Plants and animals are both living things, but they differ in many ways — in structure, nutrition, movement, and growth. Here’s a simple comparison:
- Mode of Nutrition
- Plants: Make their own food by photosynthesis using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water. (They are autotrophs.)
- Animals: Cannot make their own food. They eat plants or other animals for energy. (They are heterotrophs.)
- Cell Structure
- Plants: Have a cell wall made of cellulose and contain chloroplasts for photosynthesis.
- Animals: Do not have a cell wall or chloroplasts; their cells are more flexible.
- Movement
- Plants: Generally do not move from one place to another, though some parts like leaves or flowers can move slowly (e.g., sunflower turning toward sunlight).
- Animals: Can move freely from place to place in search of food, shelter, or mates.
- Growth
- Plants: Grow throughout their lives, mainly at tips of roots and shoots.
- Animals: Grow only up to a certain age, then stop increasing in size.
- Response to Stimuli
- Plants: Respond slowly to stimuli like light, touch, and gravity (e.g., roots grow downward, leaves bend toward light).
- Animals: Respond quickly to stimuli through a nervous system (e.g., moving hand away from heat).
- Respiration and Gas Exchange
- Plants: Take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen during photosynthesis (but also respire using oxygen all the time).
- Animals: Take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide during respiration.
- Reproduction
- Plants: Reproduce by seeds, spores, or vegetative parts (like stem cuttings or roots).
- Animals: Reproduce mainly through sexual reproduction, involving eggs and sperm.
- Energy Storage
- Plants: Store energy as starch.
- Animals: Store energy as glycogen or fat.
In short:
Plants are green, stationary organisms that make their own food, while animals are mobile, depend on others for food, and have more complex body systems.