General science solutions for Class 6 Science Chapter 2 – The living world
Important Points To Remember :
- Growth, respiration, excretion, reproduction, responsiveness to stimuli, movement, a definite lifespan and a cellular structure are the characteristics of living things.
- Animals grow for certain period of their life. Plants, however, grow as long as they live.
- Animals have specific organs for respiration, while plants respire through microscopic pores on their leaves and stems.
- The process of eliminating waste products from the body is called excretion. z All living things have the ability to reproduce.
- Living things move because of their ability to respond to stimuli.
- Plants show spontaneous movements but they cannot leave their place and go elsewhere as animals do.
- Living things have a definite lifespan at the end of which they die.
- Many animals and plants are useful to us in our daily life. Some animals and plants can be harmful to us.
- The smallest unit of a living thing is the cell.
1. Write the answers to the following questions in your own words.
a) What are the differences between plants and animals?
Answer : Animals can move while plants are not. Plant are autotrophic and animals are heterotrophic.
b) What are the similarities between plants and animals?
Answer : 1) They both are living organisms.
2) They make/catch their own food.
3) They both have charecters of living things.
4) They are made up of cells.
c) How is the plant kingdom useful to us?
Answer : The plant kingdom has many uses for us. Through the process of photosynthesis, plants convert the solar energy into food (carbohydrates). Plants also consume carbon dioxide and generate oxygen.
d) How is the animal kingdom useful to us?
Answer : Many animals are helpful to humans; many varieties of livestock (cows, sheep, pigs, goats, poultry) are kept because they add protein to our diets in the form of meat, milk products, and eggs. Animals have been our beasts of burden for many centuries, carrying loads, pulling plows, and carrying humans.
e) What makes living things different
from non-living things?
Answer : Living things breathe, reproduce, grow, move and die whereas non-living things do not breathe, reproduce, grow and move, they are eternal and do not have an end which makes them completely different for Living things.
2. What helps them to breathe ?
a) A fish
b) A snake
c) A crane
d) An earthworm
e) Man
f) A banyan tree
g) A caterpillar
Answer : • A fish breathe through their gills. They breathe in the oxygen that is dissolved in water.
• A snake breathes through glottis that opens up the path to windpipe or trachea which opens up when snake take breathe.
• Cranes breathe through their lungs much like a human.
• Earthworms take breathe with their mucus on the skin.
• A man breathes through lungs. They inhale air through nostrils that go to the lungs through the windpipe.
• Banyan tree breathes in carbon dioxide. They absorb the air surrounding them through thick pores called stomata.
• Caterpillar breathes through spiracles that are tiny pores along their 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 reaction” to “environment.
e) On completing their lifespan, every living thing dies.
(oxygen, dies, excretion, carbon dioxide, responsiveness, photosynthesis, stimuli)
4. Write the uses of these animals and plants. Animals : Honeybees, sharks, yaks, sheep, earthworms, dogs, bivalves, horses, mice. Plants : Ginger, mango, eucalyptus, babul (acacia), teak, spinach, aloevera, turmeric, holy basil, karanja, moh, mulberry, grapevine.
Answer :
Honeybees: Honeybees provides honey which is one of the major food products.
Sharks: Sharks can be hunted for food.
Yaks: Yaks is one of the toughest animals and its skin is very rough and made to do sweaters.
Sheep: Sheep provides us milk and meat.
Earthworms: Earthworms acts as a fertilizer for the soil.
Dogs: Dogs are used as pets and it acts as a security for the house.
Bivalves: Bivalves are used for decorative purposes.
Horses: Horses are used for riding and to lift weights.
Mice: Mice will be used by us for researching purposes.
Ginger: Ginger is one of the main ingredients that we use for food.
Mango: Mango is a fruit which is very sweet in nature and it provides glucose.
Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus is used for medicinal purposes.
Spinach: Spinach is very high in iron and calcium and it is a better food to gain health.
Aloe vera: Aloe vera is good for hair and skin.
Turmeric: Turmeric is antiseptic in nature.
Holy basil: Holy basil is good for cough and it is used for medicinal purposes.
Karanja: Karanja oil is used for skin.
Mulberry: Mulberry is used as food and it is sweet.
Moh: Moh plant is good for skin and it is used as medicine for food.
Grapevine: Grapevine is used for making wines and beverages.
5. What are the peculiarities of the movements of these living things ? Living things : Snakes, tortoises, kangaroos, eagles, chameleons, frogs, gulmohur, sweet potato creeper, dolphins, ants, rattlesnakes, grasshoppers, earthworms.
Answer :
1. Snakes- Crawl
2. Tortoises- Swim and crawl
3. Kangaroos- Jump
4. Eagles- Fly
5. Chameleons- Walk
6. Frogs- Swim and hop
7. Gulmohar- Grows in the direction of light
8. Sweet potato- Grows in the direction of gravity
9. Creeper- Grows in the direction of light
10. Dolphins- Swim using fins
11. Ants- Walk
12. Rattle- snakes Crawl
13.Grasshoppers- Hops
14. Earthworm- Crawl
6. Write in detail about how the plants and animals found in your surroundings prove useful or harmful.
Answer : The animals in our surroundings prove to be very helpful as they help in fulfilling daily needs by providing means of transportation, food and dairy products, meat etc. On the other hand plants provide oxygen and help us in breathing. Moreover they also provide us with food, clothing and shelter.