ClassX Video Lessons Youtube Channel Smile and Learn English AUTOTROPHIC AND HETEROTROPHIC Organisms – In what are they different? – Science for Kids
Hello friends! Today, we’re going to learn about two special groups of living things: autotrophs and heterotrophs. All living things need to do three important things to stay alive. Can you guess what they are? That’s right: they need to eat (nutrition), interact with the world (interaction), and have babies (reproduction).
Today, we’re going to focus on nutrition. Nutrition is how living things get the energy they need to do things like move, play, and even think. But where does this energy come from? It comes from food! Food gives us the energy we need to do all our daily activities.
Living things are divided into two big groups based on how they get their food: autotrophs and heterotrophs.
The word “autotroph” is made up of two parts: “auto,” which means self, and “troph,” which means nourishing. This means that autotrophs can make their own food. They don’t need to eat other things to get energy. Plants are a great example of autotrophs. They make their own food through a process called photosynthesis, using sunlight, water, and air.
The word “heterotroph” also has two parts: “hetero,” which means other, and “troph,” which means nourishing. Heterotrophs cannot make their own food. They need to eat other living things to get the energy they need. Animals, including humans, are heterotrophs. We eat plants or other animals to get our energy.
So, to sum it up, autotrophs make their own food, while heterotrophs eat other things to get their food. Now you know how to tell them apart!
We’ve learned a lot today! If you want to learn even more, there are many more fun videos out there. Keep exploring and have fun learning!
Plant Detective: Go on a nature walk with an adult and look for different types of plants. Take a notebook and draw pictures of the plants you find. Try to identify which plants are autotrophs by looking for green leaves, which help them make their own food through photosynthesis. Discuss with your adult helper how these plants might make their own food using sunlight.
Food Chain Fun: Create a simple food chain using drawings or cut-out pictures from magazines. Start with a plant (autotroph) and then add an animal that might eat the plant (heterotroph). Continue the chain by adding another animal that might eat the first animal. Explain your food chain to a family member or friend and discuss how energy moves from one living thing to another.
Kitchen Experiment: With the help of an adult, try growing a small plant from a seed, like a bean or a sunflower, in a pot. Place it in a sunny spot and water it regularly. Observe how the plant grows over time and discuss how it uses sunlight, water, and air to make its own food. Keep a journal of your observations and draw pictures of the plant’s growth stages.
**Sanitized Transcript:**
[Music]
Hello friends! Today we’re going to explore the differences between heterotrophs and autotrophs. Living beings need to carry out three vital functions to survive. Do you remember which ones? That’s right: nutrition, interaction, and reproduction.
Today we’re going to find out more about the function of nutrition. Thanks to nutrition, living beings get the energy they need to carry out everyday activities like moving, walking, or even thinking. But where do we get all this energy from? From food! In other words, from what we eat.
Based on their mode of nutrition, living beings are classified into two major groups: autotrophs and heterotrophs. The word “autotroph” has a distinct definition: “auto” means self, and “troph” means nourishing. This explains that autotrophic organisms make their own food to get the energy they need for everyday activities. In other words, autotrophic organisms produce their own food. Plants are an example of autotrophic organisms because they make their own food and obtain energy during the process of photosynthesis.
The word “heterotroph” also has a distinct definition: “hetero” means other, and “troph” means nourishing. This means that heterotrophic organisms cannot make their own food; they must eat to obtain energy and survive. Animals, including humans, are examples of heterotrophic organisms. They consume food from an outside source to obtain energy for their day-to-day activities.
As we have seen, there are autotrophic organisms that produce their own food and heterotrophic organisms that obtain nutrients from other organisms. You’ve learned how to differentiate them. See you soon!
[Music]
We’ve learned so much in just one video! Did you know there are many more videos? Imagine how much you could learn! Subscribe to the Smile and Learn educational channel to learn and have fun at the same time.
[Music]
