Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics

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food (nutrition)

respiration

stomata

excretion

stimulus

lajjalu

reproduction

germinated

seed coat

embryo

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crescograph

spawn

larvae

adult

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A–5, B–3, C–2, D–1, E–4

A–3, B–3, C–1/5, D–4, E–2
(Note: Spawn and Tadpole both belong to the frog; Pupa belongs to the mosquito. Accepted pairs: A–3, B–3, C–1, D–4, E–2.)

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Movement, growth, respiration, excretion (also: response to stimuli, reproduction, nutrition, death).

A car does not grow, respire, excrete, respond to stimuli or reproduce—essential features of living beings—so it is non-living despite its movement.

Plants show movement such as the opening of flowers and the trapping action of insectivorous plants like Drosera; climbers also wind around objects.

Stomata are tiny pores on the surface of leaves. They help plants take air in and out for respiration.

Excretion is the removal of waste products from the body. In animals, urine is a product of excretion; sweat is also excreted.

Yes. Plants excrete excess water and minerals in the form of small droplets on leaves, e.g. grasses and roses.

A stimulus is any thing or event that prompts a living being to respond. Example: stepping on a thorn or touching a hot cup of tea.

The touch-me-not (mimosa/chhui-mui) folds its leaves when touched, showing a response to the stimulus of touch.

Reproduction is the process of producing new ones of one's own kind. It is necessary for the continuity of life.

A living being is dead when it cannot exhibit the essential life characteristics despite the availability of all resources (food, air, water) needed for being alive.

Germination is the process by which a seed turns into a sprout and develops into a plant.

The right amount of water and air (oxygen). Light is not essential for germination of bean seeds.

Water softens the seed coat and enables the seed to carry out processes necessary for growth, helping the tiny embryo develop into a plant.

Seeds need air for germination. They use the air available in the spaces between soil particles.

(i) Light: Coleus and Petunia. (ii) Darkness: Calendula and Zinnia.

When kept upright, the root grows downwards and the shoot grows upwards.

Jagadish Chandra Bose was an Indian scientist who showed plants can sense and respond to stimuli. He built a machine called a crescograph to record plant responses.

Egg, larva, pupa and adult.

Stagnant water is where mosquitoes lay eggs and breed; preventing stagnation stops mosquito breeding and the diseases they spread.

Spawn is the cluster of eggs of a frog, appearing as a white jelly-like substance on the surface of water.

Introduction: Living beings share certain life processes that non-living things never show, and these help us tell them apart.
Key Points:
1. Movement — Animals move from place to place; plants show movements like opening of flowers.
2. Growth — Living beings increase in size with age, as a child or a young plant does.
3. Nutrition — All living beings need food for their growth and development.
4. Respiration — All living beings breathe; plants take in air through tiny pores called stomata.
5. Excretion — Living beings remove waste, like sweat in humans and droplets on grass leaves.
Conclusion: The absence of these characteristics indicates that a thing is non-living.

Introduction: Activity 10.2 uses four pots of bean seeds kept under different conditions for 15 days to test what seeds need to germinate.
Key Points:
1. Pot A — Kept in direct sunlight without any watering, so seeds get air and light but no water.
2. Pot B — Kept in direct sunlight with excess water always standing above the soil, so air is unavailable.
3. Pot C — Kept in a dark location with soil kept slightly moist by regular moderate watering.
4. Pot D — Kept in direct sunlight with soil maintained slightly moist by regular moderate watering.
5. Observation — Seeds germinate only in Pot D, which has both air and the right amount of water.
Conclusion: Germination of bean seeds requires air and the right amount of water, but not light.

Introduction: A seed needs the right conditions to sprout, and each condition plays its own role in germination.
Key Points:
1. Role of water — Water softens the seed coat and helps the tiny embryo inside develop into a plant.
2. Role of air — Seeds use the air present in spaces between soil particles for respiration during germination.
3. Role of light — Light is not essential for bean seed germination, though most seeds sprout without it.
4. After germination — Sunlight is required after germination for the further growth of the seedling.
Conclusion: The right amount of water and air are essential for germination, while light is needed later for growth.

