CHAPTER -9

THE LIVING
ORGANISMS,
CHARACTERISTICS AND
HABITATS
DIFFERENT ORGANISMS AND DIFFERENT SURROUNDINGS

 MOUNTAINS-COLD CLIMATE
ANIMALS-GOATS ,YAK
TREES-OAKS,PINES ,DEODAR
 DESERTS-HOT AND DRY CLIMATE
ANIMALS-CAMELS,SNAKES ,RATS
PLANTS- CACTUS
 COASTAL AREAS-HOT AND HUMID
ANIMALS-CRABS,FISHES
TREES – CASUARINA TREEES,

Think of a place on earth where there may not be any living creatures!
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Q. DEFINE ADAPTATION

The presence of specific features or certain

habits which enable a plant or an animal to
live in its surrounding is called as
adaptation.
Different animals are adapted to their
surroundings in different ways .
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Q. DEFINE ACCLIMATISATION. GIVE AN EXAMPLE.

 Small changes that take place in the body of a

living Organism over short time to overcome small
problems due to changes in the surroundings are
called acclimatisation.
for example
 If we live in Plains and go to high mountain regions, we
may experience difficulty in breathing. We need to
breathe faster when we are on high mountains due to low
concentration of oxygen. After some days, our body
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adjust to the changed conditions on high mountains.

SURROUNDINGS
SEA
 Plants and animals are surrounded by saline (salty) water
 Most of them use the air dissolved in water
Desert
 Very little water is available
 Hot in the daytime and very cold at night
 Animals and plants of the desert live on the desert soil
 Breathe air from the surroundings

The sea and the desert are very different surroundings, and we find
very different kind of plants and animals in these two regions
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Q. List the features of a fish that help them to
adapt in water bodies.

 Streamlined shape
It helps them to move inside water.
 Slippery scales
They help in protection and
easy movement of fish through water.
 Flat fins and tail
They help to change directions and
keep their body balanced in water.
 Gills
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They help to use oxygen dissolved in water for respiration.
Q. List some features of a camel that help
them to survive in desert region.
 Long legs
They help to keep their bodies away from the heat of the sand.
 Excrete small amount of urine
As a result the loss of water is less.
 Dung is dry
loss of water is less
 Do not sweat
loss of water is less

 Camels lose very little water from their bodies they can live for many days without
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water
Q. WHAT IS A HABITAT?
 The surroundings where organisms live is called a
habitat
 The organisms depend on their habitat for food,
water, air, shelter and other needs.
 Habitat means a home
 Severalkinds of plants and animals may share the
same habitat
 Q. List the different types of habitat.
 Terrestrial Habitat AND Aquatic Habitat

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TYPES OF HABITAT
 AQUATIC HABITAT
The habitats of plants and animals
that live in water are called aquatic
habitats
EXAMPLES-
 Ponds
 Swamps

Lakes

Rivers

Oceans
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TYPES OF HABITAT
 TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
The habitats of plants and animals that live
in land are said to live in Terrestrial habitats
EXAMPLES-
 Grasslands
 Deserts
Forest
Coastal region
Mountain regions
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Q. Explain the components of a habitat.

 BIOTIC COMPONENTS
Plants
The living things such as
plants and animals in a Human
habitat are called beings
Animals

biotic components
of the habitat
Fungus Bacteria

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COMPONENTS OF A
HABITAT
 ABIOTIC COMPONENTS Rocks

The non-living things

such as rocks, soil, air Sunlight Soil

and water in the

habitat are called
abiotic components Water Air

of the habitat
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TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
DESERT
DESERT ANIMALS

1.CAMELS (refer to slide no 7)

Q. How do rats and snakes adapt to the conditions

in the desert region?
  They stay in burrows deep in the sand to stay
away from the heat during the day and come
out only during the night when it is cool 

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TERRESTRIAL HABITAT DESERT

Q. How do plants like cactus adapt to the conditions in

the desert region?
The leaves are either absent or very small or
present in the shape of spines.It helps in
reducing loss of water from the leaves through
transpiration
 Roots go very deep into the soil for absorbing
water

 The leaf like structure in cactus is stem .It

carries out photosynthesis
 Stem is covered with thick waxy layer which
helps to retain water.
TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
MOUNTAIN REGIONS

Q.How do the plants adapt to

the conditions in the mountain
region?
Trees are normally cone shaped and have
sloping branches that help the rainwater
and snow to slide off easily.
Leaves of some of the trees are needle-
like that helps the rainwater and snow to
slide off easily 15
TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
MOUNTAIN REGIONS
ANIMALS
1.YAKS
 Have long hair to keep them warm
 Thick skin to protect them from cold
2.SNOW LEOPARD
 Thick fur on its body to keep warm
 Thick fur on feet and toes to protect
from the cold when it walks on the snow
3. MOUNTAIN GOAT
 Strong hooves for running up the rocky slopes
of the mountains
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TERRESTRIAL HABITAT
GRASSLANDS
GRASSLAND ANIMALS
1. LION
 A strong animal that can hunt and kill animals like
deer
 Light brown color helps to hide in dry grasslands
 Long claws in their front legs that can be withdrawn
inside the toes
 Eyes in the front of the face to have a correct idea
about the location of its prey
2. DEER
 Strong teeth for chewing hard plant stems
 Long ears to hear movements of predators
 Eyes on the sides of its head to look in all directions
for danger 17

 Speed of the deer helps it to run away from predators

AQUATIC HABITAT-OCEANS
OCEAN ANIMALS
1. SQUIDS AND OCTOPUS
 Do not have streamlined shape ,they make
their body shape streamlined while moving in
water
 Stay deeper in the ocean near the seabed
and catch any prey that moves towards them
 Gills to help them use oxygen dissolved in
water

