Summary of living things
Living things, described as alive, must perform several vital activities: movement, respiration, nutrition, sensitivity, reproduction, growth and excretion.
All living things are classified into groups called kingdoms.
As an example, we know humans are alive, but trees are alive too:
| Human | Oak Tree | |
|---|---|---|
| Movement | Can run | Trees grow towards sunlight, gravity and water. Leaves drop with lack of water |
| Respiration (the opposite of photosynthesis)(note: this is not breathing) | Humans use glucose to make energy (ATP) both aerobically (with oxygen) and anaerobically (without oxygen and produce lactic acid and energy) | Trees use glucose to make energy (ATP) both aerobically (with oxygen) and anaerobically (without oxygen and produce ethanol and energy) |
| Nutrition | Humans eat | Nutrients are the food that oak trees need for growth, such as taking potash, nitrogen and potassium from the soil |
| Sensitivity | Humans sense their surroundings and react accordingly such as cold and heat or taste | Oak trees are sensitive to light, moisture and gravity |
| Reproduction | Have babies | Reproduce asexually through cultivation and sexually through the exchange of pollen |
| Growth | Average height 1.7m | Grow up to 20 to 40m high |
| Excretion | Go to the toilet | Waste removal from stomata in leaves or with dead leaves falling away in autumn |