Introduction: Activity 10.3 studies seedlings kept upright, inverted, and in one-directional light to observe how roots and shoots grow.
Key Points:
1. Upright plant — When the plant is kept upright, the root grows downwards and the shoot grows upwards.
2. Inverted plant — When kept inverted, the root bends and grows downwards, and the shoot bends upwards.
3. One-directional light — The shoot grows towards the light while the root keeps growing downwards.
Conclusion: Shoots of plants grow upwards towards sunlight, while roots always grow downwards.

Introduction: A plant passes through several stages from a seed to the next generation of seeds during its life cycle.
Key Points:
1. Seed and germination — Stage I is the seed, which germinates (Stage II) when it gets air and water.
2. Leaves appear — Stage III is the appearance of leaves as the young plant grows into a mature plant.
3. Flowers and fruits — Stage IV is the appearance of flowers, which develop into fruits (Stage V).
4. New generation — The fruit, a pod with seeds, gives rise to a new generation of bean plants.
Conclusion: The plant eventually dries and dies after producing seeds, which continue the life cycle.

Introduction: A mosquito passes through four distinct stages during its life cycle, with big changes in body shape.
Key Points:
1. Egg stage — The adult female mosquito lays eggs directly on or near water.
2. Larva stage — The egg develops into a larva, a worm-like creature that lives in water.
3. Pupa stage — The larva grows into a pupa, which also lives in stagnant water.
4. Adult stage — The pupa transforms into an adult mosquito, which may survive for 10–15 days.
Conclusion: The adult female again lays eggs, and so the mosquito life cycle continues.

Introduction: Spraying kerosene oil on stagnant water is a common way of killing the young stages of mosquitoes.
Key Points:
1. Thin oil layer — Kerosene oil forms a thin layer over the surface of the stagnant water.
2. Air is cut off — This layer separates the water from the air above it.
3. Larvae and pupae die — Mosquito larvae and pupae cannot inhale air and die.
Conclusion: Since larvae and pupae need to come to the surface to breathe, kerosene stops mosquito breeding.

Introduction: A frog passes through four main stages in its life cycle, changing greatly in shape and habitat.
Key Points:
1. Egg stage — The female frog lays a jelly-like cluster of eggs called spawn in water.
2. Embryo and tadpole — The spawn develops into an embryo, then a tailed tadpole, which later grows hind legs.
3. Froglet stage — The tadpole grows into a froglet, which still lives in water but spends some time on land.
4. Adult frog — By about 14 weeks, the tail is lost, legs become strong, and the adult frog lives in water and on land.
Conclusion: The adult frog reproduces, and the life cycle begins again with new eggs.

Introduction: The silk moth passes through the same four stages as a mosquito, and one of these stages gives us silk.
Key Points:
1. Four stages — The silk moth passes through egg, larva, pupa and adult stages.
2. Silk fibre — Larvae secrete thread-like material and wrap it around themselves before becoming pupae.
3. Use to humans — These fibres are used to make silk fabric for us.
Conclusion: In India, KVIC has set up several centres for silk production using these fibres.

Introduction: Stagnant water is directly connected to mosquito breeding and the diseases mosquitoes spread.
Key Points:
1. Eggs are laid in water — Female mosquitoes lay their eggs directly on or near stagnant water.
2. Young stages live in water — The larvae and pupae develop in stagnant water, like in coolers and pots.
3. Diseases spread — Female mosquitoes transmit diseases like malaria, dengue and chikungunya.
Conclusion: Removing stagnant water breaks the mosquito life cycle and prevents the spread of disease.

