Liz Zelencich

Program Manager
Join us online at: http://www.thecourier.com.au/community
All living things are made up of cells.
These cells are the basic building blocks of
life. As an example, have you ever seen a
sandcastle? At a distance, the sandcastle
looks like a smooth brown building. As you
get closer to the sandcastle, you can begin
to see that it is not one smooth building,
but instead that it is made up of millions
of tiny grains of sand. Like a sandcastle,
living things are made up of cells.
Looking at an elephant, you might see
what looks like a smooth grey animal. And
it is true that this is what you are seeing.
However, just like the sandcastle, if you
could get close enough, and if your eyes
were powerful enough, you would realise
that what looks like a smooth grey surface,
is really made up of many billions of
smaller objects called cells.
Cells are tiny units of living materials
separated by a cellular wall, or barrier.
These cells are so small, that they can
only be seen with a powerful tool known
as a microscope. Cells make up every
part of a living thing. Your skin, your hair,
ngernails, blood, bones, nerves, and
muscles are all made up of cells. These
cells work together to keep the life form
alive.
What is biology?
The word biology is made up of two
smaller words, bio and logy. Bio
means life. Logy means a study of
science. When we put these two words
together, what do we get? Bio-logy, or
biology, the science of life.
Living things are made up of cells
Biology is the study of life on Earth
MOVEMENT: All living plants and animals move. Humans and animals use their
bodies to move from one place to another. Some plants turn towards light or
water. Roots mostly grow downwards. Many stems grow upwards. Humans
move all the time. You are moving now!
REPRODUCING: All living things make offspring (babies
or seeds). Humans and animals have babies. Some new
plants can grow from seeds. Other plants grow from
cuttings or shoots.
SENSING: All living things respond to any change that they sense.
When you are feeling cold, you will put on a jumper, coat or jacket.
When it becomes winter some animals hibernate. In autumn the
leaves on some trees change colour. You can use an umbrella
to protect you from the rain or from the harsh sun on a hot day.
Reptiles like to lie and bask in the sun on cold winter's days.
BREATHING: All living things breathe gases in and out. Humans and
animals use the gas oxygen from the air that they breathe in. They
release (give off) the gas carbon dioxide when they breathe out.
Plants take in the gas carbon dioxide into their leaves. They use it to
make food. They then release oxygen for animals and humans to use.
FEEDING: All living animals and plants need food. Food gives all living
things the energy they need. Green plants can make their own food for
energy in their leaves and stems. Humans and animals eat plants to
get energy.
EXCRETING: All living animals and plants have to get rid of waste products. Humans and
animals have to get rid of waste products from their bodies. There are special organs in the
body which help to get rid of waste, such as the lungs, kidneys and skin. Your kidneys take the
waste out of your blood and produce urine. Also, when you sweat you are actually excreting
waste from your skin! Plants get rid of waste water through the process of transpiration.
GROWTH: All living things grow. Human and animal
babies grow into adults. Seedlings grow into plants.
Something that is denitely unique to living things is
that they die. It is important to remember that anything
that is alive will eventually die. The period of time
that something is expected to live is called the living
things lifespan. The lifespan of living things can vary
signicantly.
But wait a minute, what is life? What
kinds of things are alive? Well, to
begin with, you and I are alive. Your
families, friends and neighbours
are also alive, so are your pets, your
lawn, trees, plants, the food you eat,
and the bugs that you watch crawl
on the footpath. Life is all around
us. From gigantic whales that live in
the oceans, to tiny germs that crawl
around on your computer keyboard.
Biology is the science of learning
about every kind of life, no matter
where it is, or how big or small it is. A
biologist is a person who studies life,
or who studies biology.
It is not always easy to say if
something is living or nonliving. Many
times things that look as if they are
nonliving can become alive again.
Other things like a river or soil, are
nonliving but people say that the "soil
is alive" or talk of the "living waters".
This is because there are so many
living things that live in the soil or the
water. This can be a bit confusing,
don't you think? Although living
things may look different, they all
carry out seven similar processes. We
call these the seven life processes.
Let's take a look at each of these.
Some things have a lifespan of only a few hours or a couple of days. Some bacteria and
insects, for example, begin their lives, mature, reproduce, and then die, all within a couple
hours. Other living things can live for many years, such as an elephant that might live for
70 years, and a human which can live for 100 years. Then there are the living things which
seem to live forever. A bristlecone pine tree can live 5500 years. That means that today there
are bristlecone pine trees alive that began their lives before ancient Rome, and even before
many of the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. Even these long-living organisms will all eventually
die. All seven of the life processes must happen for something to be living. If something does
not carry out all seven life processes then it is non-living. For example, if you think of a river,
you may think it moves and grows, but a river does not sense or feed or excrete or breathe
or reproduce so it is nonliving!
The year is 2014. You and your
friends live in a variety of places, some in
ats, others in homes, caravans, cabins and many
other places. All around you both inside and outside there
other life forms. These life forms live in caves, trees, under
rocks, in ponds and puddles, in your sh tank, on your bench
tops, and in many other places. All of us, both friends and creatures,
share a larger home. This home is the planet Earth.
How did we all get here? It is the job of a biologist, or someone who
studies life, to learn where life came from, how it developed, and to try
to determine how life will continue to develop. Biologists today are not
completely sure how life began on Earth, but after many years of studying
life forms, they have come up with guesses. We call these guesses
theories.
The most commonly accepted, but not the
only theory is the theory of evolution. This
fascinating tale begins with a very big
bang, and ends with you reading this
article today in our newspaper.
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Liz Zelencich
Program Manager
Join us online at: http://www.thecourier.com.au/community
QUESTIONS
A snake normally lays its eggs in a 'nest'. Why does
it not have to lie on top of them to hatch them?
