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6 Science NCERT Chapter 9 PDF
6 Science NCERT Chapter 9 PDF
Their Surroundings
P
aheli and Boojho went on of some kind or the other (Fig. 9.1). Paheli
vacation to many places of started thinking and reading about far
interest. One such trip took away places. She read that people have
them to the river Ganga in Rishikesh. even found tiny living organisms in the
They climbed the mountains of the openings of volcanoes!
Himalayas, where it was very cold. They
saw many kinds of trees on these
mountains — oaks, pines and deodars,
very different from the ones near their
home on the plains! In yet another trip,
they travelled to Rajasthan and moved
on camels through the hot desert. They
collected different kinds of cactus plants
from this trip. Finally, they went on a
trip to Puri and visited the sea beach,
Fig. 9.1 Search for living organisms
dotted with casuarina trees. While
recollecting all the fun that they had on 9.1 ORGANISMS AND THE
these trips, a thought struck them. All SURROUNDINGS WHERE THEY LIVE
these places were so different from one Another thought that occurred to Paheli
another, some were cold, some very hot and Boojho was about the kinds of living
and dry, and some places so humid. And organisms that were present in different
yet all of them had many organisms locations that they had visited. The
(living creatures) of various kinds. deserts had camels, the mountains had
They tried to think of a place on Earth goats and yak. Puri had some other
where there may not be any living creatures — crabs on the beach and
creatures. Boojho thought of places near such a variety of fish being caught by
his home. Inside the house, he tried the the fishermen at the sea! And then,
cupboards. He had thought that there there did seem to be some creatures like
may not be any living organisms here, ants that were present in all these
but he found one tiny spider in the different locations. The kinds of plants
cupboard. Outside the home too, there found in each of these regions were so
did not seem to be any place, he could different from the plants of the other
think of, that did not have living creatures regions. What about the surroundings
in these different regions? Were they will discuss the table as we travel
the same? through many more interesting places.
Activity 1 9.2 HABITAT AND ADAPTATION
Let us start with a forest. Think of all What do you find from the plants and
the plants, animals and objects that can animals listed in Activity 1? Did you find
be found there. List them in Column 1 a large variety in them? Look at what you
of Table 9.1. List things, animals and have entered in the column for the desert
plants, found in the other regions that and the column for the sea in Table 9.1.
are also shown in the table. You can Did you list very different kind of
collect the examples scattered through organisms in these two columns?
this chapter to fill Table 9.1. Discuss What are the surroundings like, in
also with your friends, parents and these two regions?
teachers, to find more examples to fill In the sea, plants and animals are
the tables. You can also consult many surrounded by saline (salty) water. Most
interesting books in libraries that talk of them use the air dissolved in water.
of animals, plants and minerals of There is very little water available in
different regions. the desert. It is very hot in the day time
T ry and include many plants, and very cold at night in the desert. The
animals and objects, big and small, in animals and plants of the desert live on
each of the columns in this table. What the desert soil and breathe air from the
kind of objects will we find that may not surroundings.
be animals or plants? Perhaps parts of The sea and the desert are very
plants like dried leaves, or parts of different surroundings and we find very
animals, like bones. We may also find different kind of plants and animals in
different kinds of soils and pebbles. these two regions, isn’t it? Let us look
Water in the oceans may have salts at two very different kinds of organisms
dissolved in it as discussed in Chapter from the desert and the sea – a camel
5. There could be many more objects. and a fish. The body structure of a camel
As we go through the chapter, keep helps it to survive in desert conditions.
adding more examples to Table 9.1. We Camels have long legs which help to
Table 9.1 Animals, plants and other objects found in different surroundings
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keep their bodies away from the heat of We have taken only two examples
the sand (Fig. 9.2). They excrete small from a very wide variety of animals and
amount of urine, their dung is dry and plants that live on the Earth. In all this
they do not sweat. Since camels lose variety of organisms, we will find that
very little water from their bodies, they they have certain features that help
can live for many days without water. them live in the surroundings in which
Let us look at different kinds of fish. they are normally found. The presence
Some of these are shown in Fig. 9.3. of specific features or certain habits,
There are so many kinds of fish, but, do which enable a plant or an animal to
you see that they all have something live in its surroundings, is called
common about their shape? All the ones adaptation. Different animals are
shown here have the streamlined shape adapted to their surroundings in
that was discussed in Chapter 8. This different ways.
shape helps them move inside water. The surroundings where organisms
Fish have slippery scales on their bodies. live is called a habitat. The organisms
These scales protect the fish and also depend for their food, water, air, shelter
help in easy movement through water. and other needs on their habitat.
