Living things and their surroundings
Class 6 Science · Living organisms and habitat · 31 questions with answers
Adaptation questions are the heart of this chapter, and they all have the same structure: a feature, the place it suits, and how it helps survival there. Missing the third part is the most common way marks go.
- Lists the characteristics that make something living
- Links a feature of an organism to the habitat it suits
- Explains how an adaptation helps survival, not just what it is
Exercise 1 of 3 · 12 questions
Living or non-living? Give the characteristic that decides it.
Write the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
A moving car → non-living. Movement alone does not make something living, and this is the trap in the question - a river moves too. The test is the set of characteristics together: growth from within, nutrition, respiration, response, reproduction and excretion. One characteristic is never enough on its own.
- 1)a growing plant
- 2)a moving car
- 3)a mushroom
- 4)a river
- 5)a seed in a packet
- 6)a piece of coral
- 7)a cloud
- 8)an earthworm
- 9)a wooden table
- 10)a bacterium
- 11)a burning candle
- 12)a fallen leaf
Answers
- 1) Living - it grows, needs water and food, and reproduces.
- 2) Non-living - it moves only because fuel and a driver make it, and it does not grow or reproduce.
- 3) Living - it grows, takes in nutrition and reproduces by spores.
- 4) Non-living - it moves, but it does not grow from within, feed or reproduce.
- 5) Living - it is dormant, but it will grow and respire when given water and warmth.
- 6) Living - coral is made by tiny animals that feed, grow and reproduce.
- 7) Non-living - it changes shape and moves, but it does not feed, grow from within or reproduce.
- 8) Living - it moves, feeds on soil, respires and reproduces.
- 9) Non-living - it was once part of a living tree, but it no longer grows, feeds or responds.
- 10) Living - it feeds, grows and reproduces, even though it is far too small to see.
- 11) Non-living - it gives out heat and light and gets smaller, but it does not feed, grow or reproduce.
- 12) Non-living now - it was part of a living plant, but it no longer feeds, grows or responds.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 11 questions
How does each feature help the animal survive where it lives?
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
A camel's long legs → they keep its body away from the hot sand. The three parts of every adaptation answer are the feature, the condition it deals with, and how that helps it survive. A child who writes 'so it can walk in the desert' has named the place but not said what the feature actually does about it.
- 1)A camel has long legs and wide feet.
- 2)A fish has a streamlined body.
- 3)A polar bear has thick white fur.
- 4)A cactus has spines instead of leaves.
- 5)A desert rat stays in a burrow during the day.
- 6)A duck has webbed feet.
- 7)An eagle has very sharp eyesight.
- 8)A deer has eyes on the sides of its head.
- 9)A lotus has broad, flat leaves that float.
- 10)A mountain goat has hooves that grip.
- 11)A frog has moist skin.
Answers
- 1) The long legs keep its body away from the hot sand and the wide feet stop it sinking into it.
- 2) It lets the fish move through water easily, because water offers less resistance to that shape.
- 3) The thick fur keeps in body heat in the cold, and the white colour hides it against the snow.
- 4) Spines lose much less water than leaves would, which matters where water is scarce.
- 5) It avoids the heat of the day, so it loses less water and does not overheat.
- 6) The webbing pushes more water back with each stroke, so it swims faster.
- 7) It can spot small prey from a great height while flying.
- 8) It can see danger coming from almost all round without turning its head.
- 9) They float on the surface, so they get sunlight to make food even though the plant is in water.
- 10) They grip the rock so it does not slip on steep, uneven ground.
- 11) It can take in some oxygen through the skin, which helps when it is under water.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 8 questions
Answer in two sentences.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
Why would a fish not survive on land? → because it takes oxygen from water through gills, and on land the gills dry out. Two sentences, and the second one does the work. This is the shape almost every Class 6 Science 'explain' question takes, and practising it is worth more than memorising extra facts.
- 1)Why would a fish not survive on land?
- 2)Why do plants in a pond have hollow, light stems?
- 3)What might happen to a polar bear moved to a desert?
- 4)Why do desert plants often have very long roots?
- 5)Why would a cactus rot if it were watered every day?
- 6)Why do birds that fly long distances have hollow bones?
- 7)Why is it harder for a fish to breathe in warm water than in cold water?
- 8)Why do plants kept in a dark room turn pale and leggy?
Answers
- 1) A fish takes in oxygen dissolved in water through its gills. On land its gills dry out and it cannot take in oxygen from the air.
- 2) The hollow stems are filled with air, which makes them light so they float and stay upright in the water.
- 3) Its thick fur would trap heat it does not need, so it would overheat, and its white colour would not hide it.
- 4) Water in a desert is deep underground, so long roots are needed to reach it. Shallow roots would find nothing for most of the year.
- 5) A cactus stores water in its stem and is adapted to very little of it. Too much water makes its roots rot, because the soil never dries out and the roots cannot get air.
- 6) Hollow bones are much lighter but still strong. That means less weight to lift, so the bird uses less energy over a long flight.
- 7) Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water. So the fish has to pass much more water over its gills to get the same amount of oxygen.
- 8) Without light the leaves cannot make food, so the plant grows tall and thin searching for light. It stays pale because it cannot make the green colouring it needs.
While your child works
- Every adaptation answer needs three things: the feature, the condition, and how it helps. Ask 'and how does that help it?' when your child stops after two.
- Movement alone does not make something living - a river moves. The characteristics work as a set, not one at a time.
- The 'what would happen if' questions are the Class 7 and 8 shape. Practising them now is the best preparation available.