Characteristics of Living Organisms 1

1.1 Characteristics Of Living Organisms

Organisms are single-celled (unicellular) like bacteria or made of many cells (multicellular) like plants and animals
All organisms show seven characteristics of life; these make living things differ from non-living
The letters in the mnemonic MRS GREN are the first letters of these characteristics:
Characteristic Definition Extra information

An action by an organism or part of ๏ Movement in plants is limited to the directional growth

Movement an organism causing a change of towards stimuli; these movements are called tropisms
position or place (page: 67)

The chemical reactions in cells that Metabolism: all types of chemical reactions that take
Respiration break down nutrient molecules and place in an organism which include building up and
release energy for metabolism breaking down reactions such as respiration

The ability to detect or sense stimuli in ๏ Stimulus: (plural stimuli) any change that can be
Sensitivity the internal or external environment
detected in the environment like light, sound or heat…
and to make appropriate responses

๏ Dry mass: the total mass of an organism (or part of an

organism) without its water; the water content of living
Growth A permanent increase in size and dry mass
things continuously changes
๏ Multicellular organisms grow by producing new cells

The processes that make more of the ๏ Reproduction is one of the most important characteristics
Reproduction
same kind of organism of life; it applies to all living organisms and even to viruses

The removal from organisms of the ๏ Excretion takes place all the time while we are breathing
waste products of metabolism, toxic
Excretion out carbon dioxide. Excretion also applies to plants when
materials and substances in excess of
they get rid of excess oxygen and water (page: 22)
requirements

The taking in of materials for energy, ๏ Photosynthesis is not a characteristic of life, this type of
Nutrition
growth and development nutrition only applies to plants

Mrs. Gren

Movement Nutriton

Respiration Excretion

1 Sensitivity Growth Reproduction

 Classi cation 2

fi
2.1 The Concept Of Classification
Organisms are classified using features that they have in common
A species is a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
The binomial system of naming species gives a scientific name to every organism
There are three rules to be followed when writing the name of an organism using the binomial system:
1. It is made of two parts; the genus name comes first, and then comes the species name
2. Genus name must start with a capital letter, while species name starts with a small letter
3. The binomial name is written in Latin so that it can be recognised internationally

Written in Latin

Pa n t h e r a l e o
Genus name starts
with a capital letter Species name second

E 2.2 Classification Reflects Evolutionary Relationships

In the past, classification was based on morphology (appearance) like wings or anatomy (structure) like a skeleton
However, this was not very accurate because many organisms have common visible features, but they are not
closely related
According to the modern classification system, the similarities between all present-day organisms indicate the
presence of a common ancestor (an early organism) from which all known species, living and extinct, have
come through the process of evolution (page: 96)
Modern classification is based on studies of the genetic material (DNA) and proteins
DNA classification is more accurate; it is cheaper and only requires a trace of the organism to be identified
DNA is made of simple bases named A, T, C and G (page 71)
Organisms that share a more recent ancestor (more closely related) have more similar DNA bases
DNA contains instructions for the making of proteins; proteins are made up of building blocks called amino acids
If two organisms share a common ancestor, then they also share similar amino acid sequences
The diagram below shows the DNA bases for four organisms:
Organism 1 is more closely related to organism 2 than it is related to any of the other organisms
This is because it only has one different DNA base (the last base)
Note that organism 4 is the least related one because it has four different bases
Organisms 1 and 2 have a recent common ancestor (shown in the diagram as )
Organisms 1, 2 and 3 share a more distant ancestor . While organism 4 is the most distant
Nonetheless, all organisms must have had a common ancestor due to the similarities in their DNA bases

Organism 1
Organism 1
Organism 2
Common
ancestor Organism 2

Organism 3 Organism 3

Organism 4
Organism 4
2
 Classi cation of Animals & Plants 3

fi
3.1 Classification Of Animals
The animal kingdom is divided into two main groups: animals with backbones or vertebrates and invertebrates

Insects Fish

Arachnids Amphibians

Invertebrates Animal kingdom Vertebrates

Reptiles
Crustaceans

Birds
Myriapods

Mammals
3.2 Classification Of Vertebrates
The table below summarises the main features of vertebrates:
Vertebrate Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

Example

Feathers
Body covering Moist scales Moist skin Dry scales Hair and whiskers
(legs with scales)

Types of eggs Jelly-covered Jelly-covered Rubbery shell Hard shell Give Birth

Eggs are laid in In water In water On land On land No eggs

Limbs Fins Legs Legs Legs and Wings Legs

Body temperature Cold blooded Cold blooded Cold blooded Warm Blooded Warm Blooded

Gas exchange Gills Skin and lungs Lungs Lungs Lungs

External ear (pinna)
Streamlined body Breast-feeding
Lives in water and
Other features Snakes have no limbs Beaks and wings 4 types of teeth
Tail to change direction on land

3.3 Regulation Of Body Temperature

As it is noted in the table above, only mammals and birds can control their body temperature
Various processes, such as sweating or shivering (page: 63), are used to maintain a constant body temperature
The body temperature of cold-blooded animals changes with the environment
Animals like reptiles, fish and amphibians are limited to their habitat because they cannot adapt to
environments with different temperatures

3
3.4 Invertebrates
Arthropods are a large group of invertebrates that share these common features:
❶Segmented body ❷Jointed legs ❸Hard external skeleton or exoskeleton ❹Bilateral body symmetry
Bilateral symmetry means that arthropods’ body can be divided into left and right halves if it is cut in the middle
Compound eyes are found in many arthropods (see below); they are made of many separate visual units
The table below summarises the main features to distinguish between arthropods:

Arthropods Insects Arachnids Crustaceans Myriapods

Example

Three pairs Ten or more pairs

Limbs Four pairs Five pairs
Many insects also have wings One or two pairs per segment

Three body parts: Two body parts only: cephalothorax and abdomen Cylindrical body, not divided into
Body parts
Head, thorax and abdomen The cephalothorax is fused head and thorax distinct parts

Antennae Present (one pair) Absent Present (two pairs) Present (one pair)

Eyes One pair of compound eyes Several simple eyes One pair of compound eyes One pair of simple eyes

3.5 Classification Of Plants

Leaf-like
fronds
The plant kingdom is divided into two major groups:
1. Ferns are simple plants with no flowers or seeds. Ferns
reproduce asexually by spores (structures that spread in
the environment to give rise to a new plant). Ferns also
do not have roots or vascular systems (xylem and
phloem) to transport material around the plant Spores

2. Flowering plants are further divided into monocots and

dicots, as it is shown in the table below:
Plant kingdom Flowering plants
Type Dicotyledons Monocotyledons
Example Beans Corn
2 1
Seeds
cotyledons cotyledon
Flower parts (sepals, 4 or 5 parts or usually 3 parts or
petals, stamen…etc.) multiples of these multiples of 3

Wide leaves with Narrow leaves with

Leaf shape and veins
branched veins parallel veins
Vascular bundle Vascular bundle

Scattered randomly
Vascular bundles Organised in rings
throughout the stem

Roots Not fibrous Fibrous