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Std 6 General Science · Chapter 4

4. Diversity in Living Organisms

Complete solutions to the Exercises. Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Six General Science.

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About the chapter

There are many types of plants and animals around us. This variety is called diversity. The chapter tells us how to group plants by their height, stem, roots and leaves. It also tells us where animals live, that is, their habitats.

Key points

  • Plants are grouped as trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers and creepers.
  • A monocot seed has one cotyledon. A dicot seed has two cotyledons.
  • Monocots have parallel veins and fibrous roots.
  • Dicots have net-like veins and a tap root.
  • Animals live in different habitats like land, water, trees and underground.
  • Amphibians, like the frog, live both in water and on land.

Words to remember

  • diversity – variety among living things
  • habitat – the natural home of a living thing
  • venation – the pattern of veins in a leaf
  • cotyledon – the seed leaf inside a seed
  • amphibian – an animal that lives both in water and on land

Exercises

1Match the following correctly.
Group AGroup B
(1) Aquatic(iv) Fish
(2) Living in muddy wetlands(iii) Wild buffalo
(3) Amphibian(i) Frog
(4) Floating on the surface of water(ii) Swan
2Find the odd one out and give reason for the same.

(a) Cow, Horse, Goat, Fish – Fish

Fish lives in water. The others live on land.

(b) Mango, Peepal, Guava, Coriander – Coriander

Coriander is a herb. The others are trees.

(c) Kangaroo, Cheetah, Cockroach, Deer – Cockroach

Cockroach is an insect. The others are mammals.

(d) Moong, Jowar, Wheat, Bajra – Moong

Moong is a dicot plant. The others are monocot plants.

3Write True or False.

(a) Heena (mehendi) is a type of shrub.

True.

(b) Trees with taproots collapse easily in a light storm.

False. A taproot holds the tree firmly in the soil.

(c) Mango trees do not bear flowers.

False. Mango trees bear flowers called mohar.

(d) Polar bears live in the desert.

False. Polar bears live in cold, snowy regions.

(e) Some species of snakes are amphibians.

False. Snakes are reptiles, not amphibians.

4Observe the relationship in the first pair and complete the second pair.

(a) Living on branches of trees : Monkey :: Living underground : rat

(b) Living on dry lands : Horse :: Living in caves : bat

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5Look at the following pictures carefully. What information do you understand about these plants? Note down all points in your notebook.
Reticulate (net-like) venationTap root — dicot plantParallel venationFibrous roots — monocot plant

A dicot plant has net-like veins and a tap root; a monocot plant has parallel veins and fibrous roots.

First plant (tree):

  1. It has a thick, hard trunk.
  2. Its leaves have net-like veins.
  3. It has a tap root.
  4. It is a dicot plant.

Second plant (grass):

  1. It has a thin, soft stem.
  2. Its leaves have parallel veins.
  3. It has fibrous roots.
  4. It is a monocot plant.
6Which characteristics would we consider to determine if a holy basil plant is a tree, a shrub or a herb?
  1. Height of the plant.
  2. Thickness and hardness of the stem.
  3. Place where the branches start.

Tulsi is a small plant. Its stem is hard. Its branches start near the ground. So it is a shrub.

7Explain the difference between monocotyledonous (monocot) and dicotyledonous (dicot) plants.

Monocot plants:

  1. The seed has one cotyledon.
  2. The leaves have parallel veins.
  3. They have fibrous roots.
  4. Examples: wheat, rice, maize, jowar.

Dicot plants:

  1. The seed has two cotyledons.
  2. The leaves have net-like veins.
  3. They have a tap root.
  4. Examples: moong, gram, pea, mango.
8What is the habitat of a duck and why?

The habitat of a duck is water and the land near it (ponds, lakes, rivers).

  1. Its webbed feet help it to swim.
  2. Its oily feathers do not get wet.
  3. Its flat beak helps it to catch food in water.
  4. Its food is found in and near water.
9Observe any five animals in your surroundings and determine their habitat.

Write your own observations. For example:

  1. Crow – trees
  2. Cow – land
  3. Fish – water
  4. Frog – water and land
  5. Earthworm – under the soil
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