Have you ever wondered what makes something alive? Sometimes, things like robot dogs can move and act like real animals, but they aren’t truly alive. Let’s learn how to tell the difference between living and non-living things!
To figure out if something is alive, we can look at three important clues: needing water, growing, and needing food. Let’s explore each one!
All living things need water to survive. Water helps them stay healthy and do important jobs like moving nutrients around and keeping cool. For example, plants like grass need water to grow, and animals like dogs need water to stay alive. But things like robot dogs don’t need water, so they aren’t living.
Living things grow and change over time. Plants start as tiny seeds and grow into big trees or flowers. Animals grow from babies to adults. This growth is a sign of life. Non-living things, like robots or toys, don’t grow or change unless someone changes them.
Living things need food to get energy and grow. Plants make their own food using sunlight in a process called photosynthesis. Animals eat food to get the nutrients they need. Non-living things don’t need food because they don’t need energy to survive.
Here are the three clues to help us decide if something is living or non-living:
Let’s use these clues to look at some examples:
Understanding the difference between living and non-living things helps us learn about the world. Even though robots can act like they’re alive, they don’t have the key characteristics of living things. By knowing that living things need water, grow, and need food, we can appreciate the amazing life around us. Remember, every living thing, like plants, animals, and even fungi, plays a special role in our world, while non-living things have different uses in our lives.
Water Detective: Go on a water detective mission in your home or garden! Look for things that need water to stay healthy. Can you find a plant that needs watering or a pet that drinks water? Draw a picture of what you find and write a sentence about why it needs water.
Growth Chart: Choose a plant or a pet and observe it over a week. Make a simple chart to track any changes you notice. Does the plant grow taller, or does your pet get bigger? Share your chart with your class and talk about how these changes show that the plant or pet is living.
Food Hunt: With the help of an adult, find different types of food in your kitchen. Sort them into two groups: food that living things eat and things that are not food. Discuss with your family why living things need food and how it helps them grow and have energy.