We discussed in Chapter 8, that fish Habitat means a dwelling place (a
have flat fins and tails that help them home). Several kinds of plants and
to change directions and keep their body animals may share the same habitat.
balance in water. Gills present in the The plants and animals that live on
fish help them to use oxygen dissolved land are said to live in terrestrial
in water. habitats. Some examples of terrestrial
We see that the features of a fish help habitats are forests, grasslands, deserts,
it to live inside water and the features of coastal and mountain regions. On the
a camel help it to survive in a desert. other hand, the habitats of plants and
Fig. 9.2 Camels in their surroundings Fig. 9.3 Different kinds of fish
animals that live in water are called Collect some dry moong seeds. Keep
aquatic habitats. Ponds, swamps, a small heap of seeds aside and soak
lakes, rivers and oceans are some the rest in water for a day. Divide the
examples of aquatic habitats. There are soaked seeds into four parts. Keep one
large variations in forests, grasslands, part completely submerged in water for
deserts, coastal and mountain regions 3-4 days. Do not disturb the dry seeds
located in different parts of the world. and those submerged in water. Keep one
This is true for all aquatic habitats part of soaked seeds in a sunny room
as well. and another in a completely dark
The living things such as plants region like a cupboard that does not
and animals, in a habitat, are its biotic allow any light to come in. Keep the last
components. Various non-living things part in very cold surroundings, say, in
such as rocks, soil, air and water in a refrigerator or with ice around them.
the habitat constitute its abiotic Set these three parts to germinate by
components. Sunlight and heat rinsing them and draining the water
also form abiotic components of every day. What do you notice, after a
the habitat. few days? Do the seeds in all the five
We know that some plants grow from parts germinate equally? Do you find
seeds. Let us look at some abiotic factors slower or no germination in any
and their effect on seeds as they grow of these?
into young plants. Do you find that abiotic factors like
Activity 2 air, water, light and heat are very
important for growth of plants. In fact,
Recall Activity 5 in Chapter 1 — we made these abiotic factors are important for
sprouts from moong and chana seeds. all living organisms.
When the seed turned into a sprout, it We find that organisms exist in very
germinated. This was the beginning of cold as well as very hot climates and
a new plant, from the seed. surroundings, isn’t it? How do they
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manage to survive? That is where,
adaptation comes in.
Adaptation does not take place in a
short time. Over thousands of years, the
abiotic factors of a region change. Those
animals which cannot adapt to these
changes die out, and only the adapted
ones survive. Animals adapt to different
abiotic factors in different ways. The
result is variety of organisms present in
different habitats. Fig. 9.4 Desert animals in burrows
Let us look at some habitats, the
abiotic factors of these, and the
adaptations of animals to these habitats.
9.3 A JOURNEY THROUGH DIFFERENT
HABITATS
Some Terrestrial Habitats
Deserts
We discussed the abiotic factors of a
desert and the adaptations in camels Fig. 9.5 Some typical plants that grow in desert
to these. What about other animals
and plants that are found in deserts? some parts of the two plants, as was
Do they have the same kind of done for Activity 4 in Chapter 7, where
adaptations? we studied transpiration in plants.
There are desert animals like rats Leave the potted plants in the sun and
and snakes, which do not have the long observe after a few hours. What do you
legs that the camel has. To stay away see? Do you notice any difference in the
from the intense heat during the day, amount of water collected on the two
they stay in burrows deep in the sand polythene bags?
(Fig 9.4). These animals come out only Desert plants lose very little water
during the night, when it is cooler. through transpiration. The leaves in
Fig. 9.5 shows some typical plants desert plants are either absent, very
that grow in a desert. How are these small, or they are present in the shape
adapted to the desert? of spines. This helps in reducing loss of
water from the leaves through
Activity 3 transpiration. The leaf-like structure
Bring a potted cactus and a leafy plant you see in a cactus is, in fact, its stem
to the classroom. Tie polythene bags to (Fig. 9.5). Photosynthesis in these plants
(a)
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including feet and toes. This protects its survive? It’s light brown colour helps it
feet from the cold when it walks on the to hide in dry grasslands when it hunts
snow. The mountain goat has strong for prey (animals to eat). The eyes in
hooves for running up the rocky slopes front of the face allow it to have a correct
of the mountains. idea about the location of its prey.
