Ch.2 The Living World

Question 1:

Write the answers to the following questions in your own words.
(a) What are the differences between plants and animals ?
(b) What are the similarities between plants and animals ?
(c) How is the plant kingdom useful to us ?
(d) How is the animal kingdom useful to us ?
(e) What makes living things different from non-living things ?

ANSWER:

a. 

Plants	Animals
They can make their own food by the process of photosynthesis. They are autotrophs.	They cannot make their own food. They are heterotrophs.
They show movement, but cannot show locomotion i.e., they cannot change their position from one place to another.	They show movement as well as locomotion.
They show response to stimuli, but lack sense organs.	They also show response to stimuli and have well-developed sense organs.
They grow throughout their life.	They stop growing once they reach their adult form.

b. Apart from various differences, plants and animals also have some similarities. Plants and animals both show vital processes like growth, reproduction, respiration and excretion. Both of them require energy to carry out their various functions.


c. The plant kingdom has various uses in our life like:

• they provide habitat for a variety of organisms.
• they are the major producers of oxygen.
• they provide us with wood, that is a source of fuel and other products.
• they provide us with plants that have medicinal and ornamental importance.

d. The animal kingdoms is useful to us in various ways. The animals from the animal kingdom can be domesticated for various purposes. There are three categories of useful domesticated animals.

• Milk and Flesh Yielding Animals- These are the animals from which we obtain food products. They include cattle, goat, poultry, pig, sheep, etc.

• Draught Animals- These are the animals used for transportation, ploughing of fields, and other agricultural activities. They are hardy and can lift heavy loads.

• Fibre, Hide, and Skin Yielding Animals- These animals yield useful products such as fibre (wool), hide, etc. They include sheep, goat, cattle, camel, etc.

e. 

Living things	Non-living things
They are made up of cells.	They are not made up of cells.
They show movement, but the energy for movement comes from within the organism.	They show movement by taking external force or energy.
They require food.	They do not require food.
Growth in them is irreversible.	Growth is reversible.
Respiration occurs in which food is oxidised to release energy.	They do not require respiration.
Reproduction occurs in living things.	Non-living things do not reproduce.

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Question 2:

What helps them to breathe ?

(a) A fish	(b) A snake
(c) A crane	(d) An earthworm
(e) Man	(f) A banyan tree
(g) A caterpillar

ANSWER:

(a) A fish- Gills
(b) A snake- External nares (they are similar to nose in humans)
(c) A crane- Nostrils
(d) An earthworm- Skin
(e) Man- Nose
(f) A banyan tree- Microscopic pores on leaves
(g) A caterpillar- Tiny holes on their body known as spiracles

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Question 3:

Fill in the blanks with the proper words from the brackets.
(a) The process by which plants make their own food is called ............ .
(b) To inhale ......... and to exhale ........ is called respiration.
(c) The elimination of waste substances from the body is called ............ .
(d) The ability to respond to an event is called ..... to ...... .
(e) On completing their lifespan, every living thing ........ .
(oxygen, dies, excretion, carbon dioxide, responsiveness, photosynthesis, stimuli)

ANSWER:

(a) The process by which plants make their own food is called photosynthesis.
(b) To inhale oxygen and to exhale carbon dioxide is called respiration.
(c) The elimination of waste substances from the body is called excretion.
(d) The ability to respond to an event is called responsiveness to stimuli.
(e) On completing their lifespan, every living thing dies.
(oxygen, dies, excretion, carbon dioxide, responsiveness, photosynthesis, stimuli)

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Question 4:

Write the uses of these animals and plants.
Animals : Honeybees, sharks, yaks, sheep, earthworms, dogs, bivalves, horses, mice.
Plants : Ginger, mango, eucalyptus, babul (acacia), teak, spinach, aloevera, turmeric, holy basil, karanja , moh , mulberry, grapevine.

