characteristics and classification of living organisms Flashcards
what is movement
action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
what is respiration
the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to release energy
what is sensitivity
ability to detect or sense changes in the environment (stimuli) and to make responses
what is growth
permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number or cell size or both
what is reproduction
processes that make more of the same kind of organism
what is excretion
removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste products of metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and substances in excess of requirements
what is nutrition
taking in of nutrients which are organic substances and mineral ions, containing raw materials or energy for growth and tissue repair, absorbing and assimilating them
what is classification
- Organisms can be classified into groups by the features that they share
- Classification systems aim to reflect evolutionary relationships (change of adaptive features of a population over time, as a result of natural selection)
- Classification is traditionally based on studies of morphology and anatomy
what is morphology
the overall form and shape of their bodies e.g. wings or legs
what is anatomy
the detailed body structure determined by dissection
what is the Binomial system
a system of naming species in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing the genus (starting with a capitol letter) and species (starting with a lower-case letter), written in italics when printed (therefore underlined when written)
classification order
KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GOOD SPAGHETTI
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Kingdom –> Species = Similarity increases
what is DNA
DNA is the chemical from which chromosomes are made
Each DNA molecule is made up of strings of smaller molecules containing four bases
how do biologists compare organisms
Biologists compare the sequences of the bases in the DNA of organisms from two different species
The more similar the base sequence, the more closely related the species are to one another
Organisms which share a more recent ancestor have base sequences in DNA that are more similar than those that share only a distant ancestor
The sequences of bases in DNA and of amino acids in proteins are used as a more accurate means of classification (cladistics)
what are the organisms kingdoms
- animal
- plant
- fungi
- prokaryotes
- protocist
animal kingdom definition
Multi-cellular ingestive heterotrophs (eat living organisms)
plant kingdom definition
Multi-cellular photosynthetic autotrophic (make their own food) organism with a cellulose cell wall.
fungi kingdom definition
Single celled or multi cellular heterotrophic organism with cell wall not made of cellulose, spread by spreading of spores in moist/dark/warm environment, saprotrophs (feed off dead organisms) or parasites
prokaryote kingdom definition
Single celled organism with no true nucleus
protocist kingdom definition
Single celled organism with a nucleus
types of vertebrates
- mammals
- reptiles
- fish
- amphibians
- birds
mammals characteristics
Fur/hair on skin
Can live on land and in water
4 legs
Lungs to breathe
Give birth to live young
external ears
reptiles characteristics
Scales on skin
Usually 4 legs
Lungs to breathe
Hard eggs
fish characterisitcs
Wet scales
External fertilization and soft eggs
Gills to breathe