As we go up in the mountainous A deer is another animal that lives in
regions, the surroundings change and forests and grasslands. It has strong teeth
we see different kinds of adaptations at for chewing hard plant stems of the
different heights. forest. A deer needs to know about the
presence of predators ( animals like lion
Grasslands
that make it their prey ) in order to run
A lion lives in a forest or a grassland
away from them and not become their
and is a strong animal that can hunt
prey. It has long ears to hear movements
and kill animals like deer. It is light
of predators. The eyes on the side of its
brown in colour. Look at the picture of
head allow it to look in all directions for
a lion and that of a deer (Fig. 9.8). How
danger. The speed of the deer helps them
are the eyes placed in the face for these
to run away from the predators.
two animals? Are they in the front or
There are many other features of a
on the side of the face? Lions have long
lion, a deer or other animals and plants
claws in their front legs that can be
that help them to survive in their
withdrawn inside the toes. Do the
habitat.
features of a lion help it in any way to
Some Aquatic Habitats
Oceans
We already discussed how fish are
adapted to live in the sea. Many other
sea animals have streamlined bodies to
help them move easily in water. There
are some sea animals like squids and
(a) octopus, which do not have this
streamlined shape. They stay deeper in
the ocean, near the seabed and catch
any prey that moves towards them.
However, when they move in water they
make their body shapes streamlined.
These animals have gills to help them
use oxygen dissolved in water.
(b) There are some sea animals like
Fig. 9.8 (a) Lion and (b) deer dolphins and whales that do not have
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animals. In Activity 1, we listed objects, Paheli and Boojho found the poem
plants and animals found in different so very funny, because they knew that
surroundings. Suppose we stop a while a chair or a table is not alive and it
and think which examples in our list cannot talk, walk or suffer from the
are living? Let us think of examples from usual problems that all of us face.
a forest. Trees, creepers, small and big A chair, table, stone or a coin. We
animals, birds, snakes, insects, rocks, know that they are not alive. Similarly,
soil, water, air, dry leaves, dead animals, we do know that we are alive and so are
mushrooms and moss may be only some all the people of the world. We also see
of the objects that are present in the animals around us that are so full of
forest. Which of these are living? life — dogs, cats, monkeys, squirrels,
Think of objects that you can see insects and many others.
around you at this moment and group How do we know that something is
them as living and non-living. In some living? Often, it is not so easy to decide.
cases, it is easy for us to know. For We are told that plants are living things,
example, objects like chair or a table in but they do not appear to move like a
our homes we know that they are not dog or a pigeon. On the other hand, a
alive. Paheli was reading this rhyme car or a bus can move, still we consider
from Complete Nonsense written by them as non-living. Plants and animals
Edward Lear: appear to grow in size with time. But
then, at times, clouds in the sky also
seem to grow in size. Does it mean that
clouds are living? No! So, how does one
distinguish between living and non-
e Chair, living things? Do living things have
able to th
Said the T ware,
ardly be a some common characteristics that
’You can h e heat,
er from th
’How I suff my feet! make them very different from the
fr o m c h ilblains on
’And lk, non-living?
a little wa
’If we took le talk!
have a litt You are a wonderful example of a living
’We might air!’
s take the
’Pray let u Chair. being. What characteristics do you have
able to the
Said the T e table,
hair to th which make you different from a non-
Said the C re not able!
y o u k n o w we a living thing? List a few of these
’Now lk,
shly you ta
’How fooli nnot walk
!’
characteristics in your notebook. Look at
e n y o u k now we ca
’Wh a sigh,
able with your list and mark those characteristics
Said the T try,
no harm to
’It can do s y ou, that you have listed, which may also be
ny legs a
’I’ve as ma o n two?’ found in animals or plants.
y c a n ’t w e walk
’Wh
Some of these characteristics are
perhaps common to all living things.
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Respiration is necessary for all living they adjust to the changed bright
organisms. It is through respiration that surroundings. Your favourite food,
the body finally obtains energy from the bright light and a thorn, in the above
food it takes. situations are some examples of changes
Some animals may have different in your surroundings. All of us respond
mechanisms for the exchange of gases, immediately to such changes. Changes
which is a part of the respiration process. in our surroundings that makes us
For example, earthworms breathe respond to them, are called stimuli.
through their skin. Fish, we have learnt, Do other animals also respond to
have gills for using oxygen dissolved in stimuli? Observe the behaviour of
water. The gills absorb oxygen from the animals, when the food is served to
air dissolved in water. them. Do you find them suddenly
Do plants also respire? Exchange of becoming active on seeing the food?
gases in plants mainly takes place When you move towards a bird, what
through their leaves. The leaves take in does it do? Wild animals run away when
air through tiny pores in them and use bright light is flashed towards them.
the oxygen. They give out carbon Similarly, cockroaches begin to move to
dioxide to the air. their hiding places if the light in the
We learnt that in sunlight, plants kitchen is switched on at night. Can you
use carbon dioxide of air to produce give some more examples of responses
their own food and give out oxygen. of animals to stimuli?
