Topic 1 classify living organisms

• Characteristics of living organisms

  • Movement
  • Respiration
  • Sensitivity
  • Growth
  • Reproduction
  • Excretion
  • Nutrition
• Movement


  Action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or place
• Respiration


  Chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy for metabolism
• Sensitivity


  Ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or external environment
• Growth


  Permanent increase in size and dry mass
• Reproduction


  Processes that make more of the same kind of organism
• Excretion


  Removal of the waste products of metabolism and substances in excess of requirements
• Nutrition


  Taking in of materials for energy, growth and development
• Species


  A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring
• Binomial system of naming species


  An internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing the genus and species
• Main groups of vertebrates

  • Mammals
  • Birds
  • Reptiles
  • Amphibians
  • Fish
• groups of arthropods

  • Myriapods
  • Insects
  • Arachnids
  • Crustaceans
• Five kingdoms

  • Animal
  • Plant
  • Fungus
  • Prokaryote
  • Protoctist
• Groups within the plant kingdom

  • Ferns
  • Flowering plants (dicotyledons and monocotyledons)
• Viruses


  Consist of a protein coat and genetic material
• Aim of classification system:

  To reflect evolutionary relationships
• You can classify organisms by:

  using sequences of dna
• Groups of organisms that share a more recent ancestor are more closely related and have more similar base sequences in dna than those that share only distant ancestor.
• kingdoms

  • Animal
  • Fungus
  • Plant
  • Prokaryote
  • Protoctist
• Animal

  • is there chlorophyl? no
  • Is there a nucleus? Yes
  • is there a cell wall? No
  • Eukaryotic cell type
  • Multicellular organisation.
  • Heterotroph nutrition
• Fungus

  • Eukaryotic -cell type
  • Uni/Multicellular -organisation
  • Chitin -cell wall
  • No -chlorophyll
  • Yes -nucleus
  • Saprophyte -nutrition
• Plant

  • Eukaryotic cell type
  • Multicellular organisation
  • Cellulose cell wall
  • Yes chlorophyll
  • Yes nucleus
  • Autotroph nutrition
• Prokaryote

  • Prokaryotic cell type
  • Unicellular organisation
  • Peptidoglycan cell wall
  • Sometimes chlorophyll
  • No nucleus
  • Auto/Heterotroph nutrition
• Protoctist


  • Eukaryotic cell type
  • Unicellular organisation
  • Sometimes cell wall
  • Sometimes chlorophyll
  • Yes nucleus
  • Auto/Heterotroph nutrition