Classifying Living Things. Interactive worksheet | TopWorksheets - Free Printable

Problem Overview:

The task involves classifying living things based on specific characteristics. The worksheet provides a list of items (e.g., snake, water, horse, salt, etc.) and asks you to determine whether each item exhibits the following characteristics:
1. Takes in food
2. Grows
3. Breathes
4. Reacts
5. Reproduces

For each characteristic, you must mark an "X" if the item has that characteristic or an "O" if it does not.

Solution:

#### Step 1: Understand the Characteristics
- Takes in food: Living things consume nutrients to survive.
- Grows: Living things increase in size over time.
- Breathes: Living things exchange gases (e.g., oxygen and carbon dioxide).
- Reacts: Living things respond to changes in their environment.
- Reproduces: Living things create offspring to continue their species.

#### Step 2: Analyze Each Item
We will evaluate each item based on the five characteristics.

---

#### Item 1: Snake
- Takes in food: X (Snakes eat prey for energy.)
- Grows: X (Snakes grow as they mature.)
- Breathes: X (Snakes breathe air through lungs.)
- Reacts: X (Snakes respond to stimuli, such as movement or temperature.)
- Reproduces: X (Snakes lay eggs or give birth to live young.)

---

#### Item 2: Water
- Takes in food: O (Water is not alive and does not consume food.)
- Grows: O (Water does not grow; it can change state but does not increase in size as a living organism would.)
- Breathes: O (Water does not breathe; it is not a living organism.)
- Reacts: O (Water can react chemically, but this is not biological reaction.)
- Reproduces: O (Water does not reproduce.)

---

#### Item 3: Horse
- Takes in food: X (Horses eat grass, hay, and other plant material.)
- Grows: X (Horses grow from foals into adult horses.)
- Breathes: X (Horses breathe air through lungs.)
- Reacts: X (Horses respond to stimuli, such as sound or touch.)
- Reproduces: X (Horses mate and produce offspring.)

---

#### Item 4: Salt
- Takes in food: O (Salt is not alive and does not consume food.)
- Grows: O (Salt does not grow; it is a mineral.)
- Breathes: O (Salt does not breathe; it is not a living organism.)
- Reacts: O (Salt can react chemically, but this is not biological reaction.)
- Reproduces: O (Salt does not reproduce.)

---

#### Item 5: Mushroom
- Takes in food: X (Mushrooms absorb nutrients from their surroundings.)
- Grows: X (Mushrooms grow from spores into larger structures.)
- Breathes: X (Mushrooms respire, exchanging gases with their environment.)
- Reacts: X (Mushrooms respond to environmental changes, such as moisture levels.)
- Reproduces: X (Mushrooms produce spores to reproduce.)

---

#### Item 6: Soil
- Takes in food: O (Soil is not alive and does not consume food.)
- Grows: O (Soil does not grow; it can change composition but does not increase in size as a living organism would.)
- Breathes: O (Soil does not breathe; it is not a living organism.)
- Reacts: O (Soil can react chemically, but this is not biological reaction.)
- Reproduces: O (Soil does not reproduce.)

---

#### Item 7: Grapevine
- Takes in food: X (Grapevines absorb nutrients from soil and photosynthesize.)
- Grows: X (Grapevines grow from seeds into large plants.)
- Breathes: X (Grapevines respire, exchanging gases with their environment.)
- Reacts: X (Grapevines respond to stimuli, such as sunlight and water availability.)
- Reproduces: X (Grapevines produce flowers and grapes to reproduce.)

---

#### Item 8: Air
- Takes in food: O (Air is not alive and does not consume food.)
- Grows: O (Air does not grow; it is a mixture of gases.)
- Breathes: O (Air does not breathe; it is not a living organism.)
- Reacts: O (Air can react chemically, but this is not biological reaction.)
- Reproduces: O (Air does not reproduce.)

---

#### Item 9: Rock
- Takes in food: O (Rocks are not alive and do not consume food.)
- Grows: O (Rocks do not grow; they can change form but do not increase in size as a living organism would.)
- Breathes: O (Rocks do not breathe; they are not living organisms.)
- Reacts: O (Rocks can react chemically, but this is not biological reaction.)
- Reproduces: O (Rocks do not reproduce.)

---

#### Step 3: Identify Biological Forms of Matter
From the analysis above, the biological forms of matter (living things) are:
- Snake
- Horse
- Mushroom
- Grapevine

---

Final Answer:

\[
\boxed{\text{Snake, Horse, Mushroom, Grapevine}}
\]