Simple Schooling Living and Non-Living Things 2011 The Simple Homeschool

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2 Check out our website for more information on how you can get fully narrated, visually stimulating, animated, lectures that come complete with vocabulary tests, games, and other interactive activities! Get FREE unit studies by subscribing to our newsletter! Sign up here Get the Harvest Unit Study above from CurrClick (both printable and online versions) for only $1.99! Click Here! 2

3 What does it mean to be alive? You are alive because you are human, but how do you know you are alive? Your computer is not alive. Paper is not alive, but at one time the trees that made paper were alive. Knowing whether a thing is alive or not alive is simple on the surface, but there are actually rules about how we determine if things are living. Just like all mammals share certain characteristics, so do all living things. Characteristics of Living Things There are eight basic characteristics that all living things share and they are: All living things feed or take in nutrients to live All living things have movement, either internally or externally. All living things breathe in and out. All living things grow. All living things can sense the outside world. All living things reproduce. All living things create waste. All living things are made up of at least one cell. 3

4 Let s talk about each one of these things in more detail. All living things must feed or take in nutrients. In other words, all living things require food of one kind or another. This is because all living things grow and in order to grow we have to have energy. Anything in the universe that grows or is built, or moves requires energy to do it. Non-living things can use up energy, but that doesn t mean they are living. For example, a tsunami requires energy to form. The energy of the tsunami comes from the displacement of water, which typically comes from an earthquake. None of these things are living but they use energy just like your living body uses energy too. All living things have movement either internally or externally. Internal means things that happen on the inside, while external means things that happen on the outside. You know that you move you can move your eyes to see this unit study. You can use your hand to move a pencil to fill out a worksheet. Or you can use your legs to pedal a bike. You move! You are living! Plants don t seem to move, but they do because they are alive. Plants have both internal and external movement. They take 4

5 in water (which is food) from their roots and move it up the stem. That s internal movement. But they also move as they grow (which is another requirement). All living things breathe in and out. You breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Living things that breathe oxygen need it to complete the steps of metabolism. Metabolism is how we convert food into energy. Fish also breathe in but they breathe in water. Hidden inside the water are tiny bubbles of oxygen that can be removed by their gills and shuttled around their bodies for metabolism. All living things grow from one state to another. Not all living things do it in the same way, but they will change, even if ever so slightly. Most of the time when we think of growing we think of ourselves. We begin as babies, grow into toddlers, then small children, then teenagers, then adults. That is the lifecycle of a human all living things have a lifecycle because all living things grow. 5

6 Non-living things can have a lifecycle too. For example clouds have a lifecycle. Water warms and evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises up in the air, cools, and condenses into water droplets which are clouds. When the cloud makes rain, it disappears because it loses its water! But clouds are not living things even though they appear to grow. All living things have senses or can at least sense their environment in some way. You have 5 senses; Hearing Seeing Touching Tasting Smelling Not all living things have 5 senses, but even very simple living things can sense their outside environment in some primitive way. All living things reproduce and recreate their species. 6

7 Oak trees make acorns and acorns are seeds. Seeds are how some plants reproduce. Other plants, like flowers don t release seeds, but have them internally. Pine trees make pine cones, which are seeds. Frogs lay eggs, and mammals give birth to live young. All things create waste. It s not a pleasant thought, but we all make waste. One kind of waste for humans is carbon dioxide remember that was the gas that we breathe out. It s a good thing we do make this waste because our waste is another living thing s food. Plants need our carbon dioxide to live because that is the gas they use for energy. 7

8 All living things are made up of at least one cell. The cell is the basic building block of life. Some living things only have one cell they are called single celled organisms. Humans are made up of many cells and many cell types. The job of the cell is different from organism to organism, but generally speaking the cell is how metabolism is completed. Sometimes non-living things can be made up of cells too but if a non-living thing is made up of cells that means it is dead. Rotting wood in the forest is made up of cells because it was once alive but rotting trees are not alive because they no longer meet all of the other requirements of living things. Examples of Living Things Mammals are one group of animal which share common characteristics. 8

9 This baby horse will grow, eat grass as food, make waste, is made up of cells, will make baby horses when she grows up, breathes in oxygen and out carbon dioxide, and can sense the outside world. All birds are living things because they fit all the requirements. They breathe in oxygen like us, eat, grow from an egg, to a chick, to an adult, and can sense their outside world through the 5 senses. They meet all the criteria of living things. Fish are also living things. They do everything we do except they do it under water! 9

10 Invertebrates are animal that have no backbone, like the worm, jellyfish, starfish, or the coral in a reef. They still meet all the requirements, but in a different way than mammals. Some do not have the 5 senses, but they do at least have one sense. Jellyfish don t even have a brain, but they can sense when food is near! Insects, reptiles, and amphibians are also living things. Like the jellyfish, they might not all meet the requirements for living things in the same way as a mammal, but they do possess them all in one way or another. Plants are the name we use to describe all living things that use the sunlight as one of their main nutrients. Even though plants take in carbon dioxide to power metabolism, that is not the only thing they require. Sunlight is the energy used to power the chemical reactions that turn food into energy. 10

