My Science School

Imagine you were looking at a waxwork model of a child. They model might confuse you at first. It may look very realistic and even share many of the physical features of a child. But you would soon be able to tell that the waxwork was not a living thing.

A real child can move. A child needs to eat and breathe to survive, and gets rid of waste materials, like faeces and urine, from its body. A child can see and hear things happening nearby and will act accordingly. Eventually the child will grow and may even have children of its own. The waxwork model may appear to be very lifelike but it can do none of these things.

Living things can move about, sometimes very quickly, like these human sprinters.

Living things need nutrients for nourishment. This hummingbird is feeding on flower nectar, a good source of sugar. In turn, the flower has been feeding on sunlight and nutrients from the soil.

We plant many kinds of trees, shrubs and flowers in public places and in our gardens.