Living Organisms– Characteristics And Habitats

Question and Answers

1. Write the important function of gill.

ANS: To absorb dissolved oxygen from water for respiration.

2. Name two main components of habitat.

ANS: Components of habitat are: (1) Biotic components (2) Abiotic components

3. What are predators? Give one example.

ANS: The animals which kill other animals for their survival and food are called predators.
Ex: Tiger kills deer for its survival.

4. What is a prey?
ANS: The animal that is killed by predators for their food and survival are called prey.

5. Name two aquatic animals that don’t use gills to breathe. How do they breathe?
ANS: 1.Dolphin 2.Whales.
The organs in dolphins and whales that help in its breathing are called blowholes or nostrils.

6. What is stimuli?
ANS: Anything that triggers a reaction in an organism is called stimulus (plural: stimuli). The reaction
of an organism is called response. All living organisms respond to stimuli.

7. Give the differences in the desert and sea regions.

ANS: In the sea, the water is salty and also the animals and plants are covered by them. Mostly these
animals use oxygen that is dissolved in water. In the desert, water is available only in few places. And
it’s hotter in daytime and very cold at night. The organisms breathe in and out air from the
surroundings.

8. What kind of movement do we see in plants?

ANS: (a) Flower’s opening and closing its petals.
(b)Growing difference of stem and leaves in plants.
(c)Movement of water, minerals and nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sulphur
and magnesium.
(d)Movement of stem and root towards sunlight and water in the soil.

9. Name the animals that can live both on land and in water? Give some adaptations seen in these
animals.
ANS: Frogs, Salamander and newt etc. are the animals that live on both land and in water, and also they
have a strong back leg that helps them in leaping and catching their prey in a spontaneous way. They also
have webbed feet which help them to swim in water.
 10. Mention a few adaptations found in aquatic plants.
Ans:
• The aquatic plants have roots fixed in the soil and only hold plants in place.
• The leaves are tough and can withstand the movement of water. They are covered with cuticle so that
water does not collect over them.
• Stems of the plants that are rooted (such as lotus) are long and narrow, and offer least resistance to the
flow of water. They are hollow and have lotus of air spaces to provide buoyancy to the plant.
• Some aquatic plants are found to be totally submerged in water and these have highly divided leaves
for the flow of water without damaging them.
• Stomata of the plant are found on the upper surface of the leaves to facilitate gaseous exchange.
• The leaves of fully submerged plants are either ribbon-like or highly divided. This prevents the leaves
from getting torn because of the water currents.

11. Give examples of -

a) Two plants in mountains: Deodars and pine, maple, cedar, oak.
b) Two plants that live in ponds: Water lily and lotus,
c) Two organisms that live in deserts.: Cactus and camel
d) Two aquatic animals: Fish and turtle
e) Two terrestrial animals: Lion and Dog
f) Two aerial habitat animals: Birds, bats, insects and Mosquitoes
g) Biotic component: Animals and plants are biotic components
h) Abiotic component: Air and water are abiotic components.

12. How do plants and animals adapt to live in mountain regions?

ANS.: (a) The trees are normally cone shaped with sloping branches.
(b)The mountain trees have small, needle-like leaves and flowers are modified as cones.
(c) These structures of the trees prevent accumulation of rainwater and snow over them.
(d) In animals the thick skin and fur on the body of the animals protect them from the cold while walking
in the snow. Example: mountain goats, snow leopard.

13. How are cactus adapted to survive in a desert?

ANS: Cactus grows in desert with following adaptations-
(i)The leaves are modified to spines so as to reduce the water loss through transpiration process.
(ii) The stem is structured in such a way that it conserves water and performs photosynthesis within them
with the help of sunlight.
(iii)For the need of water, their root goes deep into the soil.

14. Explain why speed is important for survival? Especially for animals living in grassland habitat.
(Hint: There is fewer amount of long grasses and consider it as open grasslands.)
ANS: In grassland habitats, there are fewer trees or few places for animals to move from one place to
another. When their enemy (for example: carnivores attack herbivores) attacks they should run fast to
reach the safer place to survive. They may lose their life if they are really slow. Thus, the speed is the
important factor for animals to survive in grassland habitat as the speed makes them live their life.
 15. How are grazing animals like deer adapted to escape their predators?
Ans: Grazing animals like deer have the following adaptive features:
• They have strong and muscular legs to run away from predators like lion.
• The eyes are placed on the sides of their head to look cautiously in all directions.
• They possess a very strong sense of smell, and long, sharp ears to hear minute sounds.

16. List a few adaptive features of a lion that helps it in hunting.

Ans: Lions have the following adaptive features:
• They are light brown in colour. This helps them hide in the surrounding dry grass and their presence
unnoticeable to their prey.
• Their eyes are modified to see even in very low light, which helps them to hunt at night.
• They have strong, retractable claws, which enable them to walk quietly towards their prey without
raising any alarm.
17. Give reasons for the following:
1) Plants of tropical rainforests have large leaves.
Since very little sunlight reaches the lower vegetation, all smaller plants have large leaves to absorb
maximum sunlight available.

2) Lotus plants have poorly developed roots.

Lotus is an aquatic plant. It grows in ponds or lakes. It does not need a well-developed root system because
there is enough water in its surroundings and roots need to be developed to absorb water. The main purpose
of the root is anchorage.

3) Stomata are present on the upper surface of lily leaves.

Stomata or the breathing pores of the plant are found on the upper surface of leaves to facilitate gaseous
exchange.

4) A camel has exceptionally long, large intestine.

A camel has exceptionally long, large intestine so that it can absorb all the water from the food that it takes.

5) The process of excretion is crucial to living beings.

Since the living organisms produce certain unwanted or wasteful substances that are often toxic for the
body, it is essential to get rid of the same by the process of excretion.

Video Links for reference:

Types of Adaptation Video link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnmPdHmRv9o&feature=youtu.be
Habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsfeYqU4Lyc
Desert habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fGANYiyQk
Mountain habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc4I85LgWX4
Grassland habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCN6PrOZlHs
Ocean Habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBJyLfOyNsM
Pond Habitat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsHFSLUwEsg
Living and non-living things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za5z6WRz29I