Alive or not alive? booklet
Alive or not alive? booklet
- Unit 1: Living things
- Unit 2: Sound
- Unit 3: Materials in my world
- Unit 4: The Earth
- Unit 5: Humans
- Unit 6: Forces
This Topic is About...
- I will find the differences between things that are living, were once alive, and things that have never lived.
- I will use seven rules to decide if something is alive or not.
- I will learn about scientific enquiry.
- I will learn how to classify things.
- I will collect and record my observations.
You’re going to be a science explorer!
Key Words
- data
- dead
- gas
- oxygen
- seeds
- waste product
Tap to Learn the Meanings!
- data: Information collected from experiments or observations.
- dead: No longer alive or functioning.
- gas: A state of matter that spreads out to fill any space, like air.
- oxygen: A gas in the air that humans and animals need to breathe.
- seeds: The parts of plants that can grow into new plants.
- waste product: Something made during a process that is not needed and is thrown away.
Excellent! You’re learning key words used in science investigations.
Plants grow
This young plant has just started growing. It needs water and sunlight. The young plant can feel light and it grows towards the light.
The young plant is alive.
The plant makes the gas called oxygen.
Oxygen is a waste product of plants. Plants get rid of oxygen into the air. Oxygen is one of the gases in the air.
The oxygen in air is very important because it is a gas which all animals need to live.
When the plant is older it will make seeds. New plants will grow from the seeds.
FUN QUESTIONS
1. Are all plants and animals alive?
Show answer
2. Is every part of a plant alive?
Show answer
3. How could we care for a plant that is growing in the classroom?
Show answer
Seven rules: alive or not alive?
Each day you see animals and plants that are alive. You also see materials like wood and straw that were once part of a living thing. Other materials, like sand, have never been alive.
Try using these seven rules to see if something is alive. Living things do all seven!
Let’s Investigate!
Question: How can we tell if something is alive or not?
Equipment: A plant, a bare branch, a plastic plant, a block of wood, a piece of rock
Method:
- Work with a friend and look carefully at each object.
- Describe each one: What is it made of? Where did it come from?
- Decide if it is alive or not alive.
- Use the seven life processes (movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion, nutrition) to help you decide.
Record your observations in a table:
| Object | What is it made of? | Is it alive or not alive? |
|---|---|---|
| A plant | Living tissue (cells) | Alive |
| A bare branch | Wood (once part of a living plant) | Not alive |
| A plastic plant | Plastic (man-made material) | Not alive |
| A block of wood | Wood (from a tree) | Not alive |
| A piece of rock | Minerals | Not alive |
This investigation is a classification enquiry because you are identifying and grouping things as living or non-living.
How am I doing?
- Show your table to other people. Do they agree with your choices?
- Can you explain clearly how you decided if something was alive or not?
- Did you use all seven life processes to help make your decision?
Tap to See Example Answers
- Plant: Alive — It carries out all seven life processes.
- Bare branch: Not alive — It was once part of a living plant but no longer grows or respires.
- Plastic plant: Not alive — It is man-made and cannot perform life processes.
- Block of wood: Not alive — It came from a tree but no longer lives.
- Rock: Not alive — It has never been alive; it is made of minerals.
Great job! You’ve learned how to classify objects as living or non-living using scientific reasoning.
Let’s Investigate!
Question: Are things alive, once alive, or never alive?
Equipment: Access to the school grounds, pencil
Method:
- Look carefully around your classroom and the school grounds.
- Find objects that:
- are alive now
- were once alive
- have never been alive
- Use the seven life processes to help you decide.
- Record what you find in the table below.
Record your observations:
| Object | Once was alive | Alive | Not alive | Because… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two plants in the school library | ✓ | … they grow, need water, air and food, make waste, and sense the world | ||
| A fallen brown leaf | ✓ | … it was once part of a living plant but no longer carries out life processes | ||
| A plastic water bottle | ✓ | … it is man-made and has never carried out any life processes |
This activity is a classification enquiry because you were identifying and grouping things based on whether they are alive or not.
How am I doing?
- Show your completed table to a friend. Do they agree with your ideas?
- Can you explain clearly why each object belongs in its category?
- Did you use all seven life processes to help your decisions?
Tap to See Example Answers
- Alive objects: plants, insects, grass — they all carry out the seven life processes.
- Once alive objects: leaves, wooden sticks, feathers — they were part of living things but no longer grow or respond.
- Never alive objects: rocks, plastic toys, metal poles — they have never carried out life processes.
Great work! You used scientific reasoning to classify objects in your environment.
When do Leaves Die?
Sometimes it is hard to say if something is alive or not.
Are these leaves alive?
The plant is alive so all the leaves on the plant are alive.
Some leaves have fallen off. They are not part of a living thing.
Some dead leaves on the ground are yellow and dry.
Even the green leaves on the ground are now dead because they are not part of a living thing.
Let’s Investigate!
Question: Are these things alive, once alive, or never alive?
Equipment: A branch, a block of wood, photos of chicken, meat and fish, seeds, a freshly picked fruit, a fossil
Wash your hands after handling the materials.
Scientists identify and classify things to see patterns and ask questions.
Method:
- Look carefully at the photos and objects listed.
- Ask yourself:
- Are they alive?
- Are they dead?
- Were they never alive?
- Use the seven life processes (growth, movement, needing food/water, making waste, reproduction, sensitivity, respiration) to help you decide.
Think about each thing. Does it or did it:
- grow?
- move?
- need water and food?
- make waste?
- have young?
- sense the world around?
Now classify the objects:
| Object | Living | Once living but not now | Never alive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seeds | ✓ | ||
| Freshly picked fruit | ✓ | ||
| Fish (dead) | ✓ | ||
| Chicken/meat | ✓ | ||
| Branch | ✓ | ||
| Block of wood | ✓ | ||
| Fossil | ✓ | ||
| Rock | ✓ |
Your task: Draw three circles labelled:
- Once living but not now
- Living
- Never alive
Then draw each object and write its name in the correct circle.
This activity was a classification enquiry because you were identifying and grouping objects.
Tap to See Example Answers
- Living: seeds, freshly picked fruit
- Once living but not now: fish, chicken, branch, wood, fossil
- Never alive: rock, plastic items
Great job! You used scientific reasoning to sort objects using the seven life processes.