Class 6 Science · Chapter 10

10. Living Creatures: Exploring their Characteristics

Answers to in-text questions, activities and Let us enhance our learning. NCERT Curiosity, Class 6 Science (CBSE).

Activities and In-text Questions

10.1Identify the things as living or non-living and give reasons (Table 10.1).

Name	Living / Non-living	Reason
Pencil	Non-living	Does not grow, breathe or reproduce
Book	Non-living	Does not need food, grow or respond
Pigeon	Living	Eats, grows, breathes, moves and lays eggs
Car	Non-living	Moves only with fuel and a driver; does not grow or reproduce
Plant	Living	Grows, makes food, respires and reproduces

List the tasks that you can do but a car cannot.

I can eat food, grow, breathe, feel and respond to touch or pain, and produce young ones. A car cannot do any of these.

List three stimuli and your body’s instant response to them.

Touching a hot cup → I quickly pull my hand back.
Stepping on a thorn → I lift my foot at once.
Bright light falling on the eyes → I close my eyes.

Why do the leaves of chhui-mui and amla plants respond in this way? Which stimulus could be responsible?

Chhui-mui leaves fold when we touch them. Touch is the stimulus.

Amla leaves fold after sunset. Darkness (absence of sunlight) is the stimulus.

List young ones of five different animals.

Cat – kitten, dog – puppy, cow – calf, hen – chick, goat – kid.

In which category would you place a seed — living or non-living? Why?

A seed is living. It is resting. When it gets water and air, it germinates and grows into a new plant.

10.2Record the availability of air, sunlight and water and the germination of bean seeds in four pots (Table 10.2).

Pot	Air	Sunlight	Water	Germination	Reason
A: Sunlight, no water	Yes	Yes	No	No	No water
B: Sunlight, excess water	No	Yes	Yes	No	Excess water blocks air
C: Dark, moist soil	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Air and water present
D: Sunlight, moist soil	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Air and water present

Conclusion: Seeds need the right amount of water and air to germinate. Sunlight is not essential for germination of bean seeds.

10.3Observe the direction of growth of root and shoot in beakers A, B and C (Table 10.3).

Beaker	Shoot	Root
A: Upright, light from all sides	Grows upwards	Grows downwards
B: Inverted, light from all sides	Bends and grows upwards	Bends and grows downwards
C: Upright, light from one side	Bends towards the light	Grows downwards

Shoots grow upwards and towards sunlight. Roots grow downwards.

10.4Observe a bean plant for three months. Which structure do the remaining parts of the flower develop into? What happens after fruits are formed?

Seed → germination → leaves → flowers → fruits (pods with seeds).

Parts of the flower develop into a pod (fruit) with seeds. After the fruits form, the plant turns yellow, dries and dies even if watered. The seeds grow into new plants.

Mosquito larvae and pupae repeatedly come to the water surface. Why? Why is kerosene sprayed on stagnant water?

Larvae and pupae live in water but need air to breathe. So they come to the surface.

Kerosene forms a thin layer over water. Larvae and pupae cannot get air and they die.

10.5Without separating them, how would you find out which stage, larva or pupa, comes first?

Count the larvae and pupae in the container every day. If the number of larvae decreases and the number of pupae increases, larvae change into pupae.

Later, when adult mosquitoes appear and pupae decrease, it shows that pupae change into adults. So the order is egg → larva → pupa → adult.

10.6Observe the stages of a frog in Fig. 10.7 and record the changes (Table 10.5).

Stage	Changes observed
A	Spawn — cluster of tiny eggs in jelly
F	Eggs with growing embryos (bigger dark spots)
C	Tadpole with a tail and no legs
D	Similar to C but it has two legs
B	Froglet — four legs and a short tail
E	Adult frog — no tail, strong legs

Sequence: A → F → C → D → B → E

Discuss: How are frog eggs different? Which stage is shortest? Does the habitat change?

Frog eggs are laid in water in a jelly-like cluster. They have no hard shell.
The egg (spawn to embryo) stage is the shortest — only 3 to 4 days.
Yes. Eggs and tadpoles live in water. Froglets spend some time on land. Adult frogs live in water and on land.
The tail helps the tadpole swim. Strong legs help the adult frog jump.

Let us enhance our learning

1List the similarities and differences in life cycles of plants and animals.

Similarities: Both are born, grow, reproduce and die. Their young ones continue the cycle.

Differences:

A plant’s life cycle starts from a seed. An animal’s starts from an egg or a newborn.
Plants produce flowers, fruits and seeds. Animals produce eggs or give birth to young ones.
Plants stay in one place. Some animals, like mosquitoes and frogs, change their body shape and habitat.

2Find examples for the given conditions. If an example is not possible, explain why.

Grows?	Respires?	Example	Remarks
No	No	Stone, pencil	Non-living things
No	Yes	A dry seed	It respires slowly but grows only after it gets water
Yes	No	Not possible	Every living being that grows also respires
Yes	Yes	Plants, animals, humans	Living beings

3How can we use the knowledge of conditions for seed germination for proper storage of grains and pulses?

Seeds need water to germinate. So grains and pulses should be dried well in the Sun.

They should be stored in dry, airtight containers in a cool place. Then they will not get moisture and will not sprout or spoil.

4What is the advantage of having a tail in the tadpole stage?

A tadpole lives only in water. Its tail helps it to swim to find food and escape from enemies.

5Charan says a wooden log is non-living as it cannot move. Charu says it is living because it is made of wood from trees. Give your arguments.

Charan: His answer is right, but his reason is not complete. Plants also do not move from place to place, yet they are living.

Charu: She is wrong. The log came from a living tree. But now it does not grow, respire, take food, respond or reproduce. So the log is non-living (dead wood).

6What are the similarities and distinguishing features in the life cycles of a mosquito and a frog?

Similarities:

Both lay eggs in or near water.
Their young stages (larva and tadpole) live in water.
Both have four stages, and their body shape changes a lot.

Differences:

Mosquito	Frog
Egg → larva → pupa → adult	Egg → tadpole → froglet → adult
Has a pupa stage	Has no pupa stage
Adult flies in air	Adult lives in water and on land
Life cycle is short (a few weeks)	Life cycle is longer (about 14 weeks)

7A pot is kept along the ground with all suitable conditions (Fig. 10.9). Draw what you expect to see in the shoot and root after one week. Write the reasons.

The shoot curves upwards and the root curves downwards.

The shoot bends and grows upwards, towards light. The root bends and grows downwards.

Shoots always grow upwards and roots always grow downwards.

8Tara and Vijay set up the experiment shown in Fig. 10.10. What do you think they want to find out? How will they know if they are correct?

They want to find out whether the root always grows downwards and the shoot always grows upwards, no matter how the seed is placed.

They will observe the seedlings after a few days. If the shoots bend upwards and the roots bend downwards in all the pots, they are correct.

9Design an experiment to check if temperature has an effect on seed germination.

Take three bowls with moist cotton. Place 10 soaked bean seeds in each.
Keep bowl 1 in a refrigerator (cold), bowl 2 in the room, and bowl 3 in a warm place.
Give the same amount of water to all. Only the temperature should be different.
Observe daily for 7 days. Count the seeds that germinate in each bowl.

If the number of germinated seeds is different in the three bowls, temperature affects seed germination.

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