UNIT 4: INVERTEBRATES

I. WHAT MAKE UP THE ANIMAL KINGDOM?

1. How are animals classified?
a) Invertebrates:
‐ Animals with no backbone.
‐ Worm or jellyfish have no skeleton.
‐ Insect, or spiders have an external skeleton or exoskeleton.
b) Vertebrates: Animals with backbone which is part of their internal skeleton or endoskeleton.
2. The simplest invertebrates
a) Porifera:
‐ Sponge: most live in sea

Their bodies are full of pores and channels.

They feed by filtration.

Water enters though the central cavity, deposits nutrient, and leave through a hole called osculum.

They attached to rocks and coral.

b) Cnidaria:
- Jellyfish, corals and sea anemones
- Radial symmetry
- A soft body, with one opening, the mouth, which is surrounded by tentacles.
- A gastrovascular cavity: something like a stomach, connected to the mouth
- Nutrition. Cnidaria are carnivorous: they use their tentacles to capture prey.
- Interaction. Most cnidaria live in the sea. Jellyfish can float; corals and sea are anemones live fixed
to the sea bed.
- Reproduction. Cnidaria usually pass through both the polyp and the medusa stages:
▪ Polyps reproduce asexually by building.
▪ Jellyfish (medusae) reproduce sexually: they are male and female specimens.
 II. HOW DO THESE WORMS DIFFER?

These worms have:

‐ Bilateral symmetry
‐ Soft body
‐ No skeleton
1. Nematodes

Body:

‐ Soft
‐ Cylindrical bodies.
‐ No segments or rings.
‐ No respiratory systems.

Habitat

- Water and soil.

- Some are parasites.

Reproduction

- Heterosexual: They are male and females specimens.

2. Platyhelminthes

Body

- Long, flat, soft.

- In tapeworms the body is divided into rings.
- No legs.
- No respiratory or digestive system.

Habitat

- Water or damp places

- Many are parasites.

Preproduction

- Hermaphrodites: They have both male and female sex organs.

- Platyhelminthes can fertilize themselves.
3. Annelids
Body:

- Soft
- Cylindrical body divided into segments.
- Each segment is similar and has the same organs.
- These segments are called metameres.
- Tiny appendages on each segment enable movement.
- Annelids breathe through gills.
- Exception: earthworms breathe through the skin.

Habitat

- Water. Some are parasites. For example: leeches.

Reproduction

- Some are hermaphrodites.

- Earthworms have larger segments called clitellum where the eggs are deposited.

Nematodes Platyhelminthes Annelids

Body

Habitat

Reproduction

Example
III. WHAT ARE MOLLUSCS?
1. What is a mollusk body like?
- Bilateral symmetry
- A soft body divided into three parts:
▪ Head: contains sensorial organs and the mouth
▪ Body mass: with the main organs
▪ Muscular foot
‐ The body is covered by the mantle. This produces a protective shell. The shell is made up of one or
two valves,
2. Mollusc functions
‐ Respiration:
▪ Aquatic molluscs breathe through gills.
▪ Terrestrial molluscs breathe through lung.
‐ Nutrition: carnivores and herbivores.
‐ Reproduction: Most are hermaphrodite and oviparous. The larva hatches, go through
metamorphosis and produces an adult individual.
3. How many groups are there?
‐ Gastropod:
▪ snail, sea snail and slug
▪ a spiral-shaped shell with a single valve.
▪ Exception: slugs have no shell.
‐ Bivalves:
▪ clams, cockles and mussels.
▪ Their shells have two valves.
‐ Cephalopods:
▪ Squid, cuttlefish and octopi.
▪ They have tentacles
▪ No shell
IV. WHAT ARE ARTHROPODS?

Arthropods are the largest, most varied group of living things.

