Chapter 10: Living creatures:
Exploring their characteristics
Grade 6
Let us enhance our learning
Ans 1 Similarities in Life Cycles of Plants and Animals
• Both animals and plants have distinct life stages starts with
initial stage and followed by several stages of development and
lastly death.
• Both have reproductive stages where they produce offsprings.
• Both animals and plants have male and female organs required
for reproduction.
Differences in Life Cycles of Plants and Animals:
Life Cycle of Plants Life Cycle of Animals
A plant’s life cycle starts with An animal’s life cycle begins
seed germination. with a new born or egg.
Plants grow throughout their life.
Animals stop growing after
certain stage of time.
Seeds or reproductive parts are Animals have definite time for
produced throughout their life reproduction.
cycle.
Plants do not move from one Animals move from one place to
place to another. another.
Plants use flowers, cones, or Animals have specialized organs
spores. for reproduction
Plants use stomata and lenticels Animals have specialised organs
for the respiration. like lungs or gills for respiration.
Ans 3. We learnt that water, air and suitable temperature are required for seed
germination. So, we will store the grains and pulses in cool and dry
place such as:
• Cold Storage
• Airtight Containers
Ans 4 The tail in the tadpole stage helps it in:
• The tail helps the tadpole in swimming and changing direction
in water.
• The tail also helps it in finding food and keeping itself safe from
predators
• Is also helps the tadpole in maintaining balance and stability
while moving in water.
Ans 5 Against Charan: The wooden log was once part of a living tree, which
was alive and exhibited characteristics of living beings.
Against Charu: Once the wood is separated from the tree, it cannot
move, respire, grow or perform any other life processes, making it non-
living.
Ans 6 Similarities between life cycle of Mosquito and Frog:
• Life cycle of both, frog and mosquito, has four stages.
• Both begin life as eggs.
• Both have a larval stage (tadpole in frogs, larvae in mosquitoes)
that is aquatic.
Differences between life cycle of Mosquito and Frog
Life Cycle of Mosquito Life Cycle of Frog
. Life cycle of mosquito has four The life cycle of a frog has four
stages- egg, larva, pupa and stages: egg, tadpole, froglet, and
adult. adult frog.
The adult mosquito cannot live in The adult frog can live both on
water land and in water.
The adult mosquito may survive The adult frog may survive for 14
for 10 to 15 days. weeks.
Larvae and pupae breathe Tadpoles have gills, adults have
through siphons.. lungs and can respire through
their skin..
Ans 7 Expected observations:
• Shoot: Growth upwards, exhibit movement towards sunlight.
• Root: Growth downwards, exhibit movement towards the soil
Reasons:
• Shoots grow towards light for photosynthesis.
• Roots grow downwards for stability and nutrient absorption.
Ans 8 Tara and Vijay want to find out in which direction the root and shoot
of a plant would grow and move if the plant is placed inverted or along
the ground.
Observation: The shoot always grows upwards (towards the light) and
the root always grows downwards (into the soil), regardless of how the
seed is placed, this shows that plants have natural mechanisms that
guide their growth direction.
Ans 9 Aim: To check if temperature has an effect on seed germination.
Materials: Identical pots, soil, seeds, thermometers, and different
temperature controlled environments (e.g., refrigerator, room
temperature, heated environment).
Procedure:
1. Each pot is filled with the same type of soil.
2. Seed is planted in each pot.
3. Now, each pot is kept in a different environment with controlled
temperatures (e.g., cold temperature, room temperature and
warm temperature).
For example: one pot outside in balcony to get sunlight, another
pot in shade in the room and the third one in basement or at
coldest part of the house.
4. Each pot is given water in equal quantity.
5. Number of seeds germinated in each environment is recorded
daily for two weeks.
Observation: Measure and compare the rate of germination and
growth in different temperatures.
Conclusion: Determine the optimal temperature for seed germination
based on observations.
Extra questions
10. Why is it advised not to allow water to stagnate in our surroundings?
Stagnant water provides breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can
Ans transmit diseases like malaria and dengue. Preventing stagnation
disrupts their life cycle.
11. How does spraying kerosene oil on stagnant water disrupt the
mosquito’s life cycle?
Ans. Kerosene oil forms a thin layer on the water surface, separating water
from air. This prevents mosquito larvae and pupae from inhaling air,
causing them to die.
12. Explain the concept of response to stimuli in living beings, providing
examples for both animals and plants.
Ans. Response to stimuli is a fundamental characteristic of living beings,
where they react to any change in their environment. For animals, an
immediate withdrawal of a foot after stepping on a sharp object like a
thorn is a direct response. In plants, the touch-me-not plant folding its
leaves when touched, or certain plants folding leaves after sunset,
exemplify their response to touch and light stimuli respectively.