Introduction: Both mosquitoes and frogs pass through several stages, but their life cycles differ in many ways.
Key Points:
1. Similar stages — Both begin life from eggs laid in or near water and pass through young stages.
2. Body changes — Both show big changes in body shape and structure between stages.
3. Differences — The mosquito completes its cycle in weeks, while the frog takes about 14 weeks.
4. Habitat change — The frog changes its habitat from water to land, while mosquito young stages stay in water.
Conclusion: Though both life cycles involve striking changes, the frog's cycle includes a habitat change that the mosquito's does not.

Introduction: A dry seed does not move or grow, yet it is categorised as living, and the reason lies in germination.
Key Points:
1. Dormant state — A dry seed shows no visible life processes like growth or movement.
2. Germination proves life — Given air and the right amount of water, the seed sprouts and grows into a plant.
3. Life characteristics — After germination, it shows growth, respiration, response and eventually reproduction.
Conclusion: Since a seed can germinate and show all life characteristics, it is living, not non-living.

Introduction: The frog is special because its habitat changes completely as it moves through its life cycle.
Key Points:
1. Early stages in water — The eggs (spawn), embryo and tadpoles all live only in water.
2. Froglet stage — Froglets still live in water but begin to spend some time on land.
3. Adult stage — Adult frogs live both in water and on land, jumping and swimming.
Conclusion: The frog's habitat gradually shifts from only water to both water and land during its life cycle.

Introduction: The tail of a tadpole is a special feature that supports its life in water.
Key Points:
1. Swimming — The tail helps the tadpole swim freely in water, like a fish.
2. Survival in water — It lets the tadpole move around for food and air before legs develop.
3. Lost later — As the tadpole grows into an adult frog, the tail disappears completely.
Conclusion: The tail is an advantage because tadpoles live in water and need it for swimming.

Introduction: Like animals, plants also sense and respond to stimuli such as touch and light.
Key Points:
1. Touch-me-not plant — The chhui-mui (mimosa) plant folds its leaves when we touch them.
2. Amla leaves — The leaves of the amla tree fold and come together after sunset, responding to darkness.
3. Another example — In the insectivorous plant Drosera, sticky hairs move inward to trap an insect.
Conclusion: These examples show that plants respond to stimuli, a key characteristic of living beings.

(a) Living and non-living. (b) A pigeon shows movement, growth, respiration, etc., whereas a pencil shows none of these life characteristics. (c) Movement, growth and respiration (or excretion, response to stimuli, reproduction, nutrition, death).

(a) The right amount of water and air. (b) Excess water left no air available to the seeds, which is essential for germination. (c) Light is not essential for the germination of bean seeds (Pot C germinated in the dark); however, sunlight is required after germination for further growth of the seedling.

(a) Without water the seed coat is not softened and growth processes cannot occur. (b) Water softens the seed coat and enables the embryo to carry out processes needed to develop into a plant. (c) (i) Light: Coleus and Petunia. (ii) Darkness: Calendula and Zinnia.

(a) The root grows downwards. (b) The shoot bends and grows upwards. (c) In beaker C, the shoot grows in the direction of light while the root continues to grow downwards. Conclusion: shoots grow upward and towards light, while roots grow downwards.

(a) The life cycle of a plant. (b) Appearance of leaves. (c) The plant is considered dead when it stops growing and all life activities end even with all necessary conditions available. The seeds produced give rise to new plants, continuing the cycle.

(a) They live in water and need air to respire, so they come to the surface for air. (b) Kerosene forms a thin layer over the water that separates water from air, so larvae and pupae cannot inhale air and die. (c) Egg → larva → pupa → adult. Removing stagnant water leaves no place for eggs to be laid and larvae/pupae to develop, disrupting the life cycle.

(a) Spawn (cluster of frog eggs). (b) The tadpole stage (with tail, no legs); the tail helps it swim in water. (c) Eggs and tadpoles live in water; froglets begin spending time on land while still in water; adult frogs lose their tails and live both in water and on land.

