🦟 Life Cycle of a Mosquito
Egg → Larva (wriggler) → Pupa → Adult mosquitoEggs laid in stagnant water → larvae hatch → pupa stage → adult emerges. This type of change with distinct stages is called metamorphosis.
🐸 Life Cycle of a Frog
Egg → Tadpole → Froglet → Adult FrogEggs in water → tadpole (with tail, breathes with gills, lives in water) → grows legs, loses tail → adult frog (breathes with lungs, lives on land AND water — amphibian!)
Frogs are amphibians — they can live both on land and in water. Their life cycle shows complete metamorphosis — a dramatic change in body form!
📝 Chapter Summary
- Living things: move, grow, need food, respire, excrete, respond, reproduce
- Movement alone ≠ living (car moves but is not living)
- Stimulus = anything that causes a response; all living beings respond to stimuli
- Germination needs: water + suitable temperature + air (oxygen)
- Plants show tropisms: toward light (phototropism), downward roots (geotropism)
- Mosquito: Egg→Larva→Pupa→Adult | Frog: Egg→Tadpole→Froglet→Adult
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