Plants produce their food only during Do plants also respond to stimuli?
the daytime whereas respiration in Flowers of some plants bloom only at
them takes place day and night. The night. In some plants flowers close after
amount of oxygen released in the sunset. In some plants like mimosa,
process of food preparation by plants commonly known as ‘touch-me-not’,
is much more than the oxygen they use leaves close or fold when someone
in respiration. touches them. These are some examples
of responses of plants towards changes
Do all living things respond to
in their surroundings.
stimuli?
How do you respond, if you suddenly Activity 4
step on a sharp object like a thorn, while Place a potted plant in a room a little
walking barefoot? How do you feel when away from a window through which
you see or think about your favourite sunlight enters some time during the
food? You suddenly move from a dark day (Fig. 9.12). Continue watering the
place into bright sunlight. What plant for a few days. Does the plant grow
happens? Your eyes shut themselves upright, like plants out in the open?
automatically for a moment till Note the direction in which it bends, if
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Living things produce more of their
own kind through reproduction. It
takes place in many different ways, for
different organisms.
Do all living things move?
In Chapter 8, we discussed the various
ways in which animals move. They move
Fig. 9.15 A seed from a plant germinates into a
new plant from one place to another and also show
other body movements.
which can germinate and grow into new What about plants? Do they also
plants (Fig.9.15). move? Plants are generally anchored in
Some plants also reproduce through soil so they do not move from one place
parts other than seeds. For example, a to another. However, various substances
part of a potato with a bud, grows into a like water, minerals and the food
new plant (Fig 9.16). synthesised by them moves from one
part of the plant to other. Have you
noticed any other kind of movement in
plants? Opening or closing of flowers?
Do you recall how some plants show
movement in response to certain
stimuli?
We also have some non-living
things moving, of course. A bus, car, a
Fig. 9.16 A new plant grows from a bud of potato small piece of paper, clouds and so on.
Is there something different in these
Plants also reproduce through
movements from the movements of
cuttings. Would you like to grow a plant
living beings?
in this way yourself?
There is such a variety of living
Activity 5 organisms, but, all of them show some
Take a cutting from a rose or a menhdi common characteristics, as we have
plant. Fix it in the soil and water it discussed. Yet another common
regularly. What do you observe, after a characteristic is that living beings die.
few days? Because organisms die, organism types
It may not be easy to grow plants from can survive over thousands of years only
cuttings. Do not be disappointed if your if they reproduce their own kind. One
cutting does not grow. Talk to a gardner, single organism may die without ever
if possible, on the care to be given to reproducing, but, the type of organism
cuttings to make them grow into plants. can exist only if there is reproduction.
Adaptation Habitat
Aquatic habitat Living
Biotic component Reproduction
Excretion Respiration
Growth Stimulus
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The surroundings where plants and animals live, is called their habitat.
Several kinds of plants and animals may share the same habitat.
The presence of specific features and habits, which enable a plant or an
animal to live in a particular habitat, is called adaptation.
There are many types of habitats, however, these may be broadly grouped
as terrestrial (on the land) and aquatic (in water).
There is a wide variety of organisms present in different habitats.
Plants, animals and microorganisms together constitute biotic
components.
Rocks, soil, air, water, light and temperature are some of the abiotic
components of our surroundings.
Living things have certain common characteristics — they need food,
they respire and, excrete, respond to their environment, reproduce, grow
and show movement.
1. What is a habitat?
2. How are cactus adapted to survive in a desert?
3. Fill up the blanks
(a) The presence of specific features, which enable a plant or an animal to live
in a particular habitat, is called .
(b) The habitats of the plants and animals that live on land are called
habitat.
(c) The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called
habitat.
(d) Soil, water and air are the ———— factors of a habitat.
(e) Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them, are
called .
4. Which of the things in the following list are nonliving?
Plough, Mushroom, Sewing machine, Radio, Boat, Water hyacinth, Earthworm
5. Give an example of a non-living thing, which shows any two characteristics of
living things.
6. Which of the non-living things listed below, were once part of a living thing?
Butter, Leather, Soil, Wool, Electric bulb, Cooking oil, Salt, Apple, Rubber
7. List the common characteristics of the living things.
8. Explain, why speed is important for survival in the grasslands for animals
that live there. (Hint: There are few trees or places for animals to hide in
grasslands habitats.)
What is
its
name
and
habitat
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