{"response":"What does it mean to respond to its environment?

A living thing responds to its environment when it notices changes and does something about them.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, let's say a teddy bear. If the room gets really bright, like when the lights come on, maybe you smile or wave at the bear. That’s a response, you changed how you acted because of something around you.

A plant is just like you, but it doesn’t have hands to wave. When sunlight shines on it, the plant grows toward the light. If it gets too hot, maybe it closes its leaves up, that’s its way of saying “I notice this and I’m doing something about it.”

A cat is another living thing that responds to its environment. If you’re playing with it and you throw a ball, the cat runs after it. That's how cats know when to chase, they're noticing things around them and acting on them.

So responding to your environment means you or something else notices changes and does something in reply, just like you, plants, and cats!