This document summarizes key characteristics of living things, focusing on animals. It describes how animals need water, food, and the right temperature to live. It also explains that animals have adaptations like thick fur or fins that help them survive in their environments. The document outlines that animals need to eat and digest food, breathe either through lungs, gills or tracheal systems, and are classified based on their food source and means of birth. Vertebrates are described as having backbones, while invertebrates do not, and vertebrates are divided into mammals, birds, fish and reptiles with defining traits listed for each group.