Class 6 Science Chapter 10 Extra Questions and Answers – Living Creatures – Exploring their Characteristics
Class 6 Science Chapter 10 Extra Questions and Answers for “Living Creatures – Exploring their Characteristics” (based on NCERT textbook Curiosity).
EXTRA IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS – Chapter 10 – Living Creatures – Exploring their Characteristics
This includes All types of Questions normally asked in school exams, tests, and NCERT exercises.
VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1. What is a stimulus?
Answer:
Any change in the environment that causes a living being to respond is called a stimulus.
2. Name the process of removal of waste in plants and animals.
Answer:
Excretion.
3. What is the seed coat?
Answer:
It is the protective outer covering of a seed that becomes soft when water is absorbed.
4. Which two conditions are essential for germination in bean seeds?
Answer:
Air and water.
5. What is spawn?
Answer:
A jelly-like mass of frog eggs found in water.
6. Name the life stage of mosquito that breathes air at the water surface.
Answer:
Larva and pupa.
7. Give the four stages of a mosquito life cycle.
Answer:
Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult.
8. What is the full form of KC in the chapter context?
Answer:
Kerosene (used to kill larvae by blocking air).
9. Which plant folds its leaves when touched?
Answer:
Touch-me-not (Mimosa).
10. What helps tadpoles swim?
Answer:
A long tail.
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
11. Why is a wooden log non-living even though it comes from a living tree?
Answer:
Because it cannot grow, respire, reproduce, respond to stimuli, excrete, or move.
After being cut, it no longer shows any characteristics of living beings.
12. Why do seeds in excess water fail to germinate?
Answer:
Excess water fills soil pores and prevents air from reaching the seeds.
Without air (oxygen), seeds cannot respire and therefore fail to germinate.
13. Why are plants considered living even though they cannot move from place to place?
Answer:
Plants show other characteristics of living beings such as growth, respiration, movement toward stimuli, reproduction, and excretion.
14. How do frog eggs differ from bird eggs?
Answer:
Frog eggs are jelly-like, soft and laid in clusters in water.
Bird eggs have a hard protective shell and are laid on land in nests.
15. What is the role of sunlight after the seed has germinated?
Answer:
Sunlight is required for photosynthesis, helping the seedling grow into a healthy plant.
16. How does spraying kerosene on stagnant water control mosquitoes?
Answer:
Kerosene forms a thin layer on water that blocks air.
Mosquito larvae and pupae cannot breathe and die.
17. Give two examples of movements in plants.
Answer:
- Opening of flowers
- Closing of mimosa leaves on touch
18. What do plants excrete and how?
Answer:
Plants excrete excess water and minerals as small droplets from leaves (guttation), or store wastes in old cells, bark or fruits.
19. How do roots and shoots respond to gravity and light?
Answer:
Roots grow downward due to gravity (geotropism).
Shoots grow upward and toward light (phototropism).
20. Why are larvae and pupae seen coming to the water surface frequently?
Answer:
Because they need air for respiration.
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
21. Explain the essential conditions for seed germination with reasons.
Answer:
Seeds require:
- Water:
Softens the seed coat and activates the embryo. - Air (oxygen):
Needed for respiration, which releases energy for growth. - Suitable temperature:
Helps metabolic activities inside the seed.
Sunlight is generally not essential for germination in most seeds but becomes important after the seedling grows.
22. Describe the life cycle of a frog.
Answer:
- Spawn:
Jelly-like cluster of eggs laid in water. - Embryo:
Inside the egg, the embryo develops into a tadpole. - Tadpole stage:
Early tadpole has a long tail and breathes through gills.
Later tadpole develops hind legs and then front legs. - Froglet:
The tail becomes shorter, lungs develop, and it begins to live partly on land. - Adult frog:
Fully formed frog that can live on land and water, and can reproduce.
