The Living World
Exercise
1. Write the answers to the following questions in your own words:
(a) What are the differences between plants and animals?
Answer – Plants make their own food through photosynthesis, while animals depend on plants or other animals for food.
Most plants do not move from one place to another, but animals can move freely.
Plants grow continuously throughout their life, while animals grow only for a certain period.
Plants do not have a nervous system, whereas animals respond quickly to their surroundings.
(b) What are the similarities between plants and animals?
Answer – Both plants and animals are living things.
Both grow and develop over time.
Both need food, water, and air to survive.
Both reproduce to continue their species.
Both respond to their surroundings in some way.
(c) How is the plant kingdom useful to us?
Answer – Plants provide food like fruits, vegetables, and grains.
They give us oxygen, which we need to breathe.
Many plants are used as medicine (e.g., aloe vera, tulsi).
Plants give us wood for making furniture and houses.
Some plants, like cotton, are used to make clothes.
(d) How is the animal kingdom useful to us?
Answer – Animals provide us with food like milk, meat, and eggs.
They help in farming (e.g., oxen plow fields).
Some animals, like dogs, provide security.
Honeybees give us honey.
Sheep provide wool for making warm clothes.
(e) What makes living things different from non-living things?
Answer – Living things grow, while non-living things do not.
Living things need food, water, and air to survive.
They can reproduce, while non-living things cannot.
Living things respond to their surroundings, but non-living things do not.
They can move by themselves, while non-living things cannot.
2. What helps them to breathe?
(a) A fish → Gills
(b) A snake → Lungs
(c) A crane → Lungs
(d) An earthworm → Skin
(e) Man → Lungs
(f) A banyan tree → Microscopic pores on leaves and stems
(g) A caterpillar → Spiracles (small openings on its body)
3. Fill in the blanks with the proper words from the brackets:
(a) The process by which plants make their own food is called photosynthesis.
(b) To inhale oxygen and to exhale carbon dioxide is called respiration.
(c) The elimination of waste substances from the body is called excretion.
(d) The ability to respond to an event is called responsiveness to stimuli.
(e) On completing their lifespan, every living thing dies.
4. Write the uses of these animals and plants:
Animals:
- Honeybees → Produce honey.
- Sharks → Help maintain balance in the marine ecosystem.
- Yaks → Provide milk, wool, and transport in cold regions.
- Sheep → Provide wool for making clothes.
- Earthworms → Make the soil fertile.
- Dogs → Help in security and guarding homes.
- Bivalves (like clams and oysters) → Help clean water and are used as food.
- Horses → Used for transport and farming.
- Mice → Used in scientific research.
Plants:
- Ginger → Used as a spice and medicine.
- Mango → Provides delicious fruit.
- Eucalyptus → Used in medicines and making oil.
- Babul (Acacia) → Used for making gums and wood.
- Teak → Used for making furniture.
- Spinach → A nutritious leafy vegetable.
- Aloe vera → Used in skincare and medicine.
- Turmeric → Used as a spice and medicine.
- Holy basil (Tulsi) → Used for medicinal purposes.
- Karanja → Used in making herbal oils.
- Moh → Used for making oil.
- Mulberry → Used for silk production.
- Grapevine → Provides grapes for making juice and wine.
5. What are the peculiarities of the movements of these living things?
- Snakes → Move by slithering on the ground.
- Tortoises → Move very slowly with their legs.
- Kangaroos → Hop using their strong hind legs.
- Eagles → Fly high using their large wings.
- Chameleons → Change their body color and move slowly.
- Frogs → Jump using their powerful legs and swim in water.
- Gulmohur → Its branches sway with the wind but do not move from one place to another.
- Sweet potato creeper → Grows along the ground.
- Dolphins → Swim in water using their fins.
- Ants → Move in a line searching for food.
- Rattlesnakes → Shake their tail to make a rattling sound.
- Grasshoppers → Jump using their long legs.
- Earthworms → Move by stretching and contracting their body.
6. Write in detail about how the plants and animals found in your surroundings prove useful or harmful.
Useful Plants and Animals:
- Trees like mango, neem, and coconut provide fruits, wood, and medicinal benefits.
- Cows and buffaloes give us milk.
- Dogs protect our homes.
- Birds help in pollination and controlling pests.
Harmful Plants and Animals:
- Mosquitoes and flies spread diseases like malaria and dengue.
- Poisonous snakes can be dangerous to humans.
- Some plants, like poison ivy, can cause skin irritation.
- Rats and cockroaches destroy food and spread diseases.
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