2nd Class EVS Living and Non-living Things Living and Non - living Things Around Us

Living and Non - living Things Around Us

 

Living Things

 

Living things are those which can move, feel and breathe. There are certain characteristics of living things, which are as follows:

 

Characteristics of Living Things

 

Living things can feel

 

All the known living things on our earth can feel. If you throw a stone at a dog, it runs away. Because, it feels pain when gets hurt by a stone. The animals not only feel pain

But also the other sensations like hot and cold. For example, when we touch a hot plate, we pull off our hand as quickly as possible. Because we feel hot. Similarly if we touch ice, we feel cold. In other words, we can distinguish the things as hot or cold by just touching them.

                                  

A hot cup of tea                               A cold ice cream

 

Living things can move

 

All living beings on earth, except plants, can move. But the way in which these animals move from one place to another is totally different from each other. For example, human beings use their two legs for moving from one place to another.

 

Human

 

Dog, cat, elephant, lion and most of the land animals use their four legs (front two legs are called forelimbs and other two legs are called hind limbs) for moving from one place to another.

 

                     

Deer                                         Fox

                       

Giraffe                                                 Zebra              

 

Fishes and other aquatic animals move from one place to another by swimming. The specially structured body of different aquatic animals help them to move in water.

 

                      

Dolphin                                    Shark

 

Interestingly the most important member of the family of living beings, i.e., the plants cannot move. They cannot migrate from one place to another like other animals, on their own.

 

Living things can breathe

 

All living beings can breathe. But again, the way to breathe in air is different in different living beings. For example, human beings breathe through nose, fishes breathe through their gills, cockroaches have spiracles and many other living beings have different organs to breathe.

 

The pictures given herewith will give you an idea about the different ways of breathing of different living beings.

 

                     

Deer                                         Seal

                          

Human                                                Dog

Breathe through nose

Breathe through moist skin

                           

Breathe through spiracle

Breathe through gills

 

All these livings beings, except plants, take in oxygen while breathing, and exhale out

 

Carbon dioxide.

 

Plants on the other hand, take in carbon dioxide and exhale out oxygen.

 

Living things give birth to their own kind

 

It is the most important feature of living beings. All living beings give birth to their own kind this process is called reproduction. In other words, life produces life. However, the way of doing this is different and vary from one living being to another. Some animals lay eggs to give birth to their young ones. For example, sparrow, snake, lizard, hen, duck, eagle, etc.

 

 

                     

Sparrow                       Snake                          Frog

                             

Hen                             Duck                            Eagle

Some egg laying animals

 

 

Other animals like dog, cat and human beings give birth to their young ones.

 

 

                   

 

                  

 

Some living beings who give birth to their young ones

 

 

Plants are basically produced from seeds. For example, mango plant. But there are also some plants which are produced from a single part of the plant only. For example, rose, sugarcane reproduce through cutting stem. Potato, on the other hand, reproduces through buds called tuber.

 

Living things show growth

 

Another common feature for all the living beings is growth. But the process of growth differs from one living being to another.

 

Hen lays eggs, which hatch further and grow into an adult hen again. Similarly, seed germinates and grows into a complete plant, which may be a huge tree or a small plant. There is one basic difference between the growth of plants and animals. Animals do not grow after a certain age, but plants continue to grow throughout their life. Each animal lives for a certain period of time, which is referred as life span. Different living beings have different life span, which may vary from a few minutes to hundreds of years.

 

Living things need food

 

All living things need food to survive. Most of this food is utilised in the body for producing energy and rest is waste for the body.

 

Living things respond to stimuli

Plants and animals have another very interesting feature. They remain active and alive by adjusting with their surroundings. In other words, living being can respond to its surrounding according to the situation. For example, when a dog barks at you, you walk fast, even run at times to move away from it. The reaction to the situation, as you do when a dog barks at you, is called response of the organism.

 

The situations initiating the response are called stimuli. Stimuli differs from situation to situations. For example, your response is totally different when your mother gifts you a toy and when she scolds you.

 

Living things get rid of wastes

 

Most of the animals remove wastes in the form of urine and stools. We also release a gas, carbon dioxide as our waste product through nose. Plants release oxygen as their waste product, which is very important for human beings.

 

Non-living things

 

There are many non-living things around us. Non-living things are those which cannot move on their own, do not breathe, do not reproduce and do not show growth. Non-living things cannot breathe like living things. For example, chairs, tables, almirah, utensils, books, clothes, television, toys, refrigerator, car, bike, various household items, etc.

 

 

                             

                              

Some non-living things

 

 

Characteristics of Non-Living Things

 

Non-living things cannot move

 

Non-living things cannot move on their own from one place to another. A table does not move. A stone moves only when we throw it. It cannot move on its own.

 

                        

A non-living thing cannot move like a living-thing.

 

 

Non-living things do not grow

 

Non-living things do not grow with age. We all grow with age. For example, a rabbit grows in size and mass every year. But a non-living thing like radio remains same even after ten years.

 

Non-living things do not need food

 

Living beings, like humans, plants and animals need water, food and air to live. Non-living things do not need food, water or air because they have no life.

You must need a large amount of food for your pet dog but your furniture need no food at all.

 

Non-living things do not give birth to their own kind

 

Living things give birth to young ones like themselves. A big plant produces seeds. When these seeds are properly planted in the soil, they grow into the plants of same kinds. But a chair cannot give birth to another chair.

 

Non-living things do not respond to stimuli

 

Living things respond to stimuli. We take back our hand when we accidentally touch a. hot object. The leaves of 'touch-me-not' plant close down when we touch them. These are all examples of responses. But non-living things do not respond to stimuli.

A table does not respond even if you strike it hard with a stick. But a hippopotamus, which is one of the laziest animals, reacts if you hit him with stick.

 

Non-Living Things do not Produce Waste From Their Body.