NCERT Solutions For Class 6 Science Chapter 9 The Living Organisms — Characteristics and Habitats

The non-living things butter, leather, wool, cooking oil, apple and rubber were once part of a living thing.

Habitat is a place or environment where an organism lives. Habitat fulfills the requirement of food, shelter, air, water and other needs of an organism that are necessary for its survival.

Vehicles such as cars, buses, etc. show following two characteristics of living things:

  1. Movement, and

  2. Energy requirement  

In the above mentioned list, plough, sewing machine, radio and boat, are nonliving.

Following are common characteristics of living things:

1. Growth
2. Feeding
3. Respiration
4. Excretion
5. Movement
6. Reproduction
7. Response to stimuli

Cactus is adapted to survive in the hot and dry conditions of a desert. Following are the adaptations that help a cactus to survive in desert:

1. Leaves of cactus are present in the form of spine to reduce water loss by transpiration.

2. Roots of cactus are very long that go deep inside the soil to absorb water.

3. Stem of cactus has a thick waxy coating that helps in water retention.

In grasslands, mainly grasses are found with a very few trees. Big carnivores such as lions, tigers etc. feed upon their preys that are found in these grasslands. It is very easy to find their prey in these regions, as there is hardly any space to hide.  Preys are left with only one choice that is running from their predators. Hence, to protect themselves from their predators, preys adapt themselves by increasing their speed and increase their chance of survival in these regions.

(a) The presence of specific features, which enable a plant or an animal to live in a particular habitat, is called adaptation.
(b) The habitats of plants and animals that live on land are called terrestrial habitat.
(c) The habitats of plants and animals that live in water are called aquatic habitat.
(d) Soil, water and air are the abiotic factors of a habitat.
(e) Changes in our surroundings that make us respond to them, are called stimuli.