11 Some living things that use the sunlight for metabolism are made up of only a single cell one such example is cyanobacteria. Photo credit: Cyanobacteria are sometimes called blue-green algae because of their pretty color, but they are not algae (which are plants) in fact, cyanobacteria are bacteria. Bacteria are single celled living things. Some bacteria are good and help other living things, but others are very harmful to living things. Bacteria that cause disease are called pathogens. Examples of pathogenic bacteria are anthrax, tetanus, and tuberculosis. 11

12 Many bacteria can move using a tail-like structure called a flagellum, but remember that outside movement is not the only way to fulfill the requirement for living things. Inside movement works as well. Bacteria don t make babies like mammals or make seeds like plants instead they use a process called binary fission. This just means they split themselves in half to reproduce. Mushrooms are also living things but they are not animals or plants! They are called fungi! A fungus, such as a mushroom, does not reproduce using seeds, live birth, or binary fission. Instead they use spores. Spores can be thought of like seeds, but just know that they are not seeds. Fungi meet all the criteria of living things and in fact, are a vital component to any ecosystem because they are decomposers. That means they break down dead material (things that used to be living but are now dead) and turn them into nutrients for the soil. 12

13 Examples of Non-Living Things Now that you know all about living things, let s take a look at what isn t living. Weather is not living even though it can appear to move and grow phenomena such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes are not living. Sunlight is also non-living even though plants use sunlight as a nutrient to keep them alive. Water is not living, which many seem weird since as far as we know living things must have water on a regular basis to stay alive. If a living thing does not have water it will die! But water is not alive. Soil and rocks are not alive either even though plants and trees need soil to deliver them water to keep them alive! Gold, silver, copper, iron, diamonds, emeralds, and sapphires are not alive either! Our bodies need small amounts of rocks (called minerals) to live. One example of this is iron. Our blood cells use iron to carry oxygen around our bodies so without iron we would die but iron is not living. 13

14 Wood, such as that which makes up your desk or dining room table, is not alive, even though it once was. This means that non-living things can be broken up into two categories: Things that were never living (Rocks, minerals, water, soil) Things that were once living but are now dead (wood, leather, jam, paper) Paper was once a tree, but it is not alive. Firewood was once a tree, but it is not alive. Amber was once tree resin, but it is not alive. Jam was once berries on a tree, but jam is not alive. Leather was once the hide of a cow, but it is not alive. Sometimes the line that separates the living and the non-living gets a little blurry. An example of this is a virus. Everyone has heard of a virus some people even confuse a virus with bacteria, but they are not the same. In fact, they are VERY different because one is alive and one is not! 14

15 Viruses are not considered to be living even though they can exhibit all the criteria of living things. This subject is controversial and that means people cannot all agree whether or not viruses are living or non-living. The general consensus is that viruses are not alive but the opposite argument can also be made. The controversy arises from the fact that viruses cannot reproduce without a host or body to invade. Just sitting alone, or even together with many other viruses, is not enough to make them reproduce. They must invade a living body to begin the process. Since they do not actually meet the requirement for reproduction, they cannot be included in the same category as other living things. 15

16 Another less controversial, but even more confounding, example of a non-living thing is DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is the ultimate building block of living things even more so than the cell because DNA is contained within the cell. ALL living things have DNA and it acts as the instructions for how that specific organism is made, how all the parts fit together to create life, and what it needs to stay alive. But DNA is just a collection of non-living elements such as carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus and others. So isn t it ironic that many of the requirements for things to be alive are not actually living things themselves? How do you make a determination of whether or not things are alive? Well, you do it scientifically using a scientific process. In other words you go down the list and ask yourself if the object meets all 8 of the criteria for living things. If it misses just one it is not alive! 16

17 Student Activities Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. An organism which does not exhibit all of the 1. Living characteristics of living things. b. A characteristic of living things which can be either 2. Non-living internal or external. c. A gas that is required for metabolism in plants and which 3. Characteristics is exhaled as a waste product in animals. d. A feature that helps to identify, tell apart, or describe 4. Nutrients recognizably; a distinguishing mark or trait. e. A source of nourishment, especially a nourishing 5. Movement ingredient in a food. 6. Internal f. Occurring on the inside. 7. External g. Occurring on the outside. h. A gas that makes up one of the main components of the earth s atmosphere and which is required for life in many 8. Plants organisms. i. One of the many living organisms on the earth which use photosynthesis and the power of the sun as a way to 9. Oxygen Carbon make food. j. An organism which exhibits all the characteristics of 10. dioxide living things. 17

18 Exercise 2 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. Anything that is left over from metabolism and is released 1. Metabolism from a living organism. b. The pattern of growth of an organism from development, 2. Energy to birth, growth, and death. c. The development of an organism over time, whereby it goes from a smaller or more simple organism to a larger or 3. Gills more complex organism. d. The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or 4. Growth organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. 5. Lifecycle e. The product of metabolism in a living thing. f. Organs in a living thing that allow perception of the 6. Senses outside world. 7. Reproduction g. The first stage in the plant lifecycle. h. The process by which an organism creates new individuals 8. Seeds of the same species. 9. Waste i. The breathing organ of many animals living in water. j. The smallest individual unit of a living thing which is 10. Cell capable of independent function. 18

