Characteristics and classification

of living organisms
Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity

Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition
• M is for Movement:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

MRSGREN
• R is for Respiration:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

MRSGREN
 MRSGREN

• S is for Sensitivity:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
•G is for Growth:
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

MRSGREN
• R is for Reproduction:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

MRSGREN
•E is for Excretion:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

MRSGREN
•N is for Nutrition:
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

MRSGREN
Practice questions
1. Some lizards detach their tails when threatened by a predator. Which
characteristic is shown?

A excretion B growth C reproduction D sensitivity

2. What is not a characteristic of all living organisms?

A excretion B photosynthesis C reproduction D respiration

 How Organisms are
Classified
• There are millions of species of organisms
on Earth

A species is defined …………………………………

…………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………

• These species can be classified into

groups by the features that they share.

For example: all mammals have bodies

covered in hair, feed young from mammary
glands and have external ears (pinnas)
 • Organisms were first classified by a Swedish naturalist called Linnaeus in a
way that allows the subdivision of living organisms into smaller and more
specialised groups

The Binomial • The species in these groups have more and more features in common the
more subdivided they get
Naming System
• He named organisms in Latin using the binomial system where the
scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts starting with:

• …………………………………………………………………………………………………

• ………………………………………………………………………………………………….
• When typed, binomial names are always in italics (which indicates they are
Latin) e.g. Homo sapiens
The sequence of classification is:

Kingdom → Phylum → Class →

Order → Family → Genus →
Species

The order of classification can be

remembered by using this
mnemonic:

King Philip Came Over For Gran’s

Spaghetti
 • Organisms share features because they originally descend from
a ……………………………………………………………..
Example: all mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed
young from mammary glands and have external ears
(pinnas)
How • Originally, organisms were classified using ………………………………..
(the overall form and shape of the organism, e.g. whether it had
Organisms wings or legs) and ......................................... (the detailed body
structure as determined by dissection)

are Classified • As technology advanced, microscopes, knowledge

of biochemistry and eventually DNA sequencing allowed us to
classify organisms using a more scientific approach
continued
• Studies of DNA sequences of different
species show that the more similar the base
sequences in the DNA of two species, the
more closely related those two species
are (and the more recent in time their
common ancestor is)

• This means that the base sequences in a

mammal’s DNA are more closely related to
all other mammals than to any other
vertebrate groups

• As DNA base sequences are used to code

for amino acid sequences in proteins, the
similarities in amino acid sequences can also
be used to determine how closely related
organisms are
 Summary of
methods of
classification:
Questions
1. Which name is given to a group of individuals that can reproduce to produce
fertile offspring?
A a genus B a kingdom C a species D an organ system

2. A rat has the scientific name Rattus rattus. What do the two parts of this name
refer to?
A genus and species
B kingdom and genus
C kingdom and species
D variety and genus
Features of
Organisms

Common Cell Structures

Common Cell Structures
• The most basic unit of life is the …………………...

• The cells of all living organisms contain the following:

• …………………………………….

• ……………………………………………….

• ………………… as genetic material (either found in the nucleus or free in

the cytoplasm)

• When viewed under an electron microscope (at a much higher magnification),

all cells also contain the following:

• ………………………………… for protein synthesis (to make new proteins)

• Enzymes for respiration (in many, but not all types of cells, found in
mitochondria)
A typical animal cell A typical plant cell
Structures in an animal cell under a light microscope Structures in a plant cell under a light
and an electron microscope microscope and an electron microscope
 The Five
Kingdoms
• The first division of living things in the
classification system is to put them
into one of five kingdoms.
• They are:

•
• Vertebrates and invertebrates

•
• Bacteria and viruses
 Main features of
all animals
• They are ……………………………………. (made
up of combinations of many different
cells working together to carry out the
organisms metabolic processes)

• Their cells contain a ..............................

• The cell is surrounded by a ……………….

…………………………………………………………

• They have no cell walls or chloroplasts

• They feed on organic substances made

A typical animal cell
by other living things
 Main features of
all plants
• They are ………………………………..

