# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Home : iSpot Nature - Your place to share nature. iSpot is a website aimed at helping anyone identify anything in nature. Once you've registered, you can add an observation to the website and suggest an identification yourself or see if anyone else can identify it for you.

# data[].attributes.body
Fab experiment for EYFS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rain Cloud in a Jar Science Experiment with Printable Recording Sheets

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This rain cloud in a jar is a weather science experiment gives young children a chance to explore clouds and rain in a hands-on and engaging way! If you are looking for a simple and easy science activity to do with the kids this spring, this is perfect for you.

# data[].attributes.body
Clear layout for characteristics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When you look at the world around you, how do you categorise or group what you see? One of the broadest groupings is 'living' and 'non-living'. This may sound simple, but it is sometimes difficult to decide whether something is truly alive or not. Here we look at the characteristics of living things - using earthworms as an example.

All living things share life processes such as growth and reproduction. Most scientists use seven life processes or characteristics to determine whether something is living or non-living.

The table below describes seven characteristics of most living things and contains references to earthworms to explain why we can definitely say that they are 'living'.

Further classification

Based on the information above, we can confidently categorise earthworms as living things as they carry out all seven life processes.

It is now possible to classify them further into a series of hierarchical categories: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. Classifying living things into these categories is an important way for scientists to show how living things are related to each other. Most scientists classify living things into one of the following six kingdoms.

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that don't have a nuclear membrane.

Protozoans are single-celled organisms that are generally much larger than bacteria. They may be autotrophic or heterotrophic.

Chromists are a diverse group of plant-like organisms and range from very small to very large. They are found in almost all environments.

Fungi are multicellular and rely on breaking down organic material as they are not able to make their own food.

Plants are multicellular and autotrophic - they use photosynthesis to produce food using sunlight.

Animals are multicellular. They are heterotrophic and rely on other organisms for food.

Which kingdom do you think earthworms belong to?

Animal characteristics

What did you decide? Sometimes people are surprised to find out that earthworms are actually animals - the same kingdom as humans, cats, dogs, dolphins and spiders! Just as living things share a set of common characteristics, animals have key characteristics that can help you to decide whether a living thing is an animal or not.

Key characteristics of animals include the following:

They obtain energy by consuming other organisms (we say they are 'heterotrophic').

They are able to physically move their bodies about at one or more stages of their life cycle.

Their bodies are made up of multiple cells.

Sexual reproduction occurs - a sperm and an egg cell combine to produce an embryo that grows into a juvenile animal.

Nature of science

Useful link

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you look at the world around you, how do you categorise or group what you see? One of the broadest groupings is 'living' and 'non-living'. This may sound simple, but it is sometimes difficult to decide whether something is truly alive or not.

# data[].attributes.body
Home page for KS1 bitesize info

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
KS1 Science learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers organised by topic.

# data[].attributes.body
Official website for American Space Agency

# data[].attributes.body
Official website for European Space Agency

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Science & Exploration
ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti becomes first European female ISS commander
Read

Agency
Week in images: 12-16 September 2022
Open

Agency
This is ESA: now interactive - in 23 languages!
Read

Agency
Register now: ESA Open Day at ESTEC
Read

Agency
Discover ESA
Open

In the spotlight

All Stories Videos Images

Science & Exploration
Europe ready for Artemis
Play

Recommended

Science & Exploration
The Sun in high resolution
View

Trending

Featured videos

More

Featured images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The European Space Agency portal features the latest news in space exploration, human spaceflight, launchers, telecommunications, navigation, monitoring and space science.

# data[].attributes.body
Home page for KS2 bitesize info

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
KS2 Science learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers.