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Biology journal Cambridge IGCSE 0610

Pupil sheet · Living things and keys

Is it alive? — questions

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Try every question before you use a nudge. Write in full sentences where you are asked to explain.

1. identify

Match each characteristic of living organisms to its description.

Write the number of the matching option.

  1. An action causing a change of position or place
  2. Chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy
  3. Detecting and responding to changes in the internal or external environment
  4. A permanent increase in size and dry mass
  5. Processes that make more of the same kind of organism
  6. Removal of waste products of metabolism and substances in excess
  7. Taking in materials for energy, growth and development
  • Movement: ______
  • Respiration: ______
  • Sensitivity: ______
  • Growth: ______
  • Reproduction: ______
  • Excretion: ______
  • Nutrition: ______

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Each description has one key word that gives it away: energy, change of position, more of the same kind, dry mass …

2. identify

Each example shows one characteristic of living organisms. Match each example to the characteristic it shows.

Write the number of the matching option.

  1. Movement
  2. Respiration
  3. Sensitivity
  4. Growth
  5. Reproduction
  6. Excretion
  7. Nutrition
  • Cells of a mouse break down glucose and release energy: ______
  • A bean plant takes in carbon dioxide, water and mineral ions: ______
  • A child has more dry mass than a year ago: ______
  • A cat's kidneys remove urea in its urine: ______
  • A yeast cell buds off a new yeast cell: ______
  • A Venus flytrap snaps shut when an insect touches its hairs: ______
  • A snail glides across a leaf: ______

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Ask what is happening in each example: is something made, released, removed, taken in or detected?

3. explain

A candle flame takes in oxygen and gives out carbon dioxide. Which statement explains why the flame is not alive?

Circle one answer.

  • It is not alive because it stays on the wick and cannot move from place to place
  • It is alive, because it takes in oxygen and gives out carbon dioxide, like a respiring organism
  • It is not alive because it has no cells and shows only one or two of the seven characteristics
  • It is not alive because it is far too hot for any living cells to survive in it

Nudge (only if you are stuck): How many of the seven characteristics must a living thing show?

4. identify

Which of these are examples of growth in an organism? Choose all that apply.

Tick every correct statement.

  • A dry bean swells to twice its size overnight in water
  • A seedling gains dry mass over three weeks
  • A salt crystal gets bigger in a dish of salt solution
  • A puppy becomes a dog with much more dry mass
  • A balloon gets bigger as it is blown up

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Growth is a permanent increase in size and dry mass. Water can be lost again; a non-living thing cannot grow.

5. identify

Which of these is excretion?

Circle one answer.

  • A rabbit passes faeces
  • A fish releases carbon dioxide made in respiration from its gills
  • A plant takes in water through its roots
  • A cat eats a meal

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Excretion removes waste made by reactions in cells.

6. explain

A pupil writes: "Trees do not respire, because they have no lungs." Explain why the pupil is wrong.

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Is respiration the same as breathing? Where does respiration happen?

7. explain

A salt crystal in a dish of salt solution gets bigger every day. Give two reasons, each based on a different characteristic of living organisms, why the crystal is not alive.

Reason 1

Reason 2

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Look at the crystal row of the table. Which characteristics does it fail?

8. list

List the seven characteristics of living organisms.

Nudge (only if you are stuck): The first letters spell a name that helps you remember them.

9. evaluate / suggest

A space probe on Mars adds a little nutrient solution to a soil sample. Its sensors detect carbon dioxide gas coming from the soil. A scientist says: "Something in the soil is alive!" (a) Which characteristic of living organisms might the carbon dioxide show? (b) Explain why this result alone does not show that the soil contains life. (c) Suggest one more thing the probe could look for.

(a) Characteristic

(b) Why this is not enough

(c) What else to look for

Nudge (only if you are stuck): (a) Which reactions in cells release carbon dioxide? (b) Could a chemical reaction without cells make carbon dioxide too? How many characteristics must an organism show?

10. explain / describe

A packet of bean seeds has been in a drawer for five years. The seeds do not move, do not get bigger and do not take anything in. (a) Can you tell by looking whether the seeds are alive? Explain. (b) Describe how you could find out, and which characteristics you would look for. (c) Some of the seeds do not germinate. Does that prove they are dead?

(a) Alive? How can you tell?

(b) How to find out

(c) No germination: dead?

Nudge (only if you are stuck): Think about the dry bean in the reading. What happens when it is given water and warmth?