• Their cells contain a

• ……………………………………,
• ……………………………………
• ……………………………………

• They all feed by photosynthesis

A typical plant cell
Fungi, Protoctista & Prokaryotes
 Main features of all fungi
(e.g. moulds, mushrooms,
yeast)

• Usually …………………………………

• Cells have nuclei and cell

walls not made from cellulose

• Do not photosynthesize
but feed by:
• saprophytic

• or parasitic nutrition A typical fungal cell

 Main features of all Protoctists
(e.g. Amoeba, Paramecium,
Plasmodium)

• Most are ................................

but some are multicellular

• All have a nucleus, some may

have cell walls and chloroplasts

• This means that some protoctists

photosynthesise and some feed
on organic substances made by
other living things
A typical protoctist cell
 Main features of all
Prokaryotes
(e.g. bacteria, blue-green
algae)

• They are often …………………………

• Their cells have cell walls (not

made of cellulose)
and cytoplasm

• They have ………………………………

………………………………………………

A typical prokaryote cell

 Features of
Viruses
• Viruses are not part of any
classification system as they are not
considered living things

• They do not carry out the seven life

processes for themselves, instead
they take over a host cell’s metabolic
pathways in order to make multiple
copies of themselves

• Virus structure is simply genetic Structure of a typical virus

material (RNA or DNA) inside a protein

coat
 Vertebrates
• All vertebrates have a ……………………………………

• There are 5 classes of vertebrates:

•
Class Main features Examples

•
horse, dog, squirrel,
Mammals •
human
•

•
Class Main features Examples

•
Birds parrot, blue tit, eagle
•

•
Class Main features Examples

•
Reptiles snake, turtle, iguana
•
Class Main features Examples

Amphibians • frog, toad, newt

•
Class Main features Examples

Fish • bass, flounder, shark

•
 Invertebrates
• One of the morphological characteristics
used to classify invertebrates is whether
they have legs or not

• All invertebrates with jointed legs are

part of the phylum ……………………………….

• They are classified further into the
following classes:

•
Class Main features Example

•
Myriapods centipede
•
Class Main features Example

•
Insects butterfly, ant, cricket
•

•
Class Main features Example

•
Arachnids spider, scorpion
•
Class Main features Example

•
Crustaceans crabs, lobsters
•

•
Arthropod classification
Class Main Features Example
Nematoda • roundworms
•
•
•

Annelida • earthworms
•
•
•

Mollusca • snails, slugs

•
•
•
•
Classifying
Plants
 Moss (Bryophyta) Algae
• •
• •
• •
• Life cycle includes sporophyte and • Vegetative reproduction
gametophyte
 Ferns and Flowering
Plants

• At least some parts of any plant

are green, caused by the presence
of the pigment chlorophyll which
absorbs energy from sunlight for
the process of photosynthesis

• The plant kingdom includes

organisms such as ferns and
flowering plants
 Ferns
• Have leaves called fronds, containing
multiple leaflets

• Do not produce flowers but instead

………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………..

• Life cycle includes sporophyte and

gametophyte

• No xylem
Ferns reproduce by spores found in the underside of their fronds
 Gymnosperms
(Conifers)
• Thin Spindle-like leaves

• Reproduce with separate males

and female ………………….

• Terrestrial and large

 Flowering plants

• Reproduce sexually by means of ……………………………………………… Wheat plants are monocotyledons

• Seeds are produced inside the ovary found at the base of the
flower
• Terrestrial and large

• Can be divided into two groups

• …………………………………………….
Sunflowers are dicotyledons

• …………………………………………….
 How to distinguish
between
monocotyledons and
dicotyledons

1. FLOWERS

Flowers from monocotyledons contain:

................................................................

Flowers from dicotyledons contain:

…………………………………………………………….
2. LEAVES

Leaves from monocotyledons have

……………………………………………………………….

Leaves from dicotyledons have

……………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………….
 Dichotomous Keys

Constructing and Using a Key:

• Keys are used to identify organisms based on a series of questions about their features

• Dichotomous means ‘branching into two’ and it leads the user through to the name of the organism by
giving two descriptions at a time and asking them to choose

• Each choice leads the user onto another two descriptions

• In order to successfully navigate a key, you need to pick a single organism to start with and follow the
statements from the beginning until you find the name

• You then pick another organism and start at the beginning of the key again, repeating until all organisms
are named
Example of a
dichotomous
key #1
Example of a
dichotomous
key #2
Example of a
dichotomous
key #2