1. What is an arthropod body like?

‐ a segmented body covered by a thick cuticle that acts like an external skeleton or exoskeleton.
‐ a body divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen.
The head and thorax are joined to form a cephalothorax.
The antennae, eyes and the mouth are in the head.
The eye can be simple: ocelli or compound.
‐ Bilateral symmetry
‐ Jointed appendages: legs, antennae, wings in insects.
2. Arthropod functions
‐ Nutrition: Arthropods can be carnivorous, herbivorous or scavengers.
‐ Respiration: They breathe through trachea (terrestrial arthropods) or gills (aquatic
arthropods)
‐ Reproduction: Oviparous and metamorphosis.
‐ Moulting: arthropods shed the old exoskeleton and grow a new one.
Moulting takes place various times throughout an arthropod’s lifetime.
3. How many groups are there?
Groups Examples Body/ appendages Habitat
Crustaceans Lobster, crab Usually 10 legs Aquatic
Myriapods Centipede, Worm-like body, many legs Terrestrial
scolopendra
Arachnids Spider, scorpion 8 legs Terrestrial
Insects Butterfly, ant, bee, 6 legs, 2 antennae, 2 or 4 or no Terrestrial. Some
wasp wings aquatic
V. WHAT ARE ECHINODERMS?
1. What is body like?
‐ Radial symmetry in adults, bilateral symmetry in larvae.
‐ Body shape: rounded (sea urchin), cylindrical (sea cucumber), or like a star (starfish)
‐ An internal skeleton made up of plaques.
‐ No separate head, but there is a mouth on the underside.
2. Echinoderms functions
‐ Movement. The ambulacral apparatus, a series of internal tubes filled with water, enables
movement. The tubes form ambulacral feet with suckers.
‐ Respiration. Most echinoderms breathe through their skin, using the ambulacral apparatus. Some
have simple gills.
‐ Nutrition. They are carnivorous and feed mainly on small crustaceans and molluscs.
‐ Reproduction. Hermaphrodite and metamorphosis.
3. How many groups are there?
‐ Echinoedea: sea urchins
‐ Stelleroidea: starfish
‐ Crinoidea: sea lilies
‐ Holothuroidea: sea cucumbers
‐ Ophiuroidea: ophiura
Science 6 – Unit 5
Vertebrate
1. What characteristics do vertebrates have?
- All vertebrates have:
o an endoskeletons with a backbone.
o A head, trunk and many have a tail
o Articulated limbs
o A well-developed nervous system
o Bilateral symmetry

