NCERT Solutions for Class 6th Science Chapter 2 Diversity in the Living World
Updated on 2026-09-19
About this chapter
We are surrounded by a huge variety of plants and animals . This variety found in a region is called its biodiversity , and every member of it has a role to play. Plants and animals can be grouped on the basis of similarities and differences. Grouping makes them easier to study — just as sorting books makes a school bag easier to use. By height and stem, plants are herbs, shrubs and trees (with climbers and creepers having weak stems). Tomato is a herb, rose a shrub, mango a tree. Leaves show reticulate venation (net-like, as in hibiscus) or parallel venation (as in banana and grass). Roots are of two kinds — taproot (mustard) and fibrous root (grass). These features go together. Dicots (two cotyledons, e.g. chana) have reticulate venation and taproots; monocots (one cotyledon, e.g. maize)
- The nature walk with Dr Raghu and Maniram chacha
- Diversity in Plants and Animals Around Us
- How much variety does one class know?
- How to Group Plants and Animals?
- Making your own basis for grouping
- How to group plants?
- Venation in leaves
- Other features for grouping plants
- Types of roots
- Linking venation and roots
Quick revision
| Term | What it means | Example from the chapter | Where it comes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biodiversity | The variety of plants and animals found in a particular region | The moist evergreen forest of Silent Valley, Kerala | Page 13 |
| Grouping | Arranging things into groups on the basis of common features | Sorting books and notebooks in a school bag | Page 14 |
| Herb | A small plant with a soft, green, thin stem | Tomato, coriander | Page 17 |
| Shrub | Medium height; many hard, thin, brown stems branching close to the ground | Rose, gudhal (hibiscus) | Page 17 |
| Tree | Tall plant with a hard, thick, brown woody stem; branches higher up | Mango, neem | Page 16 |
| Climber / Creeper | Weak stem — a climber needs support, a creeper spreads on the ground | Money plant (climber), pumpkin (creeper) | Page 17 |
| Reticulate venation | Net-like pattern of veins on both sides of a thick middle vein | Hibiscus, mango, chana | Page 17 |
| Parallel venation | Veins that run side by side along the leaf | Banana, grass, wheat, maize | Page 17 |
| Taproot | One main root with small side roots arising from it | Mustard, radish, hibiscus | Page 18 |
| Fibrous root | A bunch of similar-sized thin roots from the base of the stem | Grass, wheat, lemongrass | Page 18 |
| Cotyledon | The seed leaf stored inside a seed — 2 in a dicot, 1 in a monocot | Chana (dicot), maize (monocot) | Page 20 |
| Adaptation | A special feature that lets a plant or animal survive in its region | Camel's hump, the conical shape of a deodar | Page 27 |
| Habitat | The place where a plant or animal lives | Desert for a camel, ocean for a sea turtle | Page 27 |
| Terrestrial / Aquatic | Habitats on land / in water; animals using both are amphibians | Forest and desert / pond and ocean; frog | Pages 27–28 |
| Sacred grove | An undisturbed patch of forest protected by the local community | Sacred groves of the Western Ghats | Page 29 |
Exercises
- The nature walk with Dr Raghu and Maniram chacha — In-text Questions Page 10
- Activity 2.1: Let us explore and record — Diversity in Plants and Animals Around Us Page 10–12
- Activity 2.2: Let us appreciate — How much variety does one class know? Page 13
- In-text Questions — How to Group Plants and Animals? Page 14
- Activity 2.3: Let us group — Making your own basis for grouping Page 14–15
- Activity 2.4: Let us group — How to group plants? Page 15–16
- Activity 2.5: Let us compare — Venation in leaves Page 17
- In-text Questions — Other features for grouping plants Page 17 & 18
- Activity 2.6: Let us find out — Types of roots Page 18
- In-text Questions — Linking venation and roots Page 19
- Activity 2.7: Let us relate and analyse — Table 2.4, venation and roots together Page 19
- In-text Questions — and 2.2.2 Page 20
- Activity 2.8: Let us compare — Dicot and monocot seeds Page 20
- Activity 2.9: Let us find out — How to group animals? Page 21–22
- In-text Questions — Plants and Animals in Different Surroundings Page 23
- Activity 2.10: Let us compare and analyse — Table 2.6, life in different regions Page 24
- In-text Questions — Adaptations of desert and mountain life Page 24–26
- In-text Questions — Habitats, and why they must be protected Page 27–29
- End-of-chapter questions — Let us enhance our learning Page 31–33
- Projects and further exploration — Learning further Page 33–34