The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings: 6th Science Ch 9

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – 6th Class NCERT CBSE Science Chapter 09

Question: What is a habitat?

Answer: The surroundings where animals live is called their habitat. The organisms depend on their habitat for their food, water, air, shelter and other needs. Habitat means a dwelling place.

Question: How are cactus adapted to survive in a desert?

Answer: Cactus are adapted to survive in a desert as they have:

1. No leaves or spiny leaves to prevent water loss through transpiration.
2. Stem is modified in such a way that it performs photosynthesis and conserves water.
3. Their roots go very deep into the soil for absorbing water.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: Fill in the blanks:

1. The presence of specific features which enables a plant or an animal to live in a particular habitat is called ______ .
2. The habitats of the plants and animals that live on land are called ______ habitats.
3. The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called ______ habitats.
4. Soil, water and air are the ______ factors of a habitats.
5. Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them are called ______ .

Answer:

1. adaptation
2. terrestrial
3. aquatic
4. abiotic
5. stimuli

Question: Which of the things in the following list are non-living?

Answer: Plough, Mushrooms, Sewing machine, Radio, Boat, Water, Hyacinth, Earthworm. Plough, Sewing machine, Radio, Boat and water are non-living.

Question: Give an example of a non-living thing which shows any two characteristics of living thing.

Answer: Example of non-living thing is cloud which shows following two characteristics of living things:

1. It grows in size
2. It shows movement

Question: Which of the following non-living things were once part of a living thing? Butter, Leather, Soil, Wool, Electric Bulb, Cooking Oil, Salt, Apple, Rubber.

Answer: Butter, Leather, Wool, Cooking oil, Apple and Rubber are the non-living things which were once part of a living thing.

Question: List the common characteristics of living things.

Answer: Some common characteristics of living things are:

1. Growth
2. Movement
3. Reproduction
4. Respiration
5. Responsiveness
6. Excretion

Question: Explain why speed is important for survival in the grasslands for animals that live there. (Hint: There are few trees or places for animals to hide in grasslands habitats).

Answer: In grasslands habitats, there are few trees or places for animals to hide. When their enemy attacks they have to run faster so as to reach a safe place. If they fail, they lose their life. So, the speed is very important for survival of grassland animals.

VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question: Name some plants found on mountains.

Answer: Oaks, Pinus and Deodars.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: What is habitat?

Answer: The place where organisms live and which provide food and safety for them is called habitat.

Question: Name a few habitats.

Answer: Forests, grassland, mountains, ponds and oceans etc.

Question: Name two organisms that live in deserts.

Answer: Cactus, camel, desert rat.

Question: Name a few plants that live in ponds.

Answer: Hydrilla, lotus, hyacinth etc.

Question: Name the habitat where various types of fish live.

Answer: Pond, river, sea.

Question: Name a common thing in all fishes.

Answer: Gills, streamlined body, fins, tail.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: What is the function of gill?

Answer: Gills help the fish to absorb oxygen dissolved in water.

Question: Name the animal which is called the ship of desert.

Answer: Camel

Question: Name various types of habitat.

Answer:

1. Terrestrial Habitats
2. Aquatic Habitats
3. Aerial Habitat

Question: Name two aquatic animals.

Answer:

1. Fish
2. Tortoise

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: Name two terrestrial organisms.

Answer:

1. Cat
2. Dog

Question: Name two examples of aerial habitat animals.

Answer:

1. Birds
2. Mosquitoes

Question: Name the types of components of habitat.

Answer: Components of habitat are:

1. Biotic components
2. Abiotic components

Question: Give two examples of each biotic and abiotic components.

Answer: Plants and animals are biotic components, air and water are abiotic components.

Question: What do you mean by germination of seeds?

Answer: The beginning of a new plant from the seeds is called germination.

Question: Does adaptation take place in a short time?

Answer: No, adaptation does not take place in a short time. It takes place in thousands of years.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: Name few terrestrial habitats.

Answer: Deserts, mountains and grassland.

Question: Name some aquatic habitats.

Answer: Oceans, ponds and lakes.

Question: What are predators?

Answer: The animals which kill other animals for their food are called predators.

Question: What is a prey?

Answer: The animals which are killed by predators for their food are called prey.

Question: Name two aquatic animals which have no gills.

Answer: Dolphin and whales.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: What are blowholes?

Answer: The organs by which dolphin or whales breathe are called blowholes or nostrils.

Question: What is photosynthesis?

Answer: The process by which plants make their own food with the help of chlorophyll,sunlight, carbon dioxide and water is called photosynthesis.

Question: What is the main Junction of food?

Answer: Food gives energy to the organism which helps them in growth and development.

Question: What is breathing?

Answer: The process of taking in oxygen and giving out carbon-dioxide (inhalation and exhalation of air) is called breathing.