2. What are mammals like?

- Most mammals are terrestrial animals.
- Some are aquatic animals.
a) Main body parts
- A neck: joins the head to the trunk
- The tail: is an extension of the spinal column.
- Four limbs: legs, fins, wing..
- Hair or fur: cover the body to keep warm
- Teeth: the shape of teeth depend on the food they eat
- Glands: The most important ones are the mammary glands which produce milk.
b) What functions do mammals have?
- Respiration:
o Lungs
o Aquatic mammals come up to the surface to breathe
- Nutrition: Different things
o Carnivores: eat meat
o Insectivores: eat insects
o Herbivores: eat plants
o Granivores: eat seeds
- Reproduction:
o Fertilization takes place internally
o The young grow in the mother’s womb
o Viviparous: They give birth to live young. The babies feed on mother milk.
- Interaction: Homeothermal or warm-blooded: they can keep their body temperature constant.
c) How do the three groups of mammals differ?
- Monotremes:
o Platypus
o Are born from eggs
o Have a beak
o No teeth
- Marsupials:
o Kangaroo
o Finish their development inside mother’s pouch
- Placentals:
o Dolphin
o The young develop inside mother’s body, in the uterus.
3. What are birds like?
a) Body
- Aerodynamic: adapted for flight
- The neck: is sometimes long
- Four limbs:
o Back limbs: legs
o Front limbs: wings
- Feathers:
o Covers the body
o Have an axis or rachis
o Barbs spread our on each side of the rachis
o The calamus joins feathers to the body.
- Bones: are hollow. This make body lights, so they can fly.
- Strong wind muscles: are attached to the stermum or keel
- Horny mandible or beak
- No teeth
b) What functions do birds have?
- Respiration: Lungs
o The lungs are connected to air sacs which enable them to breathe and to fly
- Reproduction: Oviparous
o They lay eggs
o Eggs are incubated until the chicks hatch.
o Fertilisation takes place internally.
- Nutrition: The shape of beak depends on the food it eats.
- Interaction: hemeothermal or warm-blooded.
4. What are reptiles like?
a) Body
- Snakes, crocodiles, lizard and tortoises
- Reptiles:
o Four limbs or legs (except snakes)
o Hard scales cover the body to keep warm
- Lizards, snakes shed their skin.
- Tortoises have a carapace (hard shell)
b) Functions
- Interaction: Reptiles are
o Poikilotherms or cold-blooded (body’s temperature depends on the environment)
- Respiration: lung
- Nutrition: carnivores
o Turtles have beaks.
o Snakes have fangs connected to glands that produce poison.
- Reproduction: Oviparous
o The eggs develop inside a sac filled with liquid called amnion.
o Unlike bird eggs, reptiles eggs are not incubated.
o Some snake are ovoviviparous: the embryo develops inside an that that remains inside
female until hatching.
c) Groups
- Snake:
o Cobras
o Vipers
o Boas
o Snakes
- Lizard:
o Lizards
o Iguanas
o Chameleons
- Turtle:
o Tortoises
o Fresh water turtles
- Crocodilians:
o Alligator
o Crocodiles
5. What are amphibians like?
- Frogs, toads, newts and salamanders
- All amphibians:
o Begin life in water.
o Live in wet places.
a) Body
- Fours climbs or legs
- Skin is moist and has no covering
- Some have glands that produce toxins.
- They are the only vertebrates that undergo metamorphosis.
o The adults do not like the young.
b) Functions
- Interaction: Cold - blooded
- Respiration:
o Adult reptiles use their lungs and skin to breathe.
o Young frogs or tadpoles are aquatic and use gills to breathe.
- Nutrition
o Most amphibians are carnivores
o At tadpole, they are herbivores
- Reproduction
o Most amphibians are oviparous
o Salamanders are ovoviviparous
o Fertilization takes place externally in some amphibians and internally in others.
c) The metamorphosis of a frog
- The female lays eggs in the water.
The male fertilizes them
- A tadpole with gills and a tail emerges from the eggs and lives in the water.
- The tail and gills disappear.
Legs develop.
- The adult frog is a terrestrial animal with lungs and four legs.
6. What are fish like?
a) Body
Fish are:
- Fusiform: the body is wider in the middle than at the ends.
- Climbs are called fins. Each species of fish has different fins,, but most have:
o Dorsal
o Pelvic
o Caudal
- Scales: cover the body.
o A shark’s skin is covered with small denticles.
- Lateral line system
b) Functions
- Interaction: Cold-blooded
- Respiration: Gills
o Gills are protected by the operculum or cover.
o Sharks and rays have no operculum.
- Nutrition: Carnivores
- Reproduction: Oviparous
o Fertilization takes place externally.
o Sharks are ovoviviparous. Fertilization takes place internally.
c) Groups
- Cartilaginous fish:
o Sharks or rays
o The skeleton is made of cartilage.
- Bony fish:
o Carp, Hake or salmon
o The skeleton is made of bone.
Science 6 - Unit 6:
The plant and fungi kingdoms
1. What living things make up the plant kingdom?
- All plant:
• Have roots, stems and leaves.
• Are multicellular
• Have eukaryotic cells:
o They are surrounded by a cellulose wall
o They have chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll which is necessary for photosynthesis.
• Are autotrophic beings
• Live attached to the soil
- How are plants classified?
Plant are classified into two groups:
- Non- flowering
- Flowering
• Non – flowering plants are simple plants without flowers or seeds.
o Mosses. They are small and non-vascular: They have no conductor vessels.
o Ferns. They are bigger than mosses. They are vascular: they are conductor vessels to distribute
water and nutrients.
• Flowering plants are more complex, with flowers and seeds.
o Gymnosperms. They have seeds inside a false fruit, like pinecone.
o Angiosperms. They have seeds inside a real fruit.
2. What are non – flowering plants like?
Mosses and ferns are non – flowering plants:
- reproduce by spores (dispersed by the wind)
- grow in damp, shady places
- need a lot of water
a) Mosses
- Very small
- Non-vascular
- No true roots, stems or leaves
- Fix themselves to the ground by rhizoids
- Have small laminas: phyllodes
- Produce spores inside capsules at the end of filaments
b) Ferns
- Vascular plants
- Very large
- Have roots, stems and leaves
- Rhizome: The stem grows horrizontally in the round.
- Fronds: the leaves
- Sorus (Sori): cluster of spores on the underside of the fronds
 3. What are flowering plants like?
Gymnosperms
▪ Most are evergreens, like pine trees and sequoias.
▪ They have leaves all year. The leaves are normally shaped like needles.
▪ The seeds are not protected by a fruit.
▪ They have small, insignificant flowers.
▪ These group together into inflorescences or cones
▪ These cones are male and female.
Angiosperms
▪ Many are deciduous, for example, oak trees.
▪ They lose their leaves in winter.
▪ The seeds are enclosed by a fruit.
• The fruit protects the seeds.
• It also enables them to be dispersed more easily,
▪ They have brightly coloured flowers.
• The flowers attract animals and facilitate pollination.
 4. What functions do leaves, stems and roots have?
Leaves
▪ Photosynthesis takes place in leaves.
▪ The leaves take in and expel gases from the atmosphere.
▪ Transpiration: They eliminate excess water in the form of water vapour.
▪ Blade: The main part of a leaf
▪ A leaf has a topside and an underside.
▪ A petiole: joins the leaf to the stem.
▪ Stomata:
o pores are found on the underside of the leaf.
o Gases and water vapour enter the leaf and are expelled through small pores.
Stems
Plant stems are usually above ground.
The stem keeps the plant upright and supports it.
It also carries substances to other parts of the plant.
Some stems, for example, the potato, accumulate reserves of water and food.
Leaves and branches are joined to the stem at nodes.
The part of the stem between the nodes is called the internode.
Stems grow upwards from the apical bud.
Lateral branches grow out of axilliary buds along the stem.
Roots
▪ Plant roots have two functions:
o to fix the plant to the ground
o absorb water and minerals.
▪ Some roots, for example, carrots and beetroots, accumulate food reserves.
▪ The root surface is covered with many tiny hairs which absorb the water and minerals.
▪ Each root ends in a root cap.
 5. How do plants reproduce?
▪ Asexual reproduction.
• Only one plant is involved.
• When you take a cutting of a geranium and replant it, asexual reproduction takes place.
▪ Sexual reproduction.
• Sexual cells from two different plants join together to produce a new plant.
• Flowering plants have sexual reproduction.

