Characteristics

& Classification
of living organisms

Introduction to the fascinating

world of taxonomy
 How can we tell
that an organism is
alive?
Time for charades!
Split into 2 groups

One group have to act out the word given

The other group try to guess what the word is

 Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity
7 Characteristics
of living organisms
Growth
Excretion
Reproduction
Nutrition
Movement
an action by an organism or part of
an organism causing a change of
position or place

Respiration
chemical reactions in cells that
rreak down nutrient molecules and
release energy for metabolism
Sensitivity
the ability to detect and respond to
changes in the internal or external
environment

Growth
permanent increase in size and dry
mass
Excretion
the removal of the waste products
of metabolism and substances in
excess of requirements

Reproduction
the processes that make more of
the same kind of organism
Nutrition
taking in of materials for energy,
growth and development
What is a species?

a group of organisms that

can reproduce to produce
fertile offspring
Binomial naming system
two name

Homo sapiens
genus + species

in Greek or Latin
uppercase first letter of the genus
always in Italic or underlined
 Practice
Biston betularia

Caesalpinia pulcherima

panthera Tigris

Chelodina mccordi
 Practice
Biston betularia

Caesalpinia pulcherima Caesalpinia pulcherrima

panthera Tigris Panthera tigris

Chelodina mccordi
Dichotomous keys
branching

a way of
identifying an
organism,
by working
through pairs of
statements that
lead you to its
name
Which is more genetically
similar?

a. you and your cousins

b. you and your siblings
 Find the difference

ATTTGCAGTACATC

1 ATTTGCCGTACATC
2 ATTTCCCGTACTTC
 Find the difference

ATTTGCAGTACATC

1 ATTTGCCGTACATC
2 ATTTCCCGTACTTC
the more similar the DNA sequence, the more
closely related the 2 species
 Other than
morphological traits,

DNA can also be used as

a means of classification
Does wooly
mammoth and
elephant belong to
the same species?
Does wooly
mammoth and
elephant belong to
the same species?
No, but they belong to the
same family of Elephantidae
the wooly mammoth and elephant have a
common ancestor of Palaeomastodon
Which species is closer to wooly mammoth ?
 the wooly mammoth is more closely related
to asian elephant rather than indian elephant
 Taxonomic Rank
Domain
Kingdom
Animals Plants
Phylum Division
Class Class
Order Order
Family Family
Genus Genus
Species Species
How many kingdoms are
there?
Prokaryotes
 5 Kingdoms
Prokaryotes Protoctist Fungi

Plantae Animalia
Prokaryotes
Unicellular (single-celled)
No nucleus
Circular loop of DNA free in the
plasmid
Have cell walls, not made of
cellulose
No mitochondria
Often have plasmid
Protoctist
multicellular or unicellular
have nucleus
may or may not have
chloroplasts or cell wall
some feed by photosynthesis
(autotrophs) and others feed on
organic substance made by
other organisms (heterotrophs)
Fungi
multicellular or unicellular
have nucleus
have cell walls made of cellulose
no chlorophyll
heterotrophs
Plantae
multicellular
have nucleus
have cell walls made of cellulose
feed by photosynthesis
most have roots stems and
leaves
Animalia
multicellular
have nucleus
no cell walls or chloroplasts
heterotrophs
 Characteristics Prokaryotes Protoctist Fungi Plantae Animals

Prokaryotic or
Prokaryotes Eukaryotes Eukaryotes Eukaryotes Eukaryotes
eukaryotic
Kingdom

Nucleus - Yes Yes Yes Yes

Unicellular or Unicellular, Most

Unicellular Multicellular Multicellular
multicellular multicellular multicellular

Autotrophic
Autotrophic, Autotrophic,
or Heterotrophic Autotrophic Heterotrophic
heterotrophic heterotrophic
heterotrophic

Present in Present in
Locomotion - - Present
some some

Cell wall Polysaccharide Varies Chitin Cellulose -

 Fish
Vertebrates Amphibians
backbone Reptiles
Birds
Mammals
Animals
Mollusca
Invertebrates
no backbone Annelids
Arthropods
jointed legs

and many more...

