Everything for the Living Things test: study cards, the traps to dodge, and a practice quiz at three levels — Foundation, On-Level, and Challenge. Work here, or print it and use a pencil — both count.
A flame, a mushroom, a rock. One is alive — and it is not the one that moves.
Living things do six things: made of cells, use energy, grow, respond, reproduce, and hold steady inside. Fire moves and uses energy — and fails the other four.
Four things people get wrong
⚠️People often think…
If it moves, it is alive.
Moving is one sign, and it is not enough. Fire moves, spreads and uses energy, and it has no cells and no way to hold itself steady. Use all six characteristics, not one.
Six out of six, not one out of six.
⚠️People often think…
A virus is a tiny living creature.
A virus has no cells and cannot copy itself without hijacking one. That is why it is not counted as alive, and why antibiotics do nothing to it.
No cells, no life. It needs a host.
⚠️People often think…
Mushrooms are plants that grow in the dark.
Fungi are their own kingdom. Plants make their own food from light; fungi absorb food that something else already made.
Plants make food. Fungi absorb it.
⚠️People often think…
Bacteria are germs that make you sick.
Most bacteria do not. Some help you digest food, some make yogurt and cheese, and some put nitrogen into soil. Only a small share cause disease.
A few make you sick. Most keep you going.
Is it alive? Run all six
1Watch one
Is fire alive?
Fire moves and uses energy. Two yeses.
Cells? None.
Holds steady inside? No.
Not alive. Two out of six is not alive.
2Do one with me
Is a virus alive?
Does it have cells? Yes or no.
Can it copy itself alone? Yes or no.
So a virus is
💬One sentence, then you move on
Why isn't moving enough to call something alive?
3Try one
A mushroom is alive — but is it a plant? Write yes or no.
I want a hint first
Plants make their own food out of light. Does a mushroom do that?
💬Last one — then you're done here
What is the one test that everything living passes?
Where this goes
Where this lives
A doctor deciding whether an antibiotic will help. It works on bacteria, which are alive, and does nothing at all to a virus.
What this feeds
Next unit is the cell system — the one thing on this list that everything alive is built from.
Name one thing that seems alive but is not, and say which test it fails.
One card at a time — tap “Show me” to check yourself, then Next. Start at Foundation; when those feel easy, climb.
Helpful Hints
🧠 The Big Six — memorize these cold
Every living thing: is made of Cells, Responds, Grows, Reproduces, Uses energy, and keeps its inside Balanced (homeostasis).
Cool Rabbits Grow Radishes Under Bridges
🪜 The taxonomy ladder
Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species. Smaller group = more alike.
Dear King Philip Came Over For Good Soup
⚠️ Traps the test loves
Viruses are NOT alive — no cells, and they can’t reproduce without a host.
Mushrooms are NOT plants — fungi absorb food, they can’t make it.
Most bacteria don’t make you sick — many are helpful.
Moving ≠ living. Use all six characteristics, not one.
Fire isn’t alive — no cells, no homeostasis.
✍️ Scientific names — easy points
Two parts: Genus + species — like Homo sapiens.
Genus gets a CAPITAL; species stays lowercase; both in italics.
Same genus = close relatives.
🎯 How the test will ask
“Cite evidence” wants a fact + because.
Expect a mystery organism to classify from its traits.
Read a chart’s title and headings first.
✅ Before the test, can you…
List all six characteristics of living things?
Name one autotroph and one heterotroph?
Write a scientific name correctly?
Order all 8 taxonomy levels?
Explain why a virus isn’t alive — two reasons?
Name the three domains?
Term
Meaning in 10 words or less
Organism
Any living thing.
Cell
The smallest unit of life.
Homeostasis
Keeping conditions inside the body steady.
Stimulus
A change that makes an organism react.
Response
What the organism does about the change.
Autotroph
Makes its own food (plants, algae).
Heterotroph
Must eat or absorb food (animals, fungi).
Unicellular
Made of one cell.
Multicellular
Many cells with different jobs.
Classification
Sorting organisms into groups by traits.
Genus
Group of very similar species; first name.
Species
Organisms that can reproduce together; last name.
Domain
The biggest group — there are three.
Prokaryote
Cell with no nucleus (bacteria, archaea).
Eukaryote
Cell with a nucleus.
Virus
Nonliving particle that copies itself inside host cells.
Vertebrate / Invertebrate
Backbone / no backbone.
Pick your level
Look back at anything you missed — the hint that appeared is exactly what to reread tonight.
How sure did you feel?
Workshop
Work like a biologist: sort by how a thing gets its energy, climb the classification ladder in order, tag the characteristics of life inside a story, then settle the argument every class has about viruses.
Your practice never leaves this device. There is no account and no sign-in. Your work is saved in this browser only, and you can erase it whenever you want.
Your practice record — saved on this device
This is your record of the module on screen — it stays here and goes nowhere. Independent means you got it right on the first tap; supported means you got it after the explain-and-retry, or marked ‘I had it’ on a revealed answer. Both count, and neither is a grade. If your teacher asks, copy the row or show them this screen.
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Supported
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Hints used
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Lab
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Traps met
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Explained in own words
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The answer key is for a teacher: it prints only from here, for the unit on screen. Print the study packet prints the study pages and a blank quiz — never the answers.