Main parts of a flower

▪ Flowers are the reproductive organs of angiosperms and gymnosperms.
▪ Flowers have two parts: the reproductive part and the protective part
▪ Reproductive parts:
• the stamen (male reproductive part)
• the pistil (female part).
• The ovules are found inside the ovary. During reproduction the ovules
come into contact with the pollen which is produced in the stamen
▪ Protective parts: the petals, which make up the corolla and the sepals, which
make up the calyx.
The reproductive stages
1. Pollination. Pollen from one flower's anther reaches another flower's stigma.
2. Fertilisation. Pollen reaches the stigma, penetrates it, and fertilises the ovules inside the ovary.
3. Fruit and seed formation.
▪ The fertilised flower is transformed.
▪ The corolla and the calyx dry up.
▪ The ovary changes into the fruit.
▪ The ovules are transformed into seeds inside the fruit.
4. Dispersal. The ripe fruit falls off the plant or releases the seeds.
5. Germination.
▪ The seeds fall on the ground and germinate.
▪ A small root and shoot grow.
 6. Can plants react?
Permanent reactions.
▪ These reactions relate to growth.
▪ For example, if you place a plant horizontally, the stem will grow and curve towards the light. The
roots will grow down into the soil.
Temporary reactions.
▪ The plant returns to its initial position when the change stops.
▪ For example, some carnivorous plants close their leaves when an insect lands on them.

7. What is plant nutrition?

Plants are autotrophic: they produce their own food. They use their leaves, stems and roots to carry out
these processes:
▪ Absorption.
• Plants absorb water and mineral salts from the soil through their roots.
• When mineral salts dissolve in the water, raw sap is produced
▪ Transportation. The raw sap travels up the conductor vessels from the roots to the stem and leaves.
▪ Transpiration.
• Excess water is expelled through the stomata as water vapour.
• As a result, raw sap goes up into the leaves.
▪ Photosynthesis.
• Raw sap is transformed in the leaves into elaborated sap: a mixture of water and
organic substances.
• It contains sugars. Sunlight provides the energy needed for this process.
• During photosynthesis the plant absorbs carbon dioxide through its leaves.
• The leaves then expel oxygen through the stomata.
• Finally, the elaborated sap is distributed throughout the plant cells by the
conductor vessels.
▪ Respiration.
• Plants breathe.
• During respiration, plant leaves take in oxygen from the air and release carbon
dioxide
 7. What are fungi like?
Fungi generally grow in the soil in dark, damp places.
The main characteristics of all fungi are:
▪ They can be unicellular or multicellular.
o However, multicellular fungi do not produce different types of tissues.
▪ The cells are eukaryotic.
o They have a true nucleus and a rigid cell wall.
o They are similar to plants, but have no cellulose.
▪ They are heterotrophic:
o they do not produce their own food.
o There are two types: saprotrophs and parasites.
▪ Saprotrophs break down food from dead, organic materials
▪ Parasites feed on other living beings. They cause diseases in plants and human
beings,
▪ The body is made up of hyphae which are microscopic filaments.
o The hyphae group together to form the mycelium which grows underground
▪ Fungi reproduce by spores.
o When the spores are dispersed, they form new hyphae which grow into new fungi.