Fish or Mammals?
Mammal Mammal

Fish Mammal
 Vertebrates
Fish Amphibians Reptiles

Birds Mammals
 Assignment
Split into 5 groups

Make a mind map on the distinctive features of the 5 groups

of Vertebrates: FIsh, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals

Give an example animal for each group (min. 3) and draw at

least 1

Do NOT use your laptop! Discuss with your friends

Don't forget to write your group members at the top right of the paper
Fish

scaly skin fins

breathe with gills all

their life

eggs have no shells and

are laid in water
 tadpoles breathe with
Amphibians gills, adults with lungs

no scales fins

tadpoles live in water,

adults live on the land

eggs have no shells and

are laid in water
Reptiles dry, scaly skin

cold-blooded

lay eggs with soft shells

breathe with lungs

Birds

feather beak

front two limbs are

wings

eggs with hard shells

Mammals diaphragm sweat glands

ear flap hair

the young develop in uterus

attached to the placenta

mammary different kinds

glands of teeth
 Insects
Arthropods
jointed legs Crustaceans
exoskeleton Arachnids
no backbone
Myriapods

differentiated by the number

of legs and antennae
Jointed legs Exoskeleton
"outside skeleton"
 Thorax Cephalothorax
The body section after the a combined head and thorax
head, with the legs and wings
(if present) attached
Insects
3 pairs of jointed legs
most have 2 pair of wings
breathe through tube called
tracheae
body divided into head, thorax,
abdomen
1 pair of antennae
Crustaceans

more than 4 pairs of jointed legs

2 pair of antennae
Arachnids
4 pairs of jointed legs
no antennae
body divided into 2 parts:
cephalothorax and abdomen
Myriapods

Their body consists of many

similar segments
each body segment has jointed
legs
1 pair of antennae
 Arachnids
Characteristics Insects Crustaceans
Myriapods

more than 4 1 pair for each

Arthropods

Jointed legs 3 pairs 4 pairs

pairs body segment

most have 1-2

Wings - - -
pairs

Antennae 1 pair 2 pairs - 1 pair

head, thorax, cephalothorax, cephalothorax, many similar

Body Division
abdomen abdomen abdomen segments
Plants
What are the plant
groups?
 Ferns
Plants
Gymnospermae
Angiospermae
flowering plant

Dicotyledons Monocotyledons
two cotyledons one cotyledon
Cotyledon
'seed leaves'
Ferns
Plants with roots, stems,
and leaves (fronds).
DO NOT produce flowers
Reproduce by spores
produced on the
underside of their fronds
Monocotyledons

have seeds with one cotyledons

the roots grow out directly from
the stem
the leaves have parallel veins
flower parts (e.g. petals) in
multiples of 3
vascular bundle in stem arranged
randomly
Dicotyledons

have seeds with two cotyledons

usually have a main root with side
roots coming out from it (tap
roots)
the leaves have a network of veins
flower parts (e.g. petals) in
multiples of 4 or 5
vascular bundle arranged in a ring
Monocots vs Dicots
Monocots or Dicots???
Dicots Monocots
Are viruses living
organisms?
 Viruses are not
considered to be
living organisms.
Why?
Because viruses only "live"
when they get inside a
living cell.

They depend on a living

host cell to survive.
Viruses have to invade a
living cell and hijack its
genetic machinery in
order to reproduce.
End of
Topic
 Final Assignment
Work in pairs
Make a PPT identifying 4 organisms (2 animal and 2
plant) in ICM.

The PPT must include:

1. Picture
2. Binomial name
3. Local name
4. Classification (Kingdom - Species)
5. Describe the order and species
6. Location in ICM
Example Giraffa camelopardalis
Northern Girrafe

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla (even toe-hoofed animal)
Family: Giraffidae
Genus: Giraffa
Species: G. camelopardalis

Species characteristics
extremely long neck and legs
have horn-like ossicones
have spotted coat patterns

Location in ICM: Near Masjid Nurul Izzah