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Living Things - Classification of living and non-living things

Grade 3IGCSE

Review the key concepts, formulae, and examples before starting your quiz.

🔑Concepts

The 7 Life Processes: All living things carry out seven essential processes, often remembered by the acronym MRS GREN: Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, and Nutrition.

Movement: Living things can move their body parts. Animals move to find food or shelter, while plants move toward sunlight (e.g., PhototropismPhototropism).

Respiration: This is the chemical process where living cells release energy from food. It often involves taking in O2O_2 and releasing CO2CO_2.

Sensitivity: Living things can detect and respond to changes in their environment (stimuli), such as light, heat, or sound.

Growth: Living things increase in size or complexity over time. For example, a seed grows into a plant.

Reproduction: The ability to produce offspring (babies or seeds) to ensure the survival of the species.

Excretion: The process of getting rid of waste products from the body, such as urine or CO2CO_2.

Nutrition: Living things need food for energy. Plants make their own food through PhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis, while animals eat plants or other animals.

Classification: Objects are classified into three categories: Living (shows all MRS GREN), Non-living (never lived), and Once-living (dead materials like a wooden chair or a leather belt).

📐Formulae

Respiration:Food+OxygenEnergy+CO2+H2ORespiration: Food + Oxygen \rightarrow Energy + CO_2 + H_2O

Photosynthesis:CO2+H2O+lightFood+O2Photosynthesis: CO_2 + H_2O + light \rightarrow Food + O_2

💡Examples

Problem 1:

A car can move, it takes in fuel (nutrition), and it releases exhaust gases (excretion). Is a car a living thing? Explain why.

Solution:

No, a car is a non-living thing.

Explanation:

To be classified as living, an object must show all seven life processes of MRS GREN. While a car moves and uses fuel, it cannot grow or reproduce on its own.

Problem 2:

Is a piece of paper considered living, non-living, or once-living?

Solution:

Once-living.

Explanation:

Paper is made from wood, which came from a tree. Since the tree was a living thing that performed processes like PhotosynthesisPhotosynthesis, the paper is classified as once-living (dead).

Problem 3:

Name the gas that most living things need to take in for respiration and the gas they release as waste.

Solution:

Take in: O2O_2 (Oxygen); Release: CO2CO_2 (Carbon Dioxide).

Explanation:

During respiration, cells use O2O_2 to break down nutrients and produce energy, resulting in CO2CO_2 as a byproduct.

Classification of living and non-living things Revision - Grade 3 Science IGCSE