Digital Interactive Content

Living Things Need Air, Food and Water

Animals feed on plants or other animals

Animals such as monkeys feed on plants while animals such as the Harpy eagle feed on other animals.

Plants need to trap light to make food

Plants are living things that can make their own food! To do so, they need to trap light energy. Plants in a forest compete with each other to grow tall enough to receive enough light.

Fungi obtain food from dead or living organisms

Unlike plants which make their own food, fungi such as mushrooms and mould have to rely on other organisms for food. Cordyceps are killer fungi that invade the bodies of insects. The insects provide the fungi with the nutrients they need to grow.

Living Things Respond to Changes

Plants respond to changes around them

The mimosa plant closes its leaves when it is touched. This makes it appear unappetising to animals which feed on plants, helping it to avoid being eaten!

Plants grow towards light

Plants respond to the presence of light by growing towards it. This helps them to trap more light so that they can make more food and grow more healthily.

Animals respond to changes around them

Millipedes respond to touch by curling into a tight coil to protect its body from potential predators.