NCERT Exemplar Problems Class 6 Science – The Living Organisms and Their Surroundings

Question 1:
Which of the following cannot be called a habitat?
(a) A desert with camels
(b) A pond with fishes
(c) A jungle with wild animals
(d) Cultivated land with grazing cattle
Solution:
(d) Cultivated land with grazing cattle cannot be called a habitat. The cattle does not live in the cultivated land, They come there, only for feeding. A habitat is the surroundings where organisms live. It means a dwelling place, e.g. aquatic habitats such as pond.

Question 2:
Following are some features of plants.

1. They lose a lot of water through transpiration.
2. Their leaves are always broad and flat.
3. They lose very little water through transpiration.
4. Their roots grow very deep into the soil.

Which of the combination of given features are typical of desert plants?
(a) (1) and (2)
(b) (2) and (4)
(c) (2) and (3)
(d) (3) and (4)
Solution:
(d) Features of desert plants that help them to survive there are:

• Lose very little water through transpiration.
• Leaves are either absert, very small or reduced to spines.
• Stem is covered with thick waxy layer to retain water.
• Root grow very deep into the soil for absorbing water.

Question 3:
Boojho comes across an animal having a stream-lined and slippery body. What is the habitat of the animal?
(a) Water
(b) Desert
(c) Grassland
(d) Mountain
Solution:
(a) The animal having a stream-lined and slippery body lives in water habitat. These are adaptations to survive in water.
Stream-lined bodies reduce resistance due to water and help in swimming.
The slippery body makes movement through water easier.
The other adaptations of these animals are gills for breathing, flat fins, tails, etc.

Question 4:
Which of the following are characteristics of living beings?

1. Respiration
2. Reproduction
3. Adaptation
4. Excretion

Choose the correct answer from the options below.
(a) (1), (2) and (4)
(b) (1) and (2)
(c) (2) and (4)
(d) (1), (2), (3) and (4)
Solution:
(d) The living beings have some common characteristic that makes them different from the non-living. These are respiration, reproduction, adaptations, excretion, growth, nutrition and movement.

Question 5:
Earthworms breathe through their
(a) skin
(b) gills
(c) lungs
(d) stomata
Solution:
(a) Earthworms breathe through their skin. Their skin is thin and moist with plenty of blood supply for exchange of gases.
The other options are used by other organisms such as gills-fishes, lungs-humans and stomata-plants.

Question 6:
Which of the following is not an example of response to stimulus?
(a) Watering in mouth when we see delicious food items
(b) Closing of leaves of Mimosa plant when touched
(c) Shutting our eyes when an object is suddenly thrown in our direction
(d) A chick hatching out of an egg
Solution:
(d) A chick hatching out of an egg is not a response to stimuli, it is a natural phenomenon of reproduction in hens that requires particular time period and temperature to occur. The other options are examples of response to changes in our surroundings (stimuli) which is a characteristic of living beings.

Question 7:
Which of the following is correct for respiration in plants?
(a) Respiration takes place only during day time
(b) Respiration takes place only during night
(c) Respiration takes place both during day and night
(d) Respiration takes place only when plants are not making food
Solution:
(c) In plants, respiration, takes place both during day and night. During daytime, all the CO₂ produced in respiration is used up by plants for photosynthesis and only oxygen produced during photosynthesis is released. The plants give out CO₂ produced in respiration only at night time

Question 8:
Which of the following is an incorrect statement about excretion?
(a) Excretion takes place in plants.
(b) Excretion takes place both in plants and animals.
(c) Excretion is the process of getting rid of excess water only.
(d) Secretion is one method of excretion.
Solution:
(c) Excretion is the process of removal of waste substances from the body of a living organism. The wastes include not just excess water but CO₂, nitrogenous matter, feaces, etc.
It is an important characteristic of living organisms.

Question 9:
Choose the set that represents only the biotic components of a habitat.
(a) Tiger, deer, grass, soil
(b) Rocks, soil, plants, air
(c) Sand, turtle, crab, rocks
(d) Aquatic plant, fish, frog, insect
Solution:
(d) Aquatic plant, fish, frog, insect represents only the biotic components of a habitat. The living things such as plants, animals and microorganisms in a habitat are known as its biotic components.
Soil (in a), rocks, soil and air (in b) and sand and rocks (in c) are the abiotic (non-living) components.

Question 10:
Which one of the following is not associated with reproduction?
(a) A new leaf coming out of a tree branch
(b) A dog giving birth to puppy
(c) A seed growing into a plant
(d) Chick hatching from an egg
Solution:
(a) A new leaf coming out of a tree branch is not associated with reproduction. It is associated with growth.
Reproduction is the process by which living things produce more of their own kind, e.g. dog giving birth to puppy, seed growing into plant and chick hatching from egg.

Question 11:
Choose the odd one out from below with respect to reproduction.
(a) Eggs of hen
(b) Seeds of plants
(c) Buds of potato
(d) Roots of mango tree
Solution:
(d) Roots of mango tree is odd one as its not related to reproduction.
The other options are directly linked to reproduction.
Chickens are hatched from the eggs of hen.
Many plants reproduce through seeds.
Buds of potato tuber can grow to produce new potato plant.

Question 12:
Although organisms die, their kind continue to live on earth. Which characteristic of living organisms makes this possible?
(a) Respiration
(b) Reproduction
(c) Excretion
(d) Movement
Solution:
(b) Reproduction is the characteristic of living organisms through which they produce more of their own kind.
Thus, even after the organisms die, their kind continue to live on earth.