Three groups of fungi

▪ Yeasts.
o Some are parasites.
o Others are useful.
o Yeast is useful for making bread, beer, wine.
▪ Moulds.
o Multicellular.
o Some are parasites.
o Others feed on organic matter and decompose it: bread mould, fruit mould.
▪ Mushrooms.
o Multicellular.
o Some are edible.
o Others are poisonous
Science 6 – Unit 7
THE SIMPLEST LIVING THING
1. What is the Monera Kingdom?
Monera Kingdom contains unicellular, microscopic, prokaryotic organism.
Bacteria belong to the Monera kingdom.
a) Bacteria nutrition
-Heterotrophs
- Parasites feed off living things. They cause illnesses like tuberculosis and cholera.
- Saprophytes live on dead or decomposing matter. They transform organic substances into inorganic
substances. Some saprophytes are useful: lactobacilli is used to make yoghurt.
- Symbionts live on the bodies of other living things to provide mutual benefit. They can found in the
digestive system of many mammals. There, intestinal bacteria help with digestion.
- Some are autotrophs. Ex: cyanobacteria make their own food through photosynthesis.
b) Bacteria Reproduction
Bacteria generally reproduce by binary fission, producing two daughter cells. Each daughter cell grows,
and then divide again.
c) How many groups are there?
Bacteria can be classified into four groups by their shapes.

• Coccus: Spherical
• Bacillus: Rod-shaped
• Vibrio: Curved-rob shaped
• Spirillum: Helical
 2. What is the Protoctist Kingdom?
The protoctist Kingdom includes unicellular and multicellular living things.
They are all eukaryotes and have no tissues.
Protozoa and algae are found in this kingdom.
a) What are protozoa?
• Unicellular. A single cell carries out all the vital functions.
• Heterotrophs. They feed on bacteria, organic remains and other microscopic organisms.
• Habitat:
o They live in both salt water and fresh water. Some protozoa float on water, zooplankton,
and are food for aquatic animals.
o Some are parasites and cause illnesses.
b) How many groups are there?
There are four groups of protozoa. They are classified according to the way the move.
Flagellates Ciliates Rhizopods Sporozoa
Movement Using a Using cilia: Using No movement
flagellum or tail hair-like organs pseudopods:
projections of
cell cytoplasm
Nutrition Some are Some are Some are All are
parasites parasites parasites, parasites
others are not
Fact Trypanosoma Paramecium is Entamoeba Plasmodium
causes sleeping shaped like a histolytica causes malaria.
sickness slipper. It has causes
two nuclei. dystentery.
c) What are algae?
- Unicellular: Unicellular algae sometimes form colonies. Each cell can carry out the vital functions.
- Multi-cellular: All cells of the multicellular algae look the same and have the same functions.
- Algae have no tissues or organ.
- Autotrophs: They contains chlorophyll and other pigments which capture sunlight for
photosynthesis. They can be classified by their pigments.
- Habitat:
o They live in salt and fresh water, tree trunks or rocks.
o Some unicellular algae, like diatomea, float on water forming phytoplankton
- Benefits:
o Some unicellular are food for aquatic animals.
o Algae provide food for humans too. Ex: ice cream
o Industrial uses include medicines and fertilizers.
d) How many groups are there?
Green algae Brown algae Red algae
Color Mainly green Green, Yellowish Green and red
pigment
 Habitat On the surface of Salt water, on rocky Deep in warm, still
salt water or fresh coast, on the surface ocean water
water of water
Example Euglena, Ulva Diatomeas, Sargazos Coralina

3. What are viruses?

Viruses are not cells, so they are not really living things. They cannot carry out any vital functions by
themselves. They infect living cells, and then they can reproduce.
They are always obligate parasites: they cannot live independently of their host.
a) What is a virus like?
- Extremely small: They can only be seen through an electron micro scope.
- Unable to move
- Extensive habitat: they are found on the ground, in the air, and in water.
b) Virus inflection process
1) Virus enters the cell
2) Reproduction: viruses use the infected cell for making the vital components.
3) Assembly of vital components
4) New viruses leave the cell.

