Interaction Between Living and Non-living Things for Class 3 EVS

From this concept, the students will learn about the interaction Between living and non-living things.

After reading the concept, students will be able to:

Understand what are living things.
Know about non living things and state non-living things examples.
Analyse the difference between living and non-living things.
Recall what is the web of life.

Each concept is explained to class 3 students using descriptions, illustration, and concept maps. After you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the end of the page.

Download the worksheets and check your answers with the worksheet solution for the concept of the Interaction Between Living and Non-living Things provided in PDF format.

We see so many things in our surroundings. Some are living, and some are non-living. We can identify them by their typical features.

Living Things:

Living things are those who—

require food.
can breathe.
can feel.
can move on their own.
grow over a period of time.
can give birth to young ones

Examples: Human beings, birds, animals, plants.

Living things are also natural things as they originate from nature.

Non-Living Things:

Non-living things are those who—

do non require food.
do not breathe.
cannot feel.
cannot move on their own.
do not grow over a period of time.
cannot give birth to young ones

Examples: Tables, books, rocks, bottles, etc.

Non-living things may be either natural or artificial. Natural non-living things originate in nature (Examples: iron, copper, etc.), whereas artificial non-living things are made by man (Examples: pen, ink, etc.).

What is the ‘Web of Life’?

All living things, including man, animals and plants, require many non-living things, such as air, food, water, houses, etc., to survive.
So, we can say that all living things depend on certain living and non-living things in the environment.

Such inter-dependence among all living and non-living things is called the ‘Web of Life’.

How Do Living and Non-living Things Interact With Each Other?

We live in houses built with non-living things like stones, bricks, sand, water, glass, metal, cement, etc.
We eat food that is produced by farmers who sow the seeds in the soil and add water and fertilisers. Here, the seed grows into a plant (a living thing) with the help of soil, air, sunlight, water and fertilisers (all of which are non-living things).

The water we drink and use comes from rivers, lakes, ponds, etc. These waterbodies get filled with rainwater.
Plants make their food using the non-living things of nature— sunlight, water, carbon dioxide and nutrients from the soil.

Similarly, animals get their food from plants.
Plants give us oxygen, food, wood and other important products. Animals breathe in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide, and plants use that for making their food. This way, plants, animals and other non-living components of nature interact with each other.

New Words:

Fertilisers: These are substances added to soil or sprayed on the plants to keep them nourished and free from diseases.

Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide : These are substances added to soil or sprayed on the plants to keep them nourished and free from diseases.

Misconception:

Are our fingernails and hairs dead or alive? The fingernails and hairs are not living, but the base of our nails (nail bed) and hairs (hair roots) are living, and these help our nails and hair to grow over time.