Things can be living, dead or never alive. Living things move, grow, need food and water, and make young. A tree, a cat and a worm are living. A dead leaf or a bone was once alive but is not alive now. A rock, a plastic bottle and a metal spoon have never been alive.
There are many kinds of living things in every place. Scientists look in different habitats to see what lives there. A pond has frogs, fish, weed and insects. A field has grass, flowers, worms and birds. Counting the different kinds tells us how varied the life in a place is.
Worked example
Is a wooden table living, dead or never alive?
- Wood comes from a tree.
- The tree was alive, but the wood is no longer growing.
Answer:So the table is made of something dead: it was once alive.
Key words
- living
- alive now: grows, needs food and makes young
- dead
- was alive once but not now
- never alive
- has never been a living thing
- variety
- many different kinds
Practise this
New questions every time.
NGSS-referenced: 2-LS4-1