Living vs Nonliving Things — Quiz

Grade 1 · Science · Quiz

Can you tell what is alive and what is not? Take the quiz!

Questions

Which of these is a NONLIVING thing?
1. A mushroom
2. A cat
3. A cloud
4. A butterfly
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Answer: A cloud
Clouds are nonliving — they do not grow, eat, breathe, respond, or reproduce. They are simply water vapor in the atmosphere.
All living things need water to survive.
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Answer: True
Water is essential to all known life — it is used in every chemical reaction that keeps living things alive.
When an animal makes babies, it is called ___.
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Answer: reproduction
Reproduction is how living things continue their species — from having babies to releasing seeds.
A sunflower turning to face the Sun is an example of:
1. Reproducing
2. Responding to its environment
3. Growing taller
4. Making food
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Answer: Responding to its environment
Plants respond to sunlight by growing toward it (phototropism). This is a classic example of environmental response.
A bicycle is a living thing because it can move.
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Answer: False
A bicycle moves because a human pedals it — it cannot move on its own, eat, grow, or reproduce. It is nonliving.
Which of these was ONCE living but is now nonliving?
1. A rock
2. Wooden furniture
3. A glass window
4. A metal coin
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Answer: Wooden furniture
Wood comes from trees (living), but once cut and shaped into furniture, it no longer carries out life functions.
Living things grow and change as they get older.
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Answer: True
Growth is one of the defining characteristics of life — from a small seedling to a giant redwood, or a baby to an adult.
Any living thing — like a plant, animal, or mushroom — is called an ___.
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Answer: organism
Organism is the scientific term for any living thing, from microscopic bacteria to the largest blue whale.
Which of these is true of ALL living things?
1. They are green
2. They live in water
3. They grow and reproduce
4. They have two legs
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Answer: They grow and reproduce
All living things share these two key traits, regardless of whether they are plants, animals, fungi, or bacteria.
Rocks are living things because they have been on Earth longer than animals.
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Answer: False
Being old does not make something alive. Rocks do not eat, grow, respond, or reproduce — they are definitively nonliving.

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