Question 13:
If you happen to go to a desert, what changes do you expect to observe in the urine you excrete? You would

1. excrete small amount of urine
2. excrete large amount of urine
3. excrete concentrated urine
4. excrete very dilute urine Which of the above would hold true?

(a) (1) and (3)
(b) (2) and (4)
(c) (1) and (4)
(d) (1) and (2)
Solution:
(a) A small amount of concentrated urine would be excreted in desert. This will help conserve water in the body.

Question 14:
Unscramble the given words below to get the correct word using the
clues given against them.
(a) SATPADAOINT Specific features or certain habits which enable a living being to live in its surroundings.
(b) RETECOXNI Waste products are removed by this process
(c) LUMISIT All living things respond to these
(d) ROUCDPRENTOI Because of this we find organisms of the same kind
Solution:
(a) Adaptations
(b) Excretion
(c) Stimuli
(d) Reproduction

Question 15:
Using the following words, write the habitat of each animal given in figures (a to d).
Grassland, mountain, desert, pond, river

Solution:
(a) The diagram is of a deer which lives in grassland.
(b) The diagram is of a frog which lives in pond.
(c) The diagram is of a yak which lives in mountain.
(d) The diagram is of a camel which lives in desert.

Question 16:
Classify the following habitats into terrestrial and aquatic types. Grassland, pond, ocean, rice field
Solution:
The habitats can be classified as :
Terrestrial habitats Grassland and rice field. These are land based habitats.
Aquatic habitats Pond and ocean. These are water based habitats.

Question 17:
Why is reproduction important for organisms?
Solution:
Reproduction is important for organisms as it leads to the production of more individuals of its own kind. This helps in continuity of life on the earth.

Question 18:
Fill in the blanks:

1. Saline water, hot air and sand are ……….. components of a habitat.
2. The habitat of plants and animals that live in ……….. is called the aquatic habitat.
3. ………… enable a plant or an animal to live in its surroundings.
4. Plants and animals that live on land are said to live in ………… habitats.

Solution:

1. Abiotic (non-living)
2. Water
3. Adaptations
4. Terrestrial

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 19:
Paheli has a rose plant in her garden. How can she increase the number of rose plants in the garden?
Solution:
Paheli can increase the number of rose plants in the garden by planting stem cutting (a small piece of stem) of the rose plant. The cutting should be made in such a way that there are some buds on it. Its lower part is buried in moist soil.
After a few days, the cuttings develop roots and grow into new plant. Thus, the number of plants increase.

Question 20:
Why do desert snakes burrow deep into the sand during the day?
Solution:
Snakes in the desert burrow deep into the sand during the day time when it is very hot because the deeper layers of sand are cooler. This allows them to stay away from heat of the desert that persists through the day time as well as prevent loss of water from their body.

Question 21:
Write the adaptation in aquatic plants due to which

1. submerged leaves can bend in the flowing water.
2. leaves can float on the surface of water.

Solution:
The adaptations are:

1. Leaves of aquatic plants are narrow and thin ribbon-like which allow them to bend in the flowing water.
2. Stems/Stalks of leaves of aquatic plants are long soft, hollow and light which allow them to float on the surface of water.

Question 22:
Mention one adaptation present in the following animals.

1. In camels to keep their bodies away from the heat of sand.
2. In frogs to enable them to swim.
3. In dolphins and whales to breathe in air when they swim near the surface of water.

Solution:

1. Camels have long legs to keep their bodies away from the heat of sand in desert.
2. Frogs have webbed feet that enable them to swim.
3. Dolphins and whales have blow holes which help them to breathe in air when they swim near the surface of water.

Question 23:
Some desert plants have very small leaves, whereas some others have only spines. How does this benefit the plants?
Solution:
Desert plants have very small leaves or spines as adaptation to dry conditions of the desert. Because of these modifications of leaves, the surface of lamina is reduced which reduces water loss from the leaves through transpiration.
Since very little water is lost through transpiration, that benefits the desert plants to survive on stored food for long time.

Question 24:
What are the specific features present in a deer that help it to detect the presence of predators like lion?
Solution:
Deer have following specific features that help it to detect the presence of predators like lion in a forest or grassland:

1. Big ears to hear movement of predators very easily.
2. Eyes on the sides of its head which allow it to see in all directions at the same time.

Question 25:
Read the features of plants given below.

1. Thick waxy stem
2. Short roots
3. Cone-shaped plants
4. Sloping branches
5. Small or spine-like leaves
6. Hollow stem

Choose the type of plant for every adaptive feature given in a, b, c, d, e and f from the list given below:
Aquatic plant, desert plant, mountainous plant
Solution:
Given below are the features with respect to their corresponding type of plant:

1. Thick waxy stem – desert plant
2. Short roots – aquatic plant
3. Cone-shaped plants – mountainous plant
4. Sloping branches – mountainous plant
5. Small or spine-like leaves – desert plant
6. Hollow stem – aquatic plant

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 26:
Like many animals although a car also moves it is not considered as a living organism. Give two or three reasons.
Solution:
A moving car although moves is not considered as a living organism because of the following reasons:

1. Living organisms have the ability to move on their own, whereas a car moves by burning of fuels like diesel and petrol.
2. A car does not show any other living characteristics like respiration, digestion, reproduction or growth, that are shown by all living organisms and these processes are essential for living beings.

Question 27:
What are the adaptive features of a lion that helps it in hunting?
Solution:
Adaptive features of a lion that helps it in hunting are :

1. Long sharp claws in its front legs to catch prey.
2. Eyes placed in front of head allow it to know the correct location and movement of its prey.
3. Brown body colour helps it to hide in dry grassland, this avoids the detection by its prey.