Farmers often do not let the mother hen sit on their eggs. Instead
they put the eggs in something called an incubator, as you see in the
picture here of the eggs hatching. What does the incubator provide
to the eggs?
Study the photo of the bird sitting on her nest. Can you explain why
she needs to sit on her eggs?
Have you ever caught tadpoles or kept silkworms in a box? Maybe someone
in your class has some that they can bring to school. In what season can you
normally nd little tadpoles or silkworms, and why?
Understanding the seven life processes:
Some things seem to be nonliving, but they are
not! In the Western Cape (a province of South
Africa) some fynbos seeds wait for many years
in the soil. They can only start growing after a
re has burnt their hard outer shell! Mmm, this
sounds interesting! Yes, some things seem to be
non-living for a very long time. They wait until
they sense the right conditions to revive again.
This means that they have to wait for something
special to happen before they can revive and
show the characteristics of living things. We
say they need the right conditions to revive and
show the seven life processes.
We say the seeds are in a "dormant state" until
they are given water, warmth, air, light and soil
to germinate and start growing. There are other
things too which seem to be nonliving, but if
they are given the right conditions then they can
revive and carry on living.
Fertilised eggs need to be kept warm or they
will not hatch. This is why a mother bird will
start sitting on her eggs to keep them warm
when she has laid all of them. Yeast can cause
bread dough or cake batter to raise. Yeast
needs warmth to come alive and start raising
the bread. Some people buy dry yeast for their
baking. Dry yeast needs moisture, heat and
sugar to start working. That is why you will see
bakers place their dough in a warm place (near
the stove, for example) to get it to rise.
A shark egg often looks like
a see-through packet.
Some people nd them
washed up on the
beach and call them
a "Mermaid's Purse!
Liz Zelencich
Program Manager
Join us online at: http://www.thecourier.com.au/community
GERMINATING A SEED
MATERIALS (what you need): bean seeds
cotton wool
plastic lids (from empty peanut butter jars, for example)
Instructions:
Place two layers of cotton wool in the plastic lid.
Place a few of your seeds between the two layers of
cotton wool.
Drizzle water over the seeds. You need to water the cotton
wool enough to wet it but NOT TO DROWN THE SEEDS!
There should be NO WATER running over the sides of the
lid or your seed will drown!
Place your seeds in a warm place near a window.
Water your seeds whenever you feel the cotton wool is
almost dry. Be careful not to drown your seeds!
Have children measure a plot of ground and lay down a skipping rope or string etc.
Have children predict the kinds of living and nonliving things theyll nd in their plots and
how theyll interact. Students should record their observations on paper or in their book.
Instruct students to place a moist paper towel on the bottom of a tray. They should use an
instrument to take a small sample of soil from the plot and spread the soil on the paper
towel.
Instruct students to use a hand-held lens and toothpick to examine the soil for living and
nonliving things and record observations on paper or in their book.
Have students empty trays in the same spot which they took the sample from.
Instruct students to write a paragraph that describes which living and nonliving things
made up the plot they observed.
QUESTIONS:
Before you water your seeds, describe how they look and feel.
Draw your seeds between the cotton wool on the rst day.
Check the progress of your seeds every day. How long did it take them
to germinate? And what do your seeds look and feel like now? What
do you think made your seeds revive?
NON-LIVING THINGS
Non-living things are different from living things because they do not
perform all of the seven life processes. Do you think this car is living
or non-living? Let's look which of the seven life processes the car
carries out. (Remember if it is not an egg or a seed. If there is even
one life process that something cannot do then it is not living!)
Place a 4 or a 8 in the last column.
MOVEMENT
REPRODUCING
SENSING
FEEDING
BREATHING
EXCRETING
GROWING
How
m
any life processes does a car have?
Is it living or non-living?
What are some characteristics of living things?
What are some characteristics of non-living things?
What makes living things different from non-living things?
What characteristics do all living things have in common?
Do any nonliving things possess some of the same characteristics as living things?
Collect objects from the playground on a scavenger hunt and classify them into groups of their choosing.
Discuss the system of classication used.
Focus questions: Is it alive? Was it ever alive? How do you know? What is the evidence?
Take some digital photos and make a montage of living and non-living things.
Teachers:
Liz Zelencich
Program Manager
Join us online at: http://www.thecourier.com.au/community
Use the word box, below, to complete the paragraph.
Cut out these wonderful animals, paste them on to some paper and then give
them a healthy environment to live in. Draw all of the things they need, then
colour your picture.
Divide the class into two groups, one in charge of living things and the other in charge of
non-living things. Challenge the teams to come up with things in their category that start
with each letter of the alphabet.
Are these living or non-living? Can you spell them all?
LIVING HABITATS RESPOND
NON LIVING ENVIRONMENT RESTAURANT
ORGANISM PREDATORS CALENDAR
BREATHE REPTILE REPRODUCE
EQUIPMENT MAMMAL JEWELLERY
ADAPTATION BILLABONG KANGAROO
GROWTH RACQUET INANIMATE
ENERGY BICYCLE DUMBBELL
OBSERVATION AMPHIBIAN MONUMENT
All living things __________ one another. The
plants produce oxygen, which animals need to
__________. The __________ produce carbon
dioxide, which the plants need to breathe.
Plants are also __________ to many animals. The
plants get __________ from the __________, and
the animals that eat the plants __________ that
energy. Some animals are food to __________
animals. This is necessary for __________ to exist.
Plants can also provide __________ to animals.
This helps animals __________ themselves from
bad __________, or from other __________
animals. If we do not take __________ of the
living things in our environment, life would be very
__________.
For answers to this cloze activity go to www.thecourier.com.
au/community Click on the Newspapers in Education link
ACTIVITIES
other different protect breathe sun animals dangerous need
weather food energy life get shelter care