characteristics and classification of living organisms Flashcards
organism
a living thing
ALL have seven characteristics
the seven characteristics of organisms
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
growth
a permanent increase in size and dry mass
sensitivity
the ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
excretion
the removal of waste products of metabolism and substances in excess of requirements
reproduction
the processes that make more of the same kind of organisms
nutrition
taking in materials for energy, growth and developments
respiration
chemical reaction that creates glucose to be used as energy and other things in the organism’s body
dry mass
the mass of an organism after it has been killed and all water removed from it
classification
putting things into groups
common ancestor
a species that lived in the past, and is thought to have given rise to several different species alive today
this is used for organism classification
how do we classify organsims
by how closely they are related to each other
features they share
species
a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
fertile
able to reproduce
infertile
not able to reproduce
binomial naming system
official name for the animal
first name is the genus , always capital letter
second is the species
genus
a group of species that share similar features and a common ancestor
dichotomus key
a way of identifying an organism, by working through pairs of statements that lead you to its name
kingdom
one of the major groups into which all organisms are classified
animal kingdom characteristics
no cell walls
cells have nucleus, but no cell walls or chloroplasts
they feed on organic substances made by other living organisms
plant kingdom characteristics
their cells have a nucleus and cell walls made of cellulose and often contain chloroplasts
feed by photosynthesis
may have roots, stems, leaves some dont
all have green colour by chloropyll
chlorophyll
green pigment, absorbs energy from sunlight with carbon dioxide with water to make glucose
the five kingdoms
plant
animal
fungus
prokaryote
protoctist
fungus kingdom
an organism whose cells have cell walls, but does not photosynthesise
eg. mushrooms
main body is made up of hypae
dont have chlorophyll and dont photosynthesise
they feed saprophytically or parasitically by feeding on organic materials such as faeces
are decomposers
reproduce by forming spores
usually mulit-cellular but some are uni-cellular
cell walls made of chitin
decomposers
organisms that break down orgainc substances outside their bodies, releasing nutrients from them that other organisms can use
spores
very small groups of cells surrounding by a protective wall, used in reproduction
the protoctist kingdom
mixed collection or organisms
all have cells w nucleus most are unicellular but some are multi
some feed by photosynthesis others by feeding on organic substances made by other organisms
the prokaryote kingdom
huge number of organisms
bacteria
dont have a nucleus
some can do photosynthesis
usually unicellular
cells walls made of peptidoglycan
no mitochondria circular loop of DNA which is free in the cytoplasm
often have plasmids, loops of DNA found in the cytoplasm
vertebrates
animals that have backbones
- fish
- amphibians
- reptiles
- birds
- mammals
fish
vertebrates with scaly skin
gills throughout their life
have fins
eggs have no shell, are laid in water
amphibians
undergo metamorphosis
vertebrates with skin
eggs have no shells and laid underwater
tadpoles live in water, adults often live on land
tadpoles have gills, adults have lungs for gas exchange
metamorphosis
changing from a larva with one body form to a adult with a different body form
reptiles
vertebrate with scaly skin
lay eggs with soft shells
birds
feathers sometimes scales
have a beak
front 2 limbs are wings, not all can fly
lay eggs with hard shells
mammals
have a pinna (earflap)
have a uterus and placenta
have mammary glands
hair on their skin
young develop in uterus
produce milk to young
different teeth
sweat glands
have a diaphragm
mammary glands
organs found only in mammals, which produce milk to feed young
diaphragm
a muscles that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity in mammals; it helps with breathing
arthropods
animals with jointed legs but no backbone waterproof exoskeleton
several pairs of jointed legs
diff groups of arthropods: insects, crustaceans, arachnids. myriapods
insects
arthropods w 3 pairs of jointed legs
2 pairs of wings, one or both may be vestigial
breath through tubes called tracheae
body divided in head, thorax and abdomen
one pair of antennae
terrestrial
living on land
vestigial
description of a structure that has evolved to become so small that it is no longer useful
crustaceans
aquatic
breath through gills
arthropods with more that 4 pairs of jointed legs
2 pairs of antennae
crabs
arachnids
spiders
arthropods with 4 pairs of jointed legs
no antennae
body is divided into 2 parts: cephalothorax and abdomen
myriapods
centipedes or millipedes
body consists of similar segments
each segments has jointed legs
one pair of antennae
ferns
plants with leaves called fronds
no production of flowers
reproduce by spores underside of fronds
plants with roots, stems, and leaves
flowering plants
plants with roots stems and leaves
reproduce using flowers and seeds
seeds are produced inside ovary in the flower
divided into 2 groups: dicotyledons, monocotyledons
dicotyledons
have seeds with 2 cotyledons
one main root with side roots coming out of it
leaves in network of veins
petals in multiples of 4 or 5
vascular bundles in the stem, arranged in a ring
monocotyledons
seed with 1 cotyledon
roots grow out directly from the stem
leaves have parallel veins
petals in multiples of 3
vascular bundles in the stem arranged randomly
viruses
not considered living organism bc cant do anything until living inside a cell
take over cells machinery to make multiple copies of themselves new viruse burst out of the cell and invade others
host cells is usually killed when this happens
