Characteristics of Living Things

Lab Brief #2

🎯 Your mission

Master the concept. Use it tomorrow.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

All living things share basic characteristics: they grow, reproduce, respond to their environment, and need energy to survive. Plants make their own food through photosynthesis, while animals must eat other organisms.

Key words

food web
How plants and animals are linked by what they eat.
photosynthesis
How plants use sunlight, water, and air to make their own food.
organism
Any living thing, such as a plant, animal, or tiny microbe.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Look at the vocabulary words and write a definition for each in your own words.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Create a detailed food web for a local ecosystem. Include at least 8 organisms and use arrows to show energy flow from producers to top predators.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Compare the before and after states.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write your conclusion: did the results match your hypothesis? What would you change next time?

Question 1 of 3

What do plants need to make food through photosynthesis?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 3

Which is NOT a characteristic of all living things?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 3 of 3

What organism produces food at the base of most food chains?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 3 right.

Next: How Habitats Support Life All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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Characteristics of Living Things

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