1.1 Characteristics of living organisms Flashcards
What are the characteristics of living organisms? (MRS GREN)
Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity
Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition
Movement
an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
Respiration
the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism
Sensitivity
the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
Growth
a permanent increase in size and dry mass
Reproduction
the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
Excretion
the removal of the waste products of metabolism and substances in excess of requirements
Nutrition
the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development
Species
a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
How can organisms be classified
organisms can be classified into groups by the features that they share
The sequence of classification is
(King Philips Came Over For Good Soup)
Kingdom,
Phylum,
Class,
Order,
Family,
Genus,
Species
The binomial system of naming species is an internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing ______ and _____
- the genus (always given a capital letter) and followed by the species (starting with a lower case letter)
- When typed, binomial names are always in italics (which indicates they are Latin) e.g. Homo sapiens
- When written should be underlined
Studies of DNA sequences of different species show what?
These show that the more similar the base sequences in the DNA of two species, the more closely related those two species are.
What is the first division of living things in the classification system?
the five kingdoms
What are the 5 kingdoms of classification?
- Animal
- Plant
- Fungus
- Prokaryote (Bacteria)
- Protoctist
Heterotroph
organisms that eat other organisms for energy and nutrients
cannot make its own food
Eukaryotic
Its cells have a nucleus that contains the cells DNA
Prokaryotic
Its cells don’t have a real nucleus, so its DNA floats in the cytoplasm
What are the main features of all animals?
- examples: Humans, Tigers, Lions, Birds
- multicellular
- cells contain a nucleus but no cell walls or chloroplasts
- Heterotrophic
Main features of all plants:
- examples: flowers, apple trees
- multicellular
- Their cells contain a nucleus, chloroplasts and cellulose cell walls
- autotrophs- make their own food by photosynthesis
Main features of all fungi
- e.g. moulds, mushrooms(multicellular), yeast(unicellular)
- usually multicellular
- cell walls made of chitin (no chlorophyll
- saprotrophic (feed on dead or decaying material) or parasitic (on live material) nutrition
What are the main features of all protoctists?
- e.g. Amoeba,
- Most are unicellular but some are multicellular
- All have a nucleus, some may have cell walls and chloroplasts
- Can be autotrophic or heterotrophic
(this means that some protoctists photosynthesise and some feed on organic substances made by other living things)
What are the main features of all prokaryotes?
- e.g bacteria
- unicellular
- have cell walls, and cytoplasm but NO nucleus or mitochondria
- cell wall made from peptidoglycan
- Autotrophic or hetrotrophic
What do the cell walls of fungi cells contain?
chitin
What is the cell wall of prokaryotes made from?
peptidoglycan
What 2 types of plants are in the plant kingdom?
Ferns and flowering plants
What features do ferns have?
- Have leaves called fronds
- Do not produce flowers
- reproduce by spores produced on the underside of their fronds
What features do flowering plants have?
- Reproduce using flowers and seeds
- Seeds are produced inside the ovary in the flowers
flowering plants divided into two groups
monocotyledons and Dicotyledons
Features of Monocotyledons
- Flowers parts (petals) in multiples of 3
- Long Narrow Leaf
- Parallel veins
- eg- grasses, lily
Features of Dicotyledons
- Flowers parts (petals) in multiples of 4 or 5
- Broad leaves
- Branching veins
- eg- sunflower, rose
What are the 5 classes of vertebrates?
- mammals
- birds
- reptiles
- amphibians
- fish
What do all vertebrates have?
a backbone
What main features do mammals have? (6)
- breathe with lungs
- fur/hair on skin
- give birth to live young
- young feed on milk from mammary glands
- external ears (pinna) visible
- warm-blooded (Endothermic)
What main features do birds have? (5)
- skin covered in feathers
- have 2 legs and 2 wings instead of forelimbs
- lay eggs with hard shell on land
- have a beak
- warm-blooded (Endothermic)
What main features do reptiles have? (4)
- dry, fixed scales on the skin
- lay soft-shelled eggs on land
- cold-blooded
- breathe with lungs
Name 3 examples of a reptile.
Lizards, crocodiles, and snakes.
What main features do amphibians have? (4)
- Smooth, moist skin
- lay eggs without shells in water
- Gills (tadpoles) & Lungs (adult) can live on land and water
- cold-blooded
2 examples of amphibians
frogs,Newts, toads
What main features do fish have? (4)
- wet scales on skin
- gills to breathe
- lay eggs without shells in water
- cold-blooded
What characteristic do all arthropods have?
have a exoskeleton
they have jointed legs
What are the four classes of arthropods
- crustaceans
- myriapods
- insects
- arachnids
(3) What main features do myriapods have? And e.g.
- body consists of many segments
- 10+ pairs of legs, 1 or 2 pairs on each segment
- 1 pair of antennae
(e.g. centipedes)
What main features do insects have? And e.g.
4
- 3 part body (head, thorax and abdomen)
- 3 pairs of jointed legs
- 2 pairs of wings
- 1 pair of antennae
(e.g. bees)
What main features do arachnids have? And e.g.
3
- 2 part body - cephalothorax and abdomen
- 4 pairs of jointed legs
- no antennae
(e.g. spiders)
What main features do crustaceans have? And e.g.
4
- more than 4 pairs of jointed legs
- chalky exoskeleton formed from calcium
- breathe through gills
- 2 pairs of antennae
(e.g. crabs)
Are viruses part of any classification systems? Why?
Viruses are not part of any classification system as they are not considered living things because they do not carry out the seven life processes for themselves
Viruses do not carry out the seven life processes for themselves. What do they do instead?
Instead, they take over a host cell’s metabolic pathways to make multiple copies of themselves.
What does a virus contain?
Viruses contain genetic material (DNA or RNA) inside a protein coat, relying on host cells for replication and survival.
