Science · Unit 3
Living and Non-living
Telling what is alive and what living things need
Sorting the world into living and non-living sounds trivial until you meet the edge cases, and the edge cases are where the actual thinking happens.
The unit covers what living things need to survive, the habitats that supply it, life cycles, and how living things get grouped. It is the primary-level version of a question the Biology track picks up in far more detail.
This unit breaks down into 21 short steps and 126 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 2. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 21
- Questions
- 126
- Difficulty
- 1-2
What this unit covers
- Living or Non-living
- What Living Things Need
- Homes and Habitats
- Life Cycles
- Grouping Living Things
Where this fits
Sits alongside Everyday Materials. Biology's What Is Life? is the same question at a higher level.
Where people slip
Once-living things confuse the sorting. Wood, leather and a seashell all came from organisms and none of them is alive now.
How the unit is structured
Living and Non-living runs as 21 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 2 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 126 in the unit altogether.
Grouping Living Things
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
1. Which of these are animals? Pick all that apply.
- Cowcorrect
- Snailcorrect
- Fishcorrect
- Rose
A cow, a snail, and a fish are animals, but a rose is a plant.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
2. Animals with feathers and wings that lay eggs, like robins and owls, belong to the ____ group.
- birdcorrect
- fish
- insect
- plant
Birds have feathers and wings and lay eggs.
- Guess the numberLevel 1
3. How many legs does an insect, like an ant, have?
Answer: 6 legs
All insects have six legs, which is one way we know an animal is an insect.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
4. Match each animal group to an example.
Answer: Mammal = Dog; Bird = Owl; Fish = Shark; Insect = Ant
Scientists sort animals into groups like mammals, birds, fish, and insects.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
5. Which big group does a dog belong to?
- Animalscorrect
- Plants
- Rocks
- Water
A dog is an animal because it can move around and eat food.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
6. A butterfly and a bee both belong to the insect group because each one has six legs.
Answer: True
Insects have six legs and three body parts, so bees and butterflies are both insects.
Homes and Habitats
- Fact or fibLevel 1
7. A polar bear lives in a hot, sandy desert.
Answer: False
Polar bears live in very cold, snowy places, not in hot deserts.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
8. A ____ is the natural home of a plant or animal.
- habitatcorrect
- climate
- planet
- mineral
A habitat gives a living thing the food, water, and shelter it needs.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
9. Match each animal to its home.
Answer: Bird = Nest; Dog = Kennel; Fish = Pond; Horse = Stable
Different animals live in different homes that keep them safe.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
10. What is a habitat?
- A place where a living thing makes its homecorrect
- A kind of food
- A type of weather
- A game you play
A habitat is the natural place where a plant or animal makes its home.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
11. Which of these could you find living in an ocean habitat? Pick all that apply.
- Crabcorrect
- Dolphincorrect
- Seaweedcorrect
- Camel
Crabs, dolphins, and seaweed live in the ocean; a camel lives in the desert.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
12. An earthworm's habitat is the soil, where it digs tunnels. How many legs does an earthworm use to dig?
Answer: 0 legs
Earthworms have no legs; they squeeze through soil using tiny bristles.
Life Cycles
- Fact or fibLevel 1
13. A baby chicken hatches out of an egg.
Answer: True
A hen lays an egg, and a baby chick hatches out of it.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
14. A seed can grow into a new ____.
- plantcorrect
- rock
- cloud
- toy
When a seed gets water, light, and soil, it grows into a new plant.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
15. Match each baby animal to its grown-up.
Answer: Puppy = Dog; Kitten = Cat; Chick = Hen; Foal = Horse
Baby animals grow up to look like their parents.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
16. What do we call a baby dog?
- Puppycorrect
- Kitten
- Chick
- Calf
A baby dog is called a puppy, and it grows up to become an adult dog.
- Put in orderLevel 1
17. Put the butterfly life cycle in the right order.
Answer: Egg -> Caterpillar -> Chrysalis -> Butterfly
A butterfly starts as an egg, becomes a caterpillar, then a chrysalis, and finally a butterfly.
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
18. Build a sentence about how living things begin their life cycle.
Answer: Many animals begin life as an egg
Many animals, such as frogs, birds and butterflies, start their life cycle as an egg.
Living or Non-living
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
19. Build a sentence that tells why a rock is non-living.
Answer: Rocks are not alive
Rocks do not grow, eat, or breathe, so they are non-living.
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
20. Which of these can grow bigger over time? Pick all that apply.
- Puppycorrect
- Bean plantcorrect
- Babycorrect
- Bicycle
Living things like a puppy, a bean plant, and a baby grow, but a bicycle stays the same size.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
21. A toy car is alive because it can move.
Answer: False
Moving does not make something alive; a toy car only moves when we push it or add batteries.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
22. A living thing can grow, move, and ____ young ones like itself.
- makecorrect
- paint
- buy
- melt
Living things can make new young ones, which is one big sign that something is alive.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
23. Which of these is a living thing?
- A treecorrect
- A rock
- A spoon
- A cloud
A tree is alive because it grows and needs water and light, unlike a rock or a spoon.
- Odd one outLevel 1
24. Which one is NOT living?
- Chaircorrect
- Cat
- Bird
- Fish
A chair is non-living, but a cat, a bird, and a fish are all animals that are alive.
What Living Things Need
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
25. Build a sentence about what animals need.
Answer: Animals need air food and water
Animals need air, food, and water to stay alive and healthy.
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
26. Which of these do plants need to grow? Pick all that apply.
- Sunlightcorrect
- Watercorrect
- Aircorrect
- Homework
Plants need sunlight, water, and air to grow, but they do not do homework.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
27. A plant can stay alive with no water at all.
Answer: False
Plants need water to live, and they will dry out and die without it.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
28. Animals breathe in ____ to stay alive.
- aircorrect
- sand
- glass
- wood
Animals take in air to breathe, which keeps their bodies working.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
29. Food, water, and air are the basic needs shared by all living things. How many needs is that?
Answer: 3 needs
All living things need at least these three basics: food, water, and air.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
30. Match each living thing to the need it is best known for.
Answer: Green plant = Sunlight; Fish = Water; Human = Food; Bird = Air
Every living thing has needs like water, food, air, and (for plants) sunlight.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 14 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- Spell it
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Living and Non-living
126 questions across 21 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Living and Non-living
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- How the Nitrogen Cycle Works: From Air to Soil and BackLearn how the nitrogen cycle works through fixation, nitrification, plant uptake, decomposition, and denitrification, with a simple step-by-step explanation.August 13, 2026 · 5 min read
- How the Water Cycle Moves Water Around EarthWater changes form and travels between oceans, air, land and living things. The water cycle is one connected system powered mainly by sunlight and gravity.July 24, 2026 · 5 min read
- How the Carbon Cycle Connects Air, Land and OceanCarbon moves between the atmosphere, living things, soils, oceans and rocks. Fast biological exchanges and slow geological processes together form the carbon cycle.July 29, 2026 · 5 min read
More units in Science
- What is Science?Observing the world and thinking like a scientist
- Everyday MaterialsWhat things are made of and why
- My Body and HealthKeeping your body healthy and safe
- Solids, Liquids and GasesStates of matter and everyday changes
- Energy All AroundForms of energy and where it comes from
- Forces and MovementPushes, pulls and how things move
- Light and SoundHow we see and hear the world
- The Scientific MethodHow scientists ask questions and test ideas