Comparing characteristics of living things | Science | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Match the word to the correct definition.

difference

⇔

something that is not the same between things ✓

similarity

⇔

something that things have in common ✓
Match the sense organ to the sense we use it for.

eyes

⇔

sight ✓

ears

⇔

hearing ✓

nose

⇔

smell ✓

tongue

⇔

taste ✓

skin

⇔

touch ✓
Why might Laura be the odd one out of these three children?

she has long hair ✓

she is a girl

she has black hair
How do we observe something?

we look at it closely, sometimes using more than one of our senses ✓

we sort it into a group with other similar things

we say where we think it came from
Which two of these can all living things do?

swim

reproduce ✓

walk

move ✓

speak
Which of these are living things?

an apple tree ✓

a bonfire

a petal taken from a flower

a wasp ✓

Exit quiz

Anything can be compared to another thing. What do we do when we compare things to each other?

we look at the similarities and differences ✓

we find out what their names are

we try to make them the same

we move them from one place to another
Jun compares these two animals. Which of these is a difference between them?

the shape of their ears

their colour ✓

their body covering

the number of legs they have

the number of eyes they have
Laura compares these two animals. Which of these is a similarity between them?

their colour

their size

their body covering

the number of legs they have ✓
The features of a living thing that we can see or describe using our senses are called ______ characteristics.

'observable' ✓
Which of these are observable characteristics of this plant?

the shape of its leaves ✓

the date it germinated from a seed

the colour of its flowers ✓

the number of people who have seen it

its name
Why might scientists compare living things to each other?

to help them identify a living thing ✓

to help them measure a living thing

to help the living things to survive

Worksheet

Loading worksheet ...

Presentation

Loading presentation ...

Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

Anything can be observed and compared to another thing, based on similarities and differences.
Observable characteristics are properties about things that we can describe using five senses.
Comparing and grouping living things can help us to identify them.

Common misconception

Pupils may only consider animals' characteristics to be observable if we can see them in a photo, rather than us also being able to observe their behaviour over time.

Explain that when scientists classify living things they make many observations of how that living thing moves, behaves and reproduces, as these are all characteristics we can observe to help us identify and classify things.

Keywords

Observable - Something observable is something that we can see or describe using our senses.
Characteristic - A characteristic is a feature or quality of something that we can use to help identify it.
Compare - We compare things by looking at what is the same and what is different.
Similarity - A similarity is something two or more objects have in common.
Difference - A difference between two objects or things is something that is not similar or the same about them.