(a) Egg, larva, pupa and adult. (b) Silk fabric—the thread-like material secreted by larvae is used to make silk. (c) The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

(a) A wooden log is indeed non-living, though movement alone is not the only test. (b) Being made of wood from a tree does not make the log living; once cut, it no longer grows, respires, reproduces or responds to stimuli. (c) A wooden log does not grow, respire, excrete, reproduce or respond to stimuli, and it cannot carry out life activities even with resources—so it is non-living, unlike a living tree.

(a) Respiration. (b) Through tiny pores called stomata on the surface of leaves that take air in and out. (c) During more activity the body needs more oxygen, so we breathe faster; this shows that all living beings respire to get oxygen for their body functions.

Introduction: All living beings share certain essential characteristics that set them completely apart from non-living things.
Key Points:
1. Movement — Animals move from place to place; plants show movement, like the opening of flowers.
2. Nutrition — Living beings need food for growth and development, like a cow eating grass.
3. Growth — Living beings increase in size with age, like a child outgrowing old clothes.
4. Respiration — All living beings respire; plants take in air through pores called stomata.
5. Excretion — Living beings remove wastes, like sweat in humans and droplets on grass leaves.
6. Response to stimuli — Chhui-mui plants fold their leaves when touched, showing response.
7. Reproduction — Living beings produce young ones of their own kind, like cats producing kittens.
8. Death — When a living being cannot show these characteristics despite all resources, it dies.
Conclusion: The absence of any of these features indicates that the thing is non-living.

Introduction: Activity 10.2 tests which conditions — air, water and sunlight — are necessary for bean seeds to germinate.
Key Points:
1. Setup — Four identical pots filled with garden soil, each sown with four bean seeds, kept for 15 days.
2. Pot A — Placed in direct sunlight and not watered at all, so seeds lack water.
3. Pot B — Placed in direct sunlight with excess water kept above the soil, so seeds lack air.
4. Pot C — Placed in a dark location with soil kept slightly moist by moderate regular watering.
5. Pot D — Placed in direct sunlight with soil kept slightly moist by moderate regular watering.
Conclusion: Seeds germinated only in Pot D, showing that the right amount of water and air are essential, while light is not needed for bean seed germination.

Introduction: The mosquito passes through four stages in its life cycle, and knowing these stages helps us stop its breeding.
Key Points:
1. Egg stage — The adult female mosquito lays eggs directly on or near stagnant water.
2. Larva stage — The egg hatches into a worm-like larva that lives and feeds in water.
3. Pupa stage — The larva changes into a pupa, which also floats in the stagnant water.
4. Adult stage — The pupa transforms into an adult, which rests briefly on water and flies away.
5. Diseases spread — Female mosquitoes suck blood and transmit malaria, dengue and chikungunya.
Conclusion: We can disrupt this cycle by not allowing water to stagnate in coolers, pots and containers, and by spraying kerosene oil on stagnant water so larvae and pupae cannot breathe.

Introduction: A frog's life cycle shows striking changes in body shape, structure and habitat across its stages.
Key Points:
1. Spawn (Day 1) — The female frog lays a white jelly-like cluster of eggs, called spawn, in water.
2. Embryo (Day 3–4) — The eggs develop into embryos, which still remain in the water.
3. Tadpole stages — By Day 7–10 tailed tadpoles appear; by 8–10 weeks they develop hind legs.
4. Froglet (12 weeks) — Froglets live in water but begin spending some time on land.
5. Adult frog (14 weeks) — The tail is lost, legs become strong for jumping, and adults live both in water and on land.
Conclusion: The frog's habitat changes from only water in early stages to both water and land in adulthood.

