Chapter 1: Characteristics and Classification of Living Organisms Flashcards
List all the characteristics of living organisms [7]
- Movement
- Respiration
- Sensitivity
- Growth
- Reproduction
- Excretion
- Nutrition
Give the definition of MRS GREN [2+2+2+2+2+2+2]
- Movement as an action by an organism or a part of an organism causing a change of position or place
- Respiration as the chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism
- Sensitivity as the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
- Growth as a permanent increase in size and dry mass
- Reproduction as the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
- Excretion as the removal of the waste products of metabolism and substances in excess of requirements
- Nutrition as the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development
Define metabolism [1]
Chemical reactions that take place inside living organisms
What are the 2 types of chemical reactions along with examples [4]
- Anabolic (build up of particles). Eg: glucose forming starch in plants and being stored in chloroplasts
- Catabolic (breaking down). Eg: glucose being broken down for energy during respiration
Define a Common Ancestor [2]
A species that lived in the past, and is thought to have given rise to several different species alive today
What are Stimuli [1]
changes inside/outside body to which we respond to (sensitivity)
Rules of Binomial Nomenclature [3]
- First name Genus, 2nd name species
- First letter of Genus should be capitalized
- Handwritten - should be underlined separately
Typing - in italics
Earl Linnaeus came up with Binomial Nomenclature
What was Linnaeus’ System of Classification [7]
Kingdom > Phylum > Class > Order > Family > Genus > Species
Why do we classify organisms [3]
- To study them
- Understand evolutionary behavior
- Conservation
Timeline of how we used to classify organisms [3+3]
- Morphology - studying of physical appearance of organisms (first method of classification)
- Anatomy - study of internal structure
- Base DNA sequences (sequence in proteins)
- Amino acid sequencing
Define the terms species, fertile and infertile [2+1+1]
- Species are organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
- Fertile are organisms that are able to reproduce
- Infertile or sterile organisms are those that are unable to reproduce
When is an animal infertile/sterile? [1]
Hybrids, or animals produced from the breeding of two different species, are usually sterile (though not always)
What are the 5 kingdoms? [5]
- Animalia
- Plantae
- Fungi
- Monera (Bacteria)
- Protoctista
Features of Monera Kingdom [8]
- Consists mainly of bacteria
- Unicellular
- Prokaryotic (no membrane bound nucleus)
- Cell wall made of peptidoglycan
- Heterotrophs (feed by absorption of externally digested food)
- Can survive extreme temperatures and found everywhere
- No mitochondria, chloroplast, nucleus, vacuole, vesicle
- Contains cytoplasm, circular DNA/nucleoid, plasmid, ribosomes, flagellum, capsule, cell wall, cell membrane
Features of Protoctista Kingdom [6]
- Usually aquatic, present in the soil/moist areas
- Mostly unicellular
- Eukaryotic, therefore have a nucleus and membrane mound organelles
- Some have plant-like organelles such as cell walls and chloroplast
- May be autotrophic (produce their own food) or heterotrophic
- Exhibit locomotion through cilia, flagella or pseudopodia
Features of Fungi Kingdom [10]
- Almost all the fungi have a filamentous structure except the yeast cells
- Can be unicellular/multicellular
- Consist of long thread-like structures known as hyphae which together form a mesh-like structure called mycelium
- Possesses a cell wall which is made up of chitin and polysaccharides
- Cell wall comprises protoplast which is differentiated into other cell parts such as cell membrane, cytoplasm, cell organelles and nuclei
- Its nucleus is dense, clear, with chromatin threads
- Eukaryotic
- Lack chloroplast
- Feed parasitically
- Reproduce via spores
Features of Plant Kingdom [4]
- Multicellular
- Cells contain nucleus, cell wall made of cellulose, chloroplast
- Autotrophs that carry out photosynthesis
- May have roots, stems and leaves
Features of Animal Kingdom [3]
- Multicellular
- Cells have a nucleus but no cell walls or chloroplasts
- Heterotrophs – feed on organic substances made by other living organisms
List the groups within the animal kingdom [9]
- Vertebrates:
a. Fish
b. Mammals
c. Amphibians
d. Reptiles
e. Birds - Invertebrates –> arthropods:
a. Myriapods
b. Crustaceans
c. Insects
d. Arachnids
List the groups within the plant kingdom
- Ferns
- Plants
i. Angiosperms (flowering)
a. monocots
b. dicots
ii. Gymnosperms (non-flowering)
What are arthropods? [3]
- Type of invertebrates
- Have an exoskeleton
- Several pairs of jointed legs
List all the characteristics of each vertebrate group [10]
a. Fish - scaly skin, gills throughout their life, lay shell-less eggs underwater, have fins
b. Mammals - hair on their skin, young develop in a uterus, attached to their mother by a placenta, females have mammary glands which produce milk to feed their young, have different kinds of teeth (incisors, canines, molars, premolars), have a pinna (ear flap) on the outside of their body, sweat glands on skin, have diaphragm c. Amphibians - skin with no scales. shell-less eggs laid underwater, tadpoles live in water but adults live on land, tadpoles have gills for lung exchange but adults have lungs d. Reptiles - scaly skin, eggs with soft, leathery waterproof shells e. Birds - feathers and sometimes scales, have a beak, front 2 limbs act as wings, hard-shelled eggs
List all the characteristics of each invertebrate group [8]
a. Myriapods - body consists of many similar segments, each segment has jointed legs, have one pair of antennae (millipede, centipede)
b. Crustaceans - breathe through gills, usually aquatic, more than 4 pairs of jointed legs, two pairs of antennae (lobster, crab, woodlice) c. Insects - 3 pairs of jointed legs, two pairs of wings, breathe through tubes known as tracheae, body divided into head, thorax abdomen, one pair of antennae d. Arachnids - 4 pairs of jointed legs, no antennae, body divided into abdomen and cephalothorax, usually land dwelling (spiders, ticks, scorpions)
Characteristics of ferns [4]
- Leaves called fronds
- Do not produce flowers
- Reproduce via spores produced on the underside of the fronds (called sori)
- Have roots, stems and leaves (fronds)
Characteristics of types of plants [8]
i. Angiosperms (flowering) - plants with roots, stems and leaves, reproduce using flowers and seeds, their seeds are produced inside an ovary in the flower
a. monocots - have one cotyledon in their seed, tap roots, parallel veins of leaves, flower petals in multiples of 3, vascular bundles arranged randomly in the stem, narrow leaves
b. dicots - broad leaves, network of branching veins, flower petals in pairs of 4/5s, 2 cotyledons in seed, tap roots, vascular bundle arranged in a ring
ii. Gymnosperms (non-flowering)
Features, Characteristics of a Virus [4]
- Viruses are not made of cells and are not living (known as entities)
- They have genetic material, DNA/RNA, surrounded by a protein coat
- The protein coat is known as a capsid and is made of capsomeres
- Reproduce through the lytic cycle