ANSWER:

Animals	Uses
1. Honeybees	Provide us with honey and wax.
2. Sharks	Used in medicines, cosmetics, pet products etc.
3. Yaks	Used for obtaining wool.
4. Sheep	Used for obtaining wool.
5. Earthworm	Used in agriculture for composting(vermicomposting).
6. Dogs	As pets.
7. Bivalves	Used as a source of food.
8. Horses	For transportation.
9. Mice	As pets and models for testing various experiments.

Plant	Uses
1. Ginger	Used in foods and for medicinal purposes.
2. Mango	For obtaining fruits.
3. Eucalyptus	For making paper and essential oils.
4. Babul (Acacia)	Used in tooth pastes and other medicinal purposes.
5. Teak	Used in making furnitures.
6. Spinach	Used as food.
7. Aloe vera	Used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes.
8. Turmeric	Used as a spice and for various medicinal purposes.
9. Holy basil	Spiritual importance and for various medicinal purposes.
10. Karanja	Used for medicinal purposes like treating skin diseases.
11. Moh	Used for medicinal purposes.
12. Mulberry	For obtaining fruits.
13. Grapevine	For obtaining fruits and making wine.

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Question 5:

What are the peculiarities of the movements of these living things ?
Living things : Snakes, tortoises, kangaroos, eagles, chameleons, frogs, gulmohur, sweet potato creeper, dolphins, ants, rattlesnakes, grasshoppers, earthworms.

ANSWER:

Living thing	Movement
1. Snakes	Crawl
2. Tortoises	Swim and crawl
3. Kangaroos	Jump
4. Eagles	Fly
5. Chameleons	Walk
6. Frogs	Swim and hop
7. Gulmohar	Grows in the direction of light
8. Sweet potato	Grows in the direction of gravity
9. Creeper	Grows in the direction of light
10. Dolphins	Swim using fins
11. Ants	Walk
12. Rattlesnakes	Crawl
13. Grasshoppers	Hops
14. Earthworm	Crawl

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Question 6:

Write in detail about how the plants and animals found in your surroundings prove useful or harmful.

ANSWER:

There are so many kinds of plants and animals which we find in our surroundings. These plants and animals can be both useful and harmful to us. The follwoing points support this fact:

Useful plants:

• Plants like tulsi, mint, ashwagandha, neem etc. are called medicinal plants and have various medicinal properties.
• There are many plants which provide us with fruits and vegetables like mango etc.
• Certain plants are used for ornamental purposes like money plant etc.
• There are plants from which we obtain rubber which is used in the manufacture of tiers, tubes, raincoats, belts, sports goods, etc.
• Flowers like rose, jasmine, lavender, champa, saffron etc. are used for extracting sweet smelling oils called perfumes.

Harmful plants:

• Partehnium is a type of plant which can cause pollen allergy to humans.
• White Cedar is a small neem-like tree with attractive yellow fruits. These are lethal if taken by children and cause vomiting, diarrhea and difficulty in breathing in adults.
• Leaves of colocasia and pods of nettle cause itching.
• Datura is an example of poisnous plants.

Useful animals

• Milk and Flesh Yielding Animals- These are the animals from which we obtain food products. They include cattle, goat, poultry, pig, sheep, etc.
• Draught Animals- These are the animals used for transportation, ploughing of fields, and other agricultural activities. They are hardy and can lift heavy loads.
• Fibre, Hide, and Skin Yielding Animals- These animals yield useful products such as fibre (wool), hide, etc. They include sheep, goat, cattle, camel, etc.

All animals and insects are not useful, some of them can cause a lot of harm to our health and also to our crops. Such animals and insects are known as pests.

• Insects, like grasshoppers, beetles etc. cause enormous damage to the agricultural crops and thus affect their yield.
• Animals like tigers, lions etc. can enter human settlement and may kill domestic animals and people.
• Caterpillars or larvae of many insects feed on the leaves on which they live.
• Stored grains are also attacked by rodents like rats and rabbits and by many kind of moths, caterpillars and beetles.