Introduction: Activity 10.3 uses seedlings kept in three beakers under different conditions to find how roots and shoots grow.
Key Points:
1. Setup — Germinated seedlings are fixed on glass plates and placed upright in beakers A and C, and inverted in beaker B, with wet blotting paper supplying moisture.
2. Beakers A and B — Placed in sunlight from all directions; beaker C gets light from one direction only through a hole in a cardboard box.
3. Observation 1 (upright plant) — In beaker A, the root grows downwards and the shoot grows upwards.
4. Observation 2 (inverted plant) — In beaker B, the root bends downwards and the shoot bends upwards.
5. Observation 3 (one-directional light) — In beaker C, the shoot grows towards the light while the root grows downwards.
Conclusion: Shoots of plants grow upward towards sunlight, while roots grow downwards, whatever the plant's position.

Introduction: A plant's life cycle runs from a seed to the next generation of seeds, keeping its kind going.
Key Points:
1. Stage I (Seed) — The cycle begins when seeds are sown in soil with suitable conditions.
2. Stage II (Germination) — With air and the right amount of water, the seed sprouts into a seedling.
3. Stage III (Leaves) — The young plant grows and develops leaves, becoming a mature plant.
4. Stages IV and V (Flowers and fruit) — The plant produces flowers, which develop into a fruit, a pod with seeds.
5. Death and new generation — After seeds form, the plant gradually dries and dies, but its seeds germinate into new plants.
Conclusion: By producing seeds that grow into new plants of the same kind, the plant maintains continuity of its kind.

Introduction: Plants cannot move from place to place, yet they clearly sense and respond to stimuli around them.
Key Points:
1. Response to touch — The chhui-mui (touch-me-not) plant folds its leaves immediately when touched.
2. Response to darkness — The leaves of the amla tree fold and come together after sunset.
3. Response in Drosera — The sticky hairs of the insectivorous plant Drosera move inward to trap insects.
4. Response to light — Shoots grow towards sunlight while roots keep growing downwards.
5. Jagadish Chandra Bose — He built the crescograph to record plant responses to light, heat, electricity and gravity, and measured how fast plants grow.
Conclusion: Bose's experiments proved that plants can sense and respond to stimuli like living beings do.

Introduction: Plants and animals both pass through different stages during their lives, but their life cycles differ in important ways.
Key Points:
1. Similar beginning — Both begin their life cycle from a tiny starting stage — a seed or an egg.
2. Growth stages — Both pass through several stages of growth and development before becoming adults.
3. Reproduction and death — Both reproduce to produce the next generation and finally die.
4. Difference in changes — Plants like the bean grow steadily without changing body form; animals like mosquitoes and frogs change body shape completely.
5. Difference in habitat — Some animals, like frogs, change habitat from water to land; plants stay rooted in one place.
Conclusion: Both life cycles maintain continuity of their kind, but animals often show more dramatic changes than plants.

Introduction: Respiration and excretion are two essential life processes carried out by every living being, animal or plant.
Key Points:
1. Meaning of respiration — Breathing is part of respiration, in which air moves in and out of the body.
2. Respiration in animals — Dogs, cats, cows and buffaloes breathe; our breaths increase after running.
3. Respiration in plants — Plants respire through tiny pores called stomata on the surface of leaves.
4. Meaning of excretion — Excretion is the removal of waste products from the body.
5. Excretion examples — Animals excrete sweat and urine, while grasses and roses excrete excess water as droplets on leaves.
Conclusion: Since all living beings respire and excrete, these processes are essential characteristics of life.

Introduction: A seed looks lifeless, but it is living because it can germinate and develop into a whole plant.
Key Points:
1. A seed is living — Though a dry seed shows no visible activity, it carries a tiny embryo inside.
2. Need for water — Water softens the seed coat and enables processes needed for growth.
3. Need for air — Seeds use the air present in spaces between soil particles to respire.
4. Role of light — Light is not essential for bean seed germination, though some seeds need light or darkness.
5. Process of germination — When the seed gets air and the right amount of water, the embryo develops into a sprout, a seedling with root and shoot.
Conclusion: Because a seed germinates, grows and later reproduces, it is a living thing, not non-living.