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Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics – Class 6 Science notes, important questions and MCQs

NCERT Class 6 Science, chapter 10. Notes, key terms, important questions with answers and MCQs.

Chapter overview

Living things share common features: they need food, grow, breathe, respond, excrete, reproduce and move. Non-living things do not show all these.

Characteristics of living things

Need food and water for energy and growth.
Respire (release energy from food), excrete wastes, and respond to stimuli (a sunflower turns to light; touch-me-not folds leaves).
Grow, reproduce and have a life span; most animals move from place to place.

Life cycles and germination

Seeds need water, air and suitable temperature to germinate.
Life cycle of a frog: egg → tadpole → froglet → frog; of a butterfly: egg → larva → pupa → adult.
A seed is alive but dormant until conditions are right.

Key terms

Stimulus: change in surroundings to which a living thing responds
Germination: sprouting of a seed into a young plant
Life cycle: series of stages in the life of an organism

Formulas

Germination needs water + air + warmth

Important questions with answers

What is a stimulus? Give an example of a response.2 marks

A stimulus is a change in the surroundings that living things respond to. Example: we pull our hand away when we touch a hot pan; the touch-me-not plant folds its leaves when touched.

Write three conditions needed for seed germination.3 marks

Water, air (oxygen) and a suitable temperature. Seeds do not germinate if kept dry, under water without air, or in very cold places.

List five characteristics of living things and explain why a car, which moves and uses fuel, is still non-living.5 marks

Living things need food (nutrition), breathe (respiration), grow, respond to stimuli, reproduce, remove wastes (excretion), move, and have a life span with a life cycle. A car moves and burns fuel, but it does not grow, reproduce, respond on its own to stimuli or come from another car; it has no cells. So it is non-living.

Quick revision

Living things respire, grow and reproduce.
Seeds need water, air and warmth.
Frog: egg → tadpole → frog.

Exam tips

Plants also breathe and respond, though more slowly than animals.
In a germination experiment, change one condition at a time.

Practice MCQs

Which is a living thing?
1. stone
2. car
3. cloud
4. mushroom
Show answer
Answer: (d) mushroom. It grows and reproduces.
A seed sprouting into a plant is called
1. germination
2. excretion
3. respiration
4. pollination
Show answer
Answer: (a) germination. Germination.
A touch-me-not plant folding its leaves shows
1. growth
2. response to stimulus
3. reproduction
4. excretion
Show answer
Answer: (b) response to stimulus. Response.
The stage between egg and frog is the
1. larva
2. tadpole
3. pupa
4. caterpillar
Show answer
Answer: (b) tadpole. Tadpole.
Which is a sign that something is living
1. it moves when pushed
2. it is coloured
3. it is hard
4. it grows and needs food
Show answer
Answer: (d) it grows and needs food. Growth and nutrition.
Seeds kept in dry soil did not germinate while those in moist soil did. This shows seeds need
1. light
2. darkness
3. fertiliser
4. water
Show answer
Answer: (d) water. Water.
A car moves and uses fuel, yet it is non-living because it
1. is made of metal
2. has wheels
3. cannot grow or reproduce
4. is noisy
Show answer
Answer: (c) cannot grow or reproduce. Lacks life processes.
The stages egg → larva → pupa → adult are seen in
1. butterfly
2. frog
3. hen
4. human
Show answer
Answer: (a) butterfly. Complete metamorphosis.

All chapters of Class 6 Science

Written by Kundali IQ from standard, well-established facts to help with revision. This is not an official NCERT publication; always read your textbook too.