Living Organisms Flashcards
State the seven (7) characteristics of living organisms.
Growth - the permanent increase in the size of an organism.
Respiration - the process by which energy is released from food by living cells.
Irritability - the ability of organisms to detect and respond to stimuli in their environment and within themselves.
Movement - the change in position of an organism’s entire body or part of it.
Nutrition - the process by which living organisms obtain or produce food.
Excretion - the process by which waste products and harmful substances produced by the body’s metabolism, is removed from the body.
Reproduction - the process by which living organisms produce new individuals of the same kind as themselves.
What is an autotroph compared to a heterotroph?
An autotroph is an organism that produces it’s own food whereas a heterotroph consumes ready made food.
What are the two types of respiration and how are they different?
Aerobic respiration requires energy and occurs in most cells whereas anaerobic respiration doesn’t require oxygen and occurs is certain cells.
What does DNA stand for?
Deoxyribonucleic acid.
What is the difference between a prokaryote and an eukaryote?
Prokaryotes lack membrane bound nuclei so the DNA is free in the cells whereas with the eukaryotes, their cells have a true nuclei surrounded by membranes.
What are the five (5) kingdoms?
Prokaryotae, protoctista, fungi, plantae, animalia.
Define the following terms:
Ecology
Environment
Habitat
Species
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Niche
Ecology - study of the relationships of living organisms with each other and their environment
Environment - combination of factors that surround and act upon organisms
Habitat - place where an organism lives
Species - group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
Population - all members of a particular species living together in a particular habitat
Community - all the populations of different species living together in a particular habitat
Ecosystem - a community of living organisms interacting with each other and their abiotic environment
NIche - role of an organism in an ecosystem
State the difference between abiotic factors and biotic factors.
Biotic factors are all the living organisms present and abiotic factors are all the non-living things present.
What are the three (3) different types of symbiotic relationships? Explain them and give an example.
Commensalism - one organism benefits while the other doesn’t and is unharmed (remora fish attaching itself to sharks to feed from them scraps)
Mutualism - both organisms benefit (coral polyps gaining food and oxygen while the green algae photosynthesizes)
Parasitism - one organism benefits while the other is harmed (ticks sucking the blood from mammals)
What is symbiosis?
The close relationship between two organisms of different species.
