What Living Things Need to Stay Alive: Mechanism
≈ 24 minMechanism
Follow the mechanism step by step and distinguish what causes the change from what is merely observed.
This extension applies that lens specifically to What Living Things Need to Stay Alive.
Every living thing needs certain things to stay alive:
- food — for energy to move and grow;
- water — clean water to drink;
- air — to breathe;
- a place to live — shelter and space that is safe.
If even one of these is missing for too long, a living thing cannot survive.
Plants and animals need slightly different things. A mielie plant needs sunlight, water, air and soil to grow. A goat needs food (like grass), water, air and shelter from cold and rain. Notice that both a plant and an animal need water and air.
Worked example. A bean seed is planted in a dark cupboard and never watered. Will it grow?
No — it is missing two things it needs: water and sunlight. Move it to a sunny windowsill and water it, and now it has water, light, air and soil, so it can sprout and grow.
Natural Sciences — Grade 4 — Mechanism: Which list shows things a plant needs to grow?
Natural Sciences — Grade 4 — Mechanism: Name the gas that both plants and animals need, and that we breathe.
Natural Sciences — Grade 4 — Mechanism: Plants can do something animals cannot — they make their own ___ using sunlight, water and air. Fill in the missing word.
Name the original topic being extended by this mechanism lesson.
Which statement is the best evidence-led starting point for What Living Things Need to Stay Alive: Mechanism?