Name: __________________________________________ Period: __________ Date: ____________________
Characteristics of living things Quiz
DO NOT WRITE ON THIS!
Main Ideas: Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Write the UPPERCASE letter of your choice on the line provided on your answer sheet. (5 points each)
1. What are the 5 main characteristic of living things?
A. ____________________________________________________________
B. ____________________________________________________________
C. ____________________________________________________________
D. ____________________________________________________________
E. ____________________________________________________________
2. You see a worm crawling along the ground and wonder if scientists consider it living or nonliving. Which
item below would be TRUE when classifying the worm as living or non‐living?
A. A worm can move so it must be living.
B. A worm can reproduce and make little baby worms so it must be alive.
C. Worm’s pass dirt through their body pulling food out and discarding the stuff they don’t want so it
must be alive.
D. A worm drinks water, so it must be living.
3. Which of the following statements correctly shows the difference between growing and developing?
A. Growing occurs when a cell becomes larger, and developing is when the number of cells that make
up an organism increases.
B. Growing is all of the changes that take place in an organism’s life, and developing is when the
number of cells that make up an organism increases.
C. Growing is when there is an increase in the number of cells that make up an organism. Developing is
when changes occur to an organism throughout its life.
D. All organisms grow, but not all organisms will develop in their lifetime.
4. All of the following are reasons why an organism needs to respond to changes in its surroundings EXCEPT:
A. To be able to carry out their life functions
B. To change how the cells are arranged inside their body
C. To survive in their environment
D. To be able to maintain homeostasis in their body
5. Which of the following is NOT an example of how a person maintains homeostasis inside the body
A. A student increases the amount of time he studies to prepare for a test.
B. A person’s heart rate returns to normal when resting after a workout.
C. A person drinks a lot of water after running a marathon.
D. A student eats a sandwich when he feels hungry.
6. The figure shows how fish react when the glass is tapped on.
What characteristics of living organisms does this demonstrate?
A. response to a stimulus
B. use of energy
C. reproduction method
D. growth & development
7. Which of these is an important behavior that promotes the likelihood of a species continued existence?
A. made of cells
B. to respond
C. to use energy
D. to reproduce
8. A small seed sprouts and grows into a tall sunflower. As it grows, the sunflower moves towards the
sunlight. Why does the plant grow towards the sun?
A. A flower needs sunlight for warmth to help with the growing process.
B. A flower uses sunlight like food and then uses the sunlight to make energy.
C. A flower uses the sunlight to reproduce helping it create more seeds and new flowers.
D. A flower is made of cells which require sunlight to help light up the dark spots inside the plant. This
way the cells can see where to move.
9. You shine a flashlight in your friend's eye and observe the pupil dilate. Which characteristic of living things
have you observed?
A. Living things are made of cells
B. Living things reproduce
C. Living things grow and develop
D. Living things respond to stimuli in the environment
10. An organism made up of more than one cell is called a(n)…
A. Consumer
B. Multicellular
C. Unicellular
D. Internal stimuli
11. Many scientists have tried to explain where cells come from. Which comment below best describes where
cells come from?
A. When cells die, they are replaced by other cells. The new cells appear out of nowhere.
B. Although a cell is small, it’s impossible for only one to live by itself.
C. Your body makes cells when you digest food.
D. All cells come from other cells (when one cell splits and becomes two).
12. How do organisms carry out chemical activities (everything your body does on a daily basis) of life?
A. through reproduction
B. by using energy
C. by growing & developing
D. by responding to stimuli
13. If all living things are made of cells, which of the following statements must be true?
A. Paper is made of plant cells so it must be living.
B. The sun is made mostly of hydrogen which is a food for cells so the sun must be alive.
C. The yeast used to make bread is living and makes gas bubbles inside the bread. This means that
bread is a living thing.
D. Onions are loaded with cells so onions must be a living thing
14. Homeostasis refers to an organism’s ability to
A. maintain stable internal conditions
C. dissolve chemicals
B. compete for living space
D. obtain energy
15. Which of the following statements best explains why birds fly south for the winter?
A. Living things respond to their environment
B. Living things maintain internal balance
C. Living things are made of cells
D. Living things are based on a universal genetic code
16. For a plant, sunlight is an example of _____.
A. internal stimulus
B. homeostasis
C. external stimulus
D. reproduction
17. Asexual reproduction produces offspring that are ___________ to the parent(s)
A. similar
B. identical
C. random
D. selective
18. Organisms that perform photosynthesis (make their own food) must get their energy from______.
A. Eating other organisms
B. Food
C. Chemicals
D. The Sun
Tom set up two aquariums in his bedroom, X and Y. First, he filled two similar tanks with equal amounts of
water. He then placed five fishes in each tank. He fed the fishes in both tanks with the same amount of food.
He only placed an air pump in Tank X. The next day, he observed that the fishes in Tank Y were swimming near
the surface of the water, as shown in the image below. Answer the following questions.
19. Why were the fishes in Tank Y swimming near the surface of the water?
A. There is more food
C. There is more dissolved oxygen
B. The water is warmer
D. There is more light
20. Tom changed the water in both tanks and removed three of the fishes from Tank Y. The remaining two fish
stopped swimming near the surface of the water. Why do you think they were able to do so?
A. They had enough light for themselves
B. They had enough warm water for themselves
C. They had enough dissolved oxygen for themselves
D. They had enough food for themselves
Name: __________________________________________ Period: __________ Date: ____________________
Characteristics of living things Quiz: Answer Sheet
Main Ideas: Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question. Write the UPPERCASE letter of your choice on the line provided on your answer sheet. (5 points each)
1. A. ____________________________________________________________
B. ____________________________________________________________
C. ____________________________________________________________
D. ____________________________________________________________
E. ____________________________________________________________
2. __________
13. __________
3. __________
14. __________
4. __________
15. __________
5. __________
16. __________
6. __________
17. __________
7. __________
18. __________
8. __________
19. __________
9. __________
20. __________
10. __________
11. __________
12. __________