Characteristics and classification of living organisms Flashcards
Nutrition
The taking in of materials for energy, growth and development.
Plant require light, CO2, H2O and ions. Animals need organic compounds and ions and H2O.
Excretion
The removal from organisms of the waste products of metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration),toxic materials and substances that are in excess of requirements
Respiration
The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism
Sensitivity
The ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external environment and make appropriate responses.
Reproduction
The processes that make more of the same kind of organism
Growth
A permanent increase in size and dry mass by an icrease in cell number or cell size or both
Movement
An action by an organism causing a change of position and place
Species
A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offfspring
Binomial system
An internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing the genus and the species
Morphology
The study of the form, or outward appearance, of organisms.
Anatomy
The study of their internal structure, as revealed by dissection.
Cladistics
the process of biological classification.
DNA in classification (6)
The use of DNA has revolutionised the process of classification.
Eukaryotic organisms contain chromosomes made up of strings of genes.
DNA is made up of a sequence of bases, coding for amino acids and proteins.
Each species has a distinct number of chromosomes and a unique sequence of bases in it DNA, making it identifiable and distinguishable from other species.
This helps when different species are very similar morphologically and anatomically.
Organisms which share a more recent ancestor (more closely related) have DNA base sequences that are more similar than those that share only a distant ancestor.
All living organisms have certain features in common (3)
Cytoplasm, cell membranes, DNA as genetic material.
Also contain ribosomes (in the cytoplasm), floating freely or attached to membranes called rough endoplasmic reticulum.
Ribosomes are responsible for protein synthesis and enzymes involved in respiration
Plant Kingdom 4
Multicellular
Cell wall made up of cellulose
Contains chloroplasts with photosynthetic pigments
Make their own food by photosynthesis
Animal Kingdom 3
Multi cellular
No cell wall or chloroplasts
Ingest solid food and digest it internally
5 kingdoms
Animal, plant, fungi, protoctista, prokaryotes (bacteria)
Ferns
Produces gametes but not seeds
Reproduce through spores
Monocotyledon
Leaf long and narrow
Leaf veins parallel
One cotyledon
Grouping of flower parts in threes
Dicotyledon
Leaf shape broad
Leaf veins branching
2 cotyledons
Grouping of flower parts in fives
vertebrates (5) and invertebrates (7)
Coelenterates, Flatworms, Nematode worms, Annelids, Arthropods, Molluscs, Echinoderms,
Fish, Ambphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals
4 arthropod groups
Insects
Arachnids
Crustacesa
Myriapods
Insects (5)
3 pairs of legs
Body divided into head, thorax and abdomen
1 pair of antennae
1 pair of compund eyes
Usually 2 pairs of wings
Ex: Dragonfly or wasps
Arachnids (4)
Eg spider, tick
4 pair of legs
Body divided into cephalothorax and abdomen
Several pairs of simple eyes
Chelicerae for biting and poisoning prey
Crustacea (5)
Eg: crab, woodlouse
5 or more pair of legs
Body divided into cephalothorax and abdomen
2 pairs of antennae
1 pair of compund eyes
Exoskeleton often calcified to form a carapace (hard)
Myriapods (4)
Eg centipede, milipede
10 or more pair of legs
Body not obvioulsly divided into thorax and abdomen
Simple eyes
1 pair of antennae
Arthropods features (4)
Invertebrates
Waterproof exoskeleton (canexist in very dry places and are not confined to water or moist places like most invertebrates)
Segmented body
Jointed limbs (exoskeleton would prevent movement)
Annelids
Segemented worms with soft bodies
Eg: earthworms
Nematodes
Tiny thin worms without segments
Some are parasites that cause disease
Eg: hookworms
Molluscs
Usually have broad muscular foot and may also have a shell
Eg: snails, slugs, squids, and octopuses
Fish (6)
Eg: Herring, perch, sharks
Scales
Fins
Produce jelly-covered eggs in water
Eyes, no ears, lateral line along body for detection vibrations in water
Cold blooded, gills for breathing
Amphibia (6)
Eg: frog, toad, newt
Moist skin
4 limbs, back feet (for swimming)
Produce jelly-covered eggs in water
Eyes, ears
Cold blooded, lungs and skin for breathing
Reptiles (6)
Eg: lizard, snake
Dry skin with scales
4 legs (apart from snakes)
Produce eggs with a rubbery, waterproof shell; laid on land
Eys ears
Cold blooded, lungs for breathing
Birds (6)
Eg: Robin, pigeon, flamingo
Feathers, scales on legs
Wings, 2 legs
Eggs with hard shells
Eyes and ears
Warm blooded, lungs for breathing, beak
Mammals
Eg: mouse, humans elephant
Fur
4 limbs
Produce live young
Eyes, ears with a pinna (external flap)
Warm blooded
Lungs for breathing
Demales have mammary glands to produce milk to feed young,
4 types of teeth
Vertebrate defintion
Vertebrates are animals which have a vertebral column called the spinal column or just the spine and consists of a chain of cylindrical bones joined end to end.
Cold and warm blooded
Poikilothermic (variable temperature) cold blooded.
Homoiothermic (constant temperature) warm blooded.
Fungi Kingdom (5)
Made up of thread-like hyphae, rather than cells.
Many nuclei distributed throughout the cytoplasm in their hyphae.
Mushrooms, toadstools, puffballs, bracket fungi that grow on tree trunks.
Mould fungi which grow on stale bread, cheese, fruit or other food.
The yeasts are single-celled fungi.
The prokaryote kingdom (10)
Bacteria and blue-green algae.
Consist of single cells.
Different to other single-cell organisms because their chromosomes are not organised into a nucleus.
Bacteria are very small organisms.
Cell walls are made, of cellulose, but of a complex mixture of proteins, sugars and lipids.
Some bacteria have a slime capsule outside their cell wall.
Cytoplasm may contain granules of glycogen, lipid and other food reserves .
Each bacterial cell contains a single chromosome, consisting of a circular strand of DNA.
The chromosome is not enclosed in a nuclear membrane but is coiled up to occupy part of the cell.
Flagella can flick and move the cell about.
The protoctist kingdom (4)
Single-celled (unicellular) organisms
Their chromosomes enclosed in a nuclear membrane to form a nucleus.
Euglena, possess chloroplasts and make their food by photosynthesis. Often referred to as unicellular ‘plants’ or
Amoeba and Paramecium, take in and digest solid food. May be called unicellular ‘animals’ or
Viruses (8)
Have a central core of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein coat.
No nucleus, cytoplasm, cell organelles or cell membrane.
Virus particles therefore are not cells.
Do not feed, respire, excrete or grow.
Do reproduce, but only inside the cells of living organisms, using materials provided by the host cell.
The nucleic acid core is a coiled single strand of RNA.
The coat is made up of regularly packed protein units called capsomeres each containing many protein molecules.
The protein coat is called a capsid.
Taxonomic rank
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species