23. Explain the life cycle of a mosquito.
Answer:
- Egg:
Laid on water surfaces by female mosquito. - Larva:
Worm-like stage that swims and breathes at water surface. - Pupa:
Comma-shaped stage, inactive but develops into an adult. - Adult mosquito:
Emerges from the pupal case, dries wings and flies away.
Female mosquitoes suck blood and lay eggs again.
The cycle continues.
24. List the similarities and differences in the life cycles of plants and animals.
Answer:
Similarities:
• Both grow and pass through stages.
• Both reproduce.
• Both eventually die.
Differences:
• Plants start life as seeds; animals start as young ones or hatch from eggs.
• Many animals undergo metamorphosis; plants do not.
• Plants are fixed; animals move.
• Seeds can remain dormant for years; baby animals cannot.
25. How do the observations in Activity 10.3 show that plants respond to light and gravity?
Answer:
• Upright plants show shoots growing upward and roots downward.
• In inverted plants, shoots bend upward and roots bend downward.
• When light is given from one direction, the shoot bends towards light.
This proves:
• Shoots show positive phototropism and negative geotropism.
• Roots show positive geotropism.
HIGHER ORDER THINKING (HOTS)
26. Why are seeds stored after drying?
Answer:
Drying removes moisture which otherwise causes seeds to germinate or rot due to fungal growth.
Dry seeds remain alive but inactive.
27. Why do some plants require darkness for germination while others do not?
Answer:
Seeds differ in their biological needs:
• Some seeds (Calendula, Zinnia) germinate only in darkness because light inhibits the biochemical reactions inside them.
• Others (Coleus, Petunia) need light for activating germination enzymes.
28. A car moves and uses fuel. Why is it still non-living?
Answer:
Because its movement is due to external force.
It cannot grow, respire, reproduce, respond to stimuli or excrete.
29. How can environmental temperature affect insect life cycles?
Answer:
High temperature speeds up growth and shortens the life cycle.
Low temperature slows metabolism and prolongs larval stages.
30. Why is reproduction necessary even though a single organism can live its entire lifespan without reproducing?
Answer:
Reproduction ensures continuity of species.
Without reproduction, all organisms would eventually die and species would become extinct.
APPLICATION-BASED QUESTIONS
31. How will you prevent mosquito breeding at home?
Answer:
• Do not allow water to stagnate in coolers, pots or containers.
• Change water in flower vases weekly.
• Use mosquito nets.
• Cover overhead tanks.
• Put kerosene/larvicides in stagnant water.
32. If a seed germinates in a refrigerator, what would you conclude?
Answer:
This means the seed’s temperature requirement is low and it can germinate in cold conditions.
33. Tara and Vijay covered seeds in an airtight container. What are they testing?
Answer:
They want to find out whether seeds need air for germination.
If no germination occurs in airtight container, their hypothesis is proved.
34. How can you test if temperature affects seed germination?
Answer:
Keep one set of moist seeds in warm place and another in cold place.
Compare germination rates.
35. Why do touch-me-not leaves fold when touched?
Answer:
Due to sudden loss of water pressure in leaf cells (turgor pressure) causing movement.
DIAGRAM / REASONING-BASED
36. What will happen to the plant shown in Fig. 10.9 after one week?
Answer:
Shoot will grow upward and lean toward light.
Root will grow downward into soil.
Reason: Shoots show positive phototropism; roots show positive geotropism.
37. In Activity 10.3, why is blotting paper used?
Answer:
Because it absorbs water and keeps the seedling moist without submerging it.
38. Why does the shoot of seedling placed in a box bend toward the hole?
Answer:
Because the shoot senses light entering through the hole and grows towards it (phototropism).
VALUE-BASED QUESTIONS
39. Why is it important to stop water stagnation in your neighbourhood?
Answer:
To prevent mosquito breeding, which spreads malaria, dengue and chikungunya.
40. Why should we handle living beings such as snails gently?
Answer:
Because every living being, even if small, has a life cycle and feels environmental changes.
Respect for life is essential.