4. What are infectious disease?

An infectious disease occurs when a pathogenic microorganism invades a living thing, and cause
illnesses.
Microorganisms reproduce very quickly inside the body.
The effect of an infection is not immediate.
- There is an incubation period.
- Various symptoms of illness are observed ex: high temperature.
- Contagion: when microorganisms are transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one.
Symptoms are the effects that a disease has on the body and can be observed.
Vectors are insects that carry disease from one person to another.
Ex: Mosquitos (Anopheles) can carry Plasmodium which causes malaria, if they bite an infected
person
Some illness caused by microorganisms
Illness Microorganisms Transmitted through Symptom
Cold Virus The air Stuffed up nose,
sneezing. High
temperature,
coughing
AIDs Virus Sexual and blood General weakness,
contact weakened defences
Pneumonia Bacteria The air Fever, coughing,
pulmonary infection
Salmonellosis Bacteria Spoiled food High temperature.
Nausea, vomiting,
diarrhoea
 Cholera Protozoan Contaminated water Nausea, vomiting,
stomach ache, serve
diarrhea
Malaria Protozoan The bite of the female Headache,
anopheles mosquito intermittent vomiting,
fever
Athlete’s foot Microscopic fungus Physical contact Itching and cracked
through skin skin, scaly skin
between toes
5. How can you fight infectious diseases?
- Personal hygiene: wash your hands before eating
- Eat and drink only fresh food and drinks
a) Vaccines: preventative measures
A vaccine contains dead or weakened microorganisms from a specific illness. These microorganisms
cannot produce the illness, but they can protect against it.
Vaccines teach the body how to fight an illness.
Vaccination is a preventative measure. Your body can fight against microoganisms if it is exposed to
them.
Most vaccines protect the body indefinitely. Others require a booster dose, another dose, later on.
b) Antibiotics: curative measures
Antibiotics are produced by certain bacteria and fungi. They prevent the microorganisms that cause
illnesses from growing. Antibiotics are curative measures and must always be prescribed by a doctor.
They cannot fight illnesses caused by viruses.
6. Are all microorganisms harmful?
All viruses are pathogenic. They are parasites that causes illnesses.
A few bacteria, protozoa or microscopic fungi are pathogenic.
Many microorganisms are beneficial:
- Intestinal flora are bacteria that live in human and animal digestive systems. They are useful
because they produce vitamins.
- Other bacteria are used to obtain antibiotics.
- Decomposer microorganisms transform dead animals and plants into inorganic substances. Some
are harmful.
- Plankton is the primary food for many aquatic animals.
- Some bacteria are used to make food, like cheese.
What should you know?
Monera Kingdom
The Monera Kingdom includes unicellular, microscopic, prokaryotic organisms.
Bacteria belong to the Monera Kingdom. They are classified according to shape:

• Coccus: Spherical
• Bacillus: Rod-shaped
• Vibrio: Curved-rob shaped
• Spirillum: Helical
Protoctist Kingdom
The protoctist Kingdom includes unicellular and multicellular living things.
They are all eukaryotes and have no tissues.
They are generally very small and include:
- Protozoa are unicellular. They are heterotrophs. They live in both salt and fresh water. Some protozoa
float on water, zooplankton, and are food for aquatic animals. Some are parasites. They are classified
according to the way the move: flagellates, ciliates, rhizopods and sporozoa.
- Algae may be unicellular or multi-cellular. They are autotrophs. They sometimes form colonies. They
live in salt and fresh water. They are classified as green, brown and red.
Microorganisms
Microorganisms can be harmful or beneficial.
- Harmful microorganisms:
o A few microorganisms cause illnesses. Contagion occurs when microorganisms are transmitted
from a sick person to a healthy one.
- Beneficial microorganisms:
o Decomposing microorganisms
o Plankton
o Intestinal flora
o Some are used to make food.
o Some are used to obtain antibiotics and other medicines.