Question: What is respiration?

Answer: The process in which oxygen is used by the living bodies to break down food to get energy, water and carbon-dioxide is produced is called respiration.

Question: What is stimuli?

Answer: The changes in our surroundings that makes us respond to them are called stimuli.

The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Question: What is excretion?

Answer: The process of getting rid of the waste by the living organisms is known as excretion.

Question: Do plants also excrete?

Answer: Yes, plants also excrete.

Question: What is reproduction?

Answer: The process by which living organisms produce more of their own kind is called reproduction.

Question: Do animals move?

Answer: Yes, animals move from one place to another.

Question: Do plants also move?

Answer: Plants are generally fixed in the soil so they do not move from one place to another.

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Question: What are the differences in the desert and sea regions?

Answer: In the sea, plants and animals are surrounded by salty water. Most of them use the air dissolved in water for breathing. In desert, a very little amount of water is available. It is very hot in the day time and very cold at night. The organisms breathe air from the surroundings.

Question: What do you mean by term adaptation?

Answer: The presence of specific features or certain habits which enable a plant or an animal to live in its surroundings is called adaptation.

Question: Explain the features offish which help it to adapt to live in water.

Answer:

1. The shape of the fish is streamlined which help in the movement.
2. The slippery scales / skin on their bodies to protect them.
3. They have flat fins and tails which help them to swim, change direction and to keep the body balanced.
4. They have gills which help in breathing in water.

Question: How are camels adapted to live in desert?

Answer:

1. The feet of the camels have thick, flat large soles which help them in the movement on sand.
2. They can live without water for a long time. When water is available, it drinks large amount of water at a time.
3. They release very little urine to prevent loss of water.
4. Their dung is also dry which also helps to prevent loss of water.
5. The long legs of camel helps to keep the body away from the heat of the sand.

Question: What do you mean by acclimatization?

Answer: The small changes which take place in the body of a single organism over short periods to overcome small problems due to changes in the surroundings are called acclimatization.

Question: Why do we need abiotic factors?

Answer: The abiotic factors like air, water, light and heat are very important for the growth of plants. These abiotic factors are also very important for the growth and the development of animals.

Question: How are some animals adapted to live in desert?

Answer: Some animals like rats and snakes do not have the long legs like camels to stay away from the effect of heat during the day. They stay in burrows deep in the sand. They come out only during the night.

Desert animals in burrows

Question: Write the features of desert plants.

Answer:

1. The leaves in desert plants are either absent or very small.
2. Leaves are converted into spines which help to reduce loss of water.
3. The stems become thick, flat and green which help in photosynthesis.
4. The stem is covered with waxy layer which helps to retain water. In some plants stem is spongy and stores water.
5. The roots go very deep in the soil to absorb water.

Some typical plants that grow in desert

Question: Explain the adaptation of trees to live in mountain regions.

Answer:

1. The shape of the trees is of normally cone type.
2. Branches are sloping.
3. The leaves of these trees are needle like.
4. These structures prevent accumulation of rainwater and snow over them.

Question: Explain the adaptation of animals to live in mountain region.

Answer:

1. The animals have thick skin or fur to protect them from the cold.
2. Some animals have thick fur on their body, feet and toes which protect them from cold on walking in the snow.
3. The goats have strong hooves for running up on rocky slopes.

Question: Explain the adaptation of plants to live in water.

Answer:

1. Roots are reduced in size which hold the plant.
2. Stems are long, hollow and light.
3. Stems grow up to the surface of water.
4. Leaves and flowers float on the surface of water.
5. The leaves are covered by the waxy layer which protects the leaves from excessive water.

Plants to live in water

Question: What kind of movement do we see in plants?

Answer:

1. Opening and closing of a flower.
2. Growth of a stem and leaves.
3. Movement of water, minerals and food from one part of the plant to other.
4. Movement of stem towards sunlight and root towards water in the soil.

Question: Frogs can live both on land and in water, name the adaptations seen in these animals.

Answer: Frogs have strong back legs that help them in leaping and catching their prey. They have webbed feet which help them to swim in water.

Question: Explain the characteristics of living organisms.

Ans. There are following characteristics of living organisms:

1. All living organisms require food. The food gives energy for growth and to maintain other life processes.
2. All living organisms show growth. Young ones of animals grow into adults. Plants also grow.
3. All living organisms respire. In respiration oxygen is used for the oxidation of food and carbon dioxide is produced.
4. All living organisms respond to stimuli. All plants and animal respond to light, heat and the changes around them.
5. All living organisms show excretion. The process of getting rid of waste product by the living organisms is called excretion. Plants also remove their wastes.
6. All living organisms reproduce. The process by which plants and animals produce their own kind is called reproduction.

Question: Write the difference between living and non-living things.

Answer:

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