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Chapter 9: The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Notes

This chapter helps us understand how living organisms interact with their surroundings and how they adapt to survive in different environments. All organisms, whether big or small, show certain features that make them different from non-living things. These features are called characteristics of living organisms.

Class 6 Science Chapter 9 The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings – Easy Notes with Questions and Answers (NCERT Solutions)
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Characteristics of Living Organisms

  • Growth: All living beings grow with time. For example, a seed grows into a plant, and a baby grows into an adult.
  • Need for Food: Food provides energy for survival and growth.
  • Respiration: All living organisms respire to release energy from food.
  • Response to Stimuli: Living beings respond to changes around them, like plants bending towards sunlight.
  • Reproduction: All living beings reproduce to continue their species.
  • Excretion: Living organisms remove waste from their bodies.
  • Movement: Some movement is seen in all living beings, even if plants show it slowly.

Habitat and Adaptation

A habitat is the place where an organism lives. Habitats provide food, water, shelter, and suitable conditions to survive. The process by which organisms adjust to their environment is called adaptation.

Types of Habitats

  • Terrestrial habitat: Land-based habitats such as forests, deserts, grasslands, and mountains.
  • Aquatic habitat: Water-based habitats such as rivers, ponds, oceans, and swamps.

Examples of Adaptations

  • Desert plants: Have spines instead of leaves to reduce water loss, and thick stems to store water.
  • Desert animals: Camels can store fat in their hump and live without water for many days.
  • Aquatic plants: Lotus and water hyacinth have broad leaves that float on water.
  • Aquatic animals: Fish have gills to breathe in water and fins to swim.
  • Mountain animals: Yaks have thick fur to survive cold conditions.

Biotic and Abiotic Components

Every habitat has biotic components (living things like plants and animals) and abiotic components (non-living things like water, air, sunlight, and soil).

Interaction with Surroundings

Organisms are closely linked to their surroundings. For example, plants need sunlight, water, and air to grow. Animals depend on plants or other animals for food.

Questions and Answers – The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

  1. Which of the following is not a characteristic of living organisms?
    a) Growth
    b) Reproduction
    c) Movement
    d) Shining

    Answer: d) Shining
  2. Habitat means:
    a) The food an animal eats
    b) The place where an organism lives
    c) The process of reproduction
    d) The method of breathing

    Answer: b) The place where an organism lives
  3. Which is a terrestrial habitat?
    a) Ocean
    b) River
    c) Desert
    d) Pond

    Answer: c) Desert
  4. Lotus is adapted to:
    a) Desert habitat
    b) Aquatic habitat
    c) Mountain habitat
    d) Grassland habitat

    Answer: b) Aquatic habitat
  5. Camels survive in desert because:
    a) They can store fat in their hump
    b) They drink water daily
    c) They breathe with gills
    d) They have scales on body

    Answer: a) They can store fat in their hump
  6. Which of these is an abiotic component?
    a) Plants
    b) Animals
    c) Water
    d) Humans

    Answer: c) Water
  7. Fish breathe through:
    a) Lungs
    b) Gills
    c) Skin
    d) Nose

    Answer: b) Gills

Very Short Answer Questions

  1. Define habitat.
    Answer: The place where an organism lives is called its habitat.
  2. Name two desert plants.
    Answer: Cactus and Date Palm.
  3. What are biotic components?
    Answer: Living things in a habitat are called biotic components.
  4. Give one example of aquatic plant.
    Answer: Lotus.
  5. Name one mountain animal.
    Answer: Yak.
  6. Which gas is essential for respiration?
    Answer: Oxygen.
  7. What is adaptation?
    Answer: The process of adjustment of organisms to their surroundings.

Short Answer Questions

  1. Write two differences between living and non-living things.
  2. Explain one adaptation of desert animals.
  3. Give examples of two terrestrial habitats.
  4. What are abiotic components? Give examples.
  5. How do fish move in water?
  6. Why do mountain animals have thick fur?
  7. What is the role of sunlight in a habitat?

Long Answer Questions

  1. Explain the main characteristics of living organisms with examples.
  2. Describe how cactus is adapted to survive in desert conditions.
  3. Differentiate between terrestrial and aquatic habitats with examples.
  4. Explain how biotic and abiotic components are dependent on each other.
  5. Write a note on the adaptation of aquatic plants and animals.
  6. Explain the importance of habitat for survival of organisms.
  7. Discuss how living organisms respond to stimuli with examples.