Living things are organisms that exhibit all the characteristics of life, including growth, movement, reproduction, responsiveness to stimuli, respiration, excretion, and nutrition.

Non-living things are objects that do not possess the characteristics of life and cannot grow, reproduce, or respond to stimuli.

1. Growth: Living things increase in size and mass over time.


2. Reproduction: Living organisms produce offspring, either sexually or asexually.


3. Movement: All living things exhibit some form of movement, internally (e.g., transport of nutrients) or externally (e.g., animals moving).


4. Respiration: Living things release energy from food through respiration.


5. Nutrition: Living organisms take in nutrients and convert them into energy for survival.


6. Excretion: They eliminate waste products produced from metabolic activities.


7. Sensitivity/Responsiveness: Living things respond to changes in their environment.


8. Adaptation: Living things adapt to their environment to survive.

Animals: dogs, cats, birds, fish

Plants: trees, grasses, flowers

Microorganisms: bacteria, fungi

Humans

1. No Growth: They do not increase in size or develop.


2. No Reproduction: They cannot produce offspring.


3. No Movement on Their Own: Movement only occurs if acted upon by an external force.


4. No Respiration: They do not release energy from food.


5. No Nutrition: They do not consume food.


6. No Excretion: They do not produce waste.


7. No Sensitivity: Non-living things cannot respond to stimuli.


8. No Adaptation: They cannot change to survive in a changing environment.

Rocks, water, air

Buildings, chairs, cars

Metals, plastics

Living Things	Non-living Things
Grow in size	Do not grow
Can reproduce	Cannot reproduce
Require food for energy	Do not require food
Respond to stimuli	Do not respond to stimuli
Can adapt to environment	Cannot adapt
Excrete waste	Do not excrete waste
Made of cells	Not made of cells

1. It Helps to classify objects in the environment.


2. It Assists in understanding interactions between organisms and their environment.


3. It Provides a foundation for studying biology and life sciences.


4. It Helps in resource utilization and conservation.

---

Practical Activities

1. Identify and classify objects around the home or school as living or non-living.


2. Observe a plant or animal and record signs of life.


3. Investigate the environment and note interactions between living and non-living things.