19 Exercise 3 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. The process of reproduction whereby bacteria split in 1. Invertebrates half. b. A type of living thing that is neither a plant nor animal 2. Photosynthesis and reproduces using spores. c. A blue-green bacteria that resembles algae and is made 3. Cyanobacteria up of only a single cell. 4. Bacteria d. Bacteria that cause disease. e. Single celled living things that reproduce using binary 5. Flagellum fission. f. A tail like structure found on single celled living things 6. Pathogens which can be used for movement. 7. Binary fission g. Animals that do not have a backbone. h. A metabolic process whereby plants turn carbon dioxide 8. Fungus and water into food using sunlight. i. A small seed-like pod that is the first stage in the 9. Spores mushroom lifecycle. j. An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant 10. Decomposer or animal matter and creates nutrients in the soil. 19

20 Exercise 4 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. Natural phenomena which occur in the atmosphere such as 1. Weather rain, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes, and clouds. 2. Soil b. Petrified tree resin. 3. Amber c. The processed hide of a cow. d. A non-living thing which mimics living organisms in all ways 4. Leather except reproduction. e. The basic structure of all things and which includes oxygen, 5. Jam hydrogen, gold, silver, iron, or sodium. 6. Minerals f. A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar. 7. Virus g. An animal which is used for reproduction by a virus. 8. Host h. An element, such as gold or silver. i. Short for deoxyribonucleic acid which is the basic instructions 9. DNA for all living things. j. The top layer of the earth's surface which is made up of rocks, 10. Elements dirt, minerals, and living things that have died. 20

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24 Parent Solutions Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. An organism which does not exhibit all of the j 1. Living characteristics of living things. 2. a Non-living b. A characteristic of living things which can be either internal or external. 3. d Characteristics c. A gas that is required for metabolism in plants and which is exhaled as a waste product in animals. 4. e Nutrients d. A feature that helps to identify, tell apart, or describe recognizably; a distinguishing mark or trait. 5. b Movement e. A source of nourishment, especially a nourishing ingredient in a food. 6. f Internal f. Occurring on the inside. 7. g External g. Occurring on the outside. h. A gas that makes up one of the main components of the i earth s atmosphere and which is required for life in many 8. Plants organisms. i. One of the many living organisms on the earth which use h photosynthesis and the power of the sun as a way to 9. Oxygen make food. 10. c Carbon dioxide j. An organism which exhibits all the characteristics of living things. 24

25 Exercise 2 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. Anything that is left over from metabolism and is released d 1. Metabolism from a living organism. 2. e Energy b. The pattern of growth of an organism from development, to birth, growth, and death. c. The development of an organism over time, whereby it i goes from a smaller or more simple organism to a larger or 3. Gills more complex organism. 4. c Growth d. The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. 5. b Lifecycle e. The product of metabolism in a living thing. 6. f Senses f. Organs in a living thing that allow perception of the outside world. 7. h Reproduction g. The first stage in the plant lifecycle. 8. g Seeds h. The process by which an organism creates new individuals of the same species. 9. a Waste i. The breathing organ of many animals living in water. 10. j Cell j. The smallest individual unit of a living thing which is capable of independent function. 25

26 Exercise 3 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. The process of reproduction whereby bacteria split in g 1. Invertebrates half. 2. h Photosynthesis b. A type of living thing that is neither a plant nor animal and reproduces using spores. 3. c Cyanobacteria c. A blue-green bacteria that resembles algae and is made up of only a single cell. 4. e Bacteria d. Bacteria that cause disease. 5. f Flagellum e. Single celled living things that reproduce using binary fission. 6. d Pathogens f. A tail like structure found on single celled living things which can be used for movement. 7. a Binary fission g. Animals that do not have a backbone. 8. b Fungus h. A metabolic process whereby plants turn carbon dioxide and water into food using sunlight. 9. i Spores i. A small seed-like pod that is the first stage in the mushroom lifecycle. 10. j Decomposer j. An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter and creates nutrients in the soil. 26

27 Exercise 4 Write the letter of the correct match next to each problem. a. Natural phenomena which occur in the atmosphere such as a 1. Weather rain, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes, and clouds. 2. j Soil b. Petrified tree resin. 3. b Amber c. The processed hide of a cow. 4. c Leather d. A non-living thing which mimics living organisms in all ways except reproduction. 5. f Jam e. The basic structure of all things and which includes oxygen, hydrogen, gold, silver, iron, or sodium. 6. h Minerals f. A preserve made from whole fruit boiled to a pulp with sugar. 7. d Virus g. An animal which is used for reproduction by a virus. 8. g Host h. An element, such as gold or silver. 9. i DNA i. Short for deoxyribonucleic acid which is the basic instructions for all living things. 10. e Elements j. The top layer of the earth's surface which is made up of rocks, dirt, minerals, and living things that have died. 27

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