2. DOLPHINS AND WHALES

 Breathe in air through nostrils or blow holes
located on the upper part of the head
 Can stay inside the water for a long time
without breathing
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AQUATIC HABITAT-
PONDS AND LAKES
PLANTS
 Roots are fixed in the soil below the water
 Roots are reduced in size; main function is to
hold the plant in place
 Stems are long, hollow and light
 Stem grow up to the surface of water ,leaves
and flowers float on the surface of water
Submerged Aquatic Plants
 Narrow and thin ribbon like leaves that can
bend in water
 Leaves are divided through which water can
easily flow without damaging them 19
AQUATIC HABITAT-
PONDS AND LAKES



ANIMALS
1.FROGS
 Can stay both inside pond water and as
well as move on land
 On land they breathe through lungs and
in water they breathe through moist skin
 Strong back legs to help them leap and
catch the prey
 Webbed feet that helped them to swim
in water
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Put on your thinking caps !
 Do living things have some common
characteristics that make them very different
from the nonliving?
 let’s take an example of a forest ,
 we can find trees, creepers, small and big
animals, birds snakes, insects, rocks, soil,
water, air, dry, leaves, dead animals,
mushrooms etc.
 let's group them as living and nonliving?
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 How do we know that something is living?
 Plants are living but they do not appear to
move like a dog or a pigeon!
A car or a bus can move still we consider them
as nonliving!
 Plants and animals appear to grow in size, so
do clouds in the sky!
 Do living things have some common
characteristics that make them very different
from the nonliving?
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CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING ORGANISMS

1.FEEDING (NUTRITION)
Plantsmake their own food through the process
of photosynthesis
Animals depend on plants and other animals
for food
Food is essential for growth, development
and maintenance of the body
Food provides energy to carry out life
processes
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2.GROWTH

Plants and Animals show growth

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3.RESPIRATION
The process of breaking down of food to release energy in the presence
of oxygen is called as respiration
In this process carbon dioxide and some heat is produced

BREATHING IS PART OF RESPIRATION

During breathing,
Air rich in oxygen moves inside the body(inhalation )
Air rich in carbon dioxide moves out of the body(exhalation)
RESPIRATION

Air rich in oxygen moves inside the body(inhalation )

Some of the oxygen of the air is used by the body to breakdown food to
release energy
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Air rich in carbon dioxide moves out of the body(exhalation)
RESPIRATION

 Earth worms breathe through their moist skin

 Fish use gills to absorb oxygen from the air dissolved in water

 Plants use oxygen to breakdown food to release energy

 Exchange of gases takes place through tiny pores on the underside of

leaves called stomata

 Photosynthesis in plants takes place during the daytime(presence of

sunlight) whereas respiration in plants takes place day and night
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4.RESPONSE TO STIMULI
Living organisms respond to the sudden changes in the surroundings. This
is termed as response to stimuli and the changes are called stimuli.
Ex - Wild animals run away when bright light is flashed towards them
Stimuli – flashing of bright light ; response – running away of wild
animals
Cockroaches begin to move to their hiding places if the light in the
kitchen is switched on at night
 Birds fly away when we move towards them
 Plants like Mimosa pudica(common name is touch- me- not), the
leaves close or fold when someone touches them
Stimuli – when a person touches the leaves of the plant; response –
folding of the leaves of the plant.
 Some flowers bloom only at night and some flowers close after
sunset 28
4.RESPONSE TO STIMULI
Living organisms respond to the sudden changes in the
surroundings
The changes are called as stimuli
Check your response
If you touch a hot plate
If you suddenly step on a sharp object while walking
barefoot
 When you suddenly move from a dark place to bright
sunlight
 When you see or think about your favorite food
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LET’S PERFORM AN ACTIVITY
Q. Write an activity to show that living organisms respond
to stimuli.
 Aim - To show that living organisms respond to stimuli.
 Material required- a potted plant
 Procedure-
 Place a potted plant in a room, a little away from a window
through which sunlight enters sometime during the day
 Continue watering the plant for a few days
 Observe the direction in which the plant is growing
 Observation-
 The plant does not grow upright. It bends towards the
window from where the sunlight is coming.
 Conclusion-living organisms respond to stimuli (changes in
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5.EXCRETION
 The process of getting rid of the waste products produced in the body
is called as excretion

 Harmful or poisonous materials must be removed by the body as

waste

 Human beings remove waste in the form of urine and sweat

 Some plants store the waste products within their parts in a way that
they do not harm the plant

 Some plants remove waste products as secretions such as gums,

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resins, etc.
6.REPRODUCTION
 The process by which Living organisms produce young ones of their own
kind

 Some animals produce their young ones through eggs

example- birds such as hen, ducks, crow etc.
 Some animals give birth to the young ones
example- cat, dog, human beings etc.
 Some plants reproduce through seeds
seed germinates into a new plant
example-mango, apple, hibiscus, wheat etc.
 Some plants reproduce through other parts of the plants example-
potato- bud
rose, sugar cane-stem cuttings
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7.MOVEMENT
 Animals move from one place to another in search of food,
water, shelter etc.
 Plantsdo not move from one place to another, they are
generally anchored in soil
 Various types of movement shown in plants are
opening and closing of flower ; movement of water,
minerals and food from one part of the plant to another
part.

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Answer the following questions?

 Cars, bicycle, clocks, water, move

Are they living or nonliving ?
 Clouds grow in size and move
Are they living or nonliving?
 Plants are anchored in soil, they cannot move from one
place to another
Are they living or nonliving?
 Life is beautiful with diverse characteristics

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