how Do living things take in nutrients, breathe, and eliminate waste

Most Living Things need Oxygen Humans, animals and plants share many of the same needs. They have the structure they need to take in the air they need to live. However, unlike plants, animals and humans take in oxygen. Oxygen is a gas that plants give off into the air!

Most Living Things need Oxygen Many animals and humans that live on land get oxygen by breathing air. However, some animals get oxygen in different ways. Insects, for example, get oxygen through tiny holes in their bodies. Many water animals, such as fish, get oxygen from the water. Other water animals, like whales and hippos, rise to the surface of the water to breathe air. What happens if the air is polluted? How does this affect living things?

Living Things need Water Did you know that more than half of your body is water? Every day, water leaves your body in your breath, in your sweat, and you urine. To be healthy, you must drink to replace your water. Most humans and animals get the water they need by drinking it!

Living Things need Water Other humans and animals get water mainly from the foods they eat. What happens if the water is polluted? How does this affect living things?

Living Things need Food Plants, humans and animals need food to live and grow. Animals, however, can’t make their own food. They must get food by eating plants and other animals.

Living Things need Food Animals have body parts that help them get food. For example, an elephant uses its trunk to pull leaves from trees, a pelican has a large bill that helps it catch fish and etc.

Living Things need Shelter Think about yourself on a stormy day. How do you stay warm and dry? Like other animals you seek shelter—at home or in another safe place. Shelters aren’t just homes. Shelter help protect animals and humans from weather and from other humans and animals.

Animal Shelters There are many kind of animal shelters. Some birds build nest from twigs, grass and mud above the ground where other animals can’t bother their young. Beavers build shelters called lodges from mud and wood. Other animals, such as rabbits and moles, make burrows in the ground.