Characteristics of living things - Combined Science

• 7 Life Processes:

  Movement

  Respiration

  Sensitivity

  Reproduction

  Growth

  Excretion

  Nutrition
• 1. Do plants move? Yes, plants do move, but very slowly compared to most animals.

  2. Why do plants move?

  • Plants move towards sunlight which they need to make food.
  • Some flowers close during the night.
  • Roots will move towards water and gravity.
• • Respiration is the process by which energy is released from our food.
  • This energy is used for the organism to perform the other life processes.
  • Most of our food is digested down to glucose.
  • This joins with oxygen to release the energy and gives off the waste products carbon dioxide and water.

  Word equation:

  Glucose + Oxygen → ENERGY + Carbon dioxide + Water
• Sensitivity is the ability of living things to detect changes in their surroundings and respond to these changes.
• Growth

  • Animals grow until they reach adulthood and then stop growing.
  • Plants continue to grow throughout their lives.
• Animal Reproduction

  • All organisms need to reproduce. Reproduction is the making of new organisms. If organisms did not reproduce, then once those organisms died there would be no more of the species left.

  1. Some animals reproduce by laying eggs (oviparous animals). Example: Birds, chickens
  2. 2. Some animals reproduce by giving birth to live young (viviparous animals). Example: Dolphin, Whales, Humans, Lion
  3. 3. Some animals reproduce by producing eggs and keep them inside the mother's body until the fetus develops completely and is ready to hatch (Ovoviparous animals) Example: sharks, rays, snakes
• Plant Reproduction

  • Some plants reproduce using the wind to carry pollen from one flower to another.
  • Some plants reproduce using insects or birds to carry pollen from one flower to another.

  Why are insects attracted to flowers?

  They are attracted by scent, colour and nectar.
• • Excretion is the process where an organism gets rid of waste products that would otherwise cause it harm.
  • The waste products of respiration are carbon dioxide and water.
• Nutrition is the obtaining of food to keep an organism healthy.

  • CARNIVORES: Animals eat food. Some animals eat other animals.
  • HERBIVORES: Some animals eat plants
  • Animals that eat plants and animals are called OMNIVORES.

  Green plants make their own food using sunlight, water and

  carbon dioxide. This process is called PHOTOSYNTHESIS.
• Photosynthesis is the process by green plants to produce food from sunlight, CO2 and water (+minerals).

  Chemical Equation:

  CO2+ H2O + (sunlight) -> C6H12O6 + O2

  Word equation:

  Carbon dioxide + Water + (sunlight) -> Glucose + Oxygen

  • The O2 is taken by stomata (mouth) of leaf. The water and minerals are from the soil taken by roots.
  • The product of Photosynthesis are carbohydrates and Oxygen gas. The waste product of photosynthesis is Oxygen gas.
  • Green plants can absorb sunlight because it contain chlorophyis or green pigment.