IGCSE BIOLOGY
CHAPTER 1
Characteristics
and classification
of living
organisms
by 🦷cher: Phương Anh
Topics for discussion
Core
Concepts
1. 7 Characteristics of organisms
2. The biological classification system
3. Keys
4. 5 Kingdoms
5. Group within the animal and plant
kingdoms
6. Viruses
Biology 1
Figure 1.2: Characteristics of living organisms.
1. 7 Characteristics of
organisms
Story about Kangaroo fam
Once upon a time, in the sunny plains of
Australia, there was a family of kangaroos.
They lived happily, and every day, they
showed how all living things work in
similar ways.
Story about Kangaroo fam
First, the baby kangaroo, called a joey,
lived in its mother’s pouch. As time went
by, the joey got bigger and bigger. This is
called growth. Like all living things, the
baby started small but kept growing as it
got older.
growth: a permanent increase in size
and dry mass
Story about Kangaroo fam
The kangaroos hopped around looking for
food. Hopping is how kangaroos move
from place to place. This is called
movement. While kangaroos can hop
quickly, plants also move, but very slowly,
growing toward the sunlight.
movement: an action by an organism
or part of an organism causing a
change of position or place
Story about Kangaroo fam
The kangaroos used their ears and eyes to
know what was happening around them.
They listened for any danger, like a
predator. This is called sensitivity —being
able to sense and react to things in their
surroundings.
sensitivity: the ability to detect and
respond to changes in the internal or
external environment
Story about Kangaroo fam
As the kangaroos ate food and moved
around, their bodies created waste. They
had to get rid of this waste. This is called
excretion—removing things the body
doesn’t need anymore.
excretion: the removal of the waste
products of metabolism and
substances in excess of requirements
Story about Kangaroo fam
One day, the mother kangaroo had a new
baby. This is how all animals make sure
there are more of their kind. This process
is called reproduction.
reproduction: the processes that make
more of the same kind of organism
Story about Kangaroo fam
The kangaroos needed energy to grow,
hop, and live. They got this energy by
eating grass. This is called nutrition—
eating food to get energy and grow.
nutrition: taking in materials for energy,
growth and development
Story about Kangaroo fam
Finally, the kangaroos’ bodies turned the
food they ate into energy. This process is
called respiration. It helped them have
the energy to hop, grow, and stay alive.
And so, the kangaroo family lived happily,
showing us how all living things grow,
move, sense, eat, and survive!
respiration: the chemical reactions
cells that break down nutrient
molecules and release energy for
metabolism
Matching game
Definition
a. The removal of the waste products of metabolism and
Term substances in excess of requirements
1. Excretion b. A permanent increase in size and dry mass
2. Growth c An action by an organism or part of an organism causing a
change of position or place
3. Movement
d Taking in materials for energy, growth and development
4. Nutrition
e The processes that make more of the same kind of organism
5.
Reproduction f The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient
molecules and release energy for metabolism
6. Respiration
g The ability to detect and respond to changes in the internal or
7. Sensitivity external environment
2. The biological
classification system
“a single cell” ----- 4.5 billion years ago----> common ancestor
2. The biological
classification system
Species (singular/plural): the smallest group of living organisms
2. The biological
between horses and donkeys. They are infertile.
species. b: Mules are the result of reproduction
Figure 1.6 a: Horses and donkeys belong to different
classification system
Species (singular/plural): the smallest group of living organisms
a group of organisms that can reproduce with each other to produce
offspring that can also reproduce => The offspring are fertile
Eg: Male donkey + female horse = mule *infertile
2. The biological
classification system
2. The biological
classification system
Binomial system:
‘Bi’ means two, and ‘nomial’ means to do with names
In italic
The first name in the binomial is the name of the genus that the
organism belongs to - always written with a capital letter.
The second name tells us which species the organism belongs to, and
this is written with a small letter.
3. Keys
using a key.
Figure 1.7: Five organisms for practising
A dichotomous key is a way of leading you through to the name of your
organism by giving you two descriptions at a time and asking you to
choose between them. Each choice you make then leads you on to
another pair of descriptions, until you end up with the name of your
organism
1 jointed limbs.......................................2
no jointed limbs..................................earthworm
2 more than 5 pairs of jointed limbs......centipede
5 or fewer pairs of jointed limbs.........3
3 first pair of limbs form large claws ......crab
no large claws......................................4
4 3 pairs of limbs ...................................locust
4 pairs of limbs ...................................spider
4. Kingdoms
Figure 1.9 + 1.10
the largest group of living organism
1. The animal kingdom 2. The plant kingdom
Their cells have a nucleus and cell
Their cells have a nucleus, but no cell
walls made of cellulose and often
walls or chloroplasts.
contain chloroplasts (function in
They feed on organic substances
photosynthesis)
made by other living organisms.
They feed by photosynthesis
Eg: sea anemone Eg: liverwort
4. Kingdoms
Figure 1.14+16
3. Fungus kingdom 4. Protoctist kingdom 5. Prokaryote kingdom
The cells have cell walls,
but these are not made of all have cells with a They are usually unicellular
cellulose nucleus, but some have (single-celled).
do not have chlorophyll plant-like cells with They have no nucleus.
and do not chloroplasts and cellulose They have cell walls, not
photosynthesise => they cell walls => Some feed made of cellulose.
feed saprophytically, or by photosynthesis and They have no mitochondria.
parasitically others feed on organic They have a circular loop of
(decomposers) substances made by DNA, which is free in the
Fungi reproduce by other organisms. cytoplasm.
forming spores Most are unicellular They often have plasmids.
multicellular or unicellular
Eg: Mushrooms and Seaweed, Paramecium,
Bacteria
toadstools, mould, yeast Chlamydomonas
4. Kingdoms
Figure 1.14+16
3. Fungus kingdom 4. Protoctist kingdom 5. Prokaryote kingdom
Eg: Mushrooms and Seaweed, Paramecium,
Bacteria
toadstools, mould, yeast Chlamydomonas
IGCSE Bio
Contact
Nguyen Phuong Anh
098.153.9721 (Zalo/SMS)
Figure 1.2: Characteristics of living organisms.
5. Group within the animal
and plant kingdoms
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.22: A fish.
1. Fish
All live in water
They are vertebrates with
scaly skin.
They have gills
throughout their life.
They have fins.
Their eggs have no shells
and are laid in water.
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.24: A frog, an example of an amphibian.
2. Amphibians
(Frogs, toads and salamanders)
They are vertebrates with skin with
no scales.
Their eggs have no shells and are laid
in water.
The tadpoles live in water, but adults
often live on land.
The tadpoles have gills for gas
exchange, but adults have lungs.
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.26: A snake, an example of a reptile.
3. Reptiles
(dinosaurs, crocodiles, lizards, snakes,
turtles and tortoises)
They are vertebrates with scaly skin.
They lay eggs with soft shells.
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.28: A bird.
4. Birds
They have feathers (and also sometimes a
few scales).
They have a beak.
Their front two limbs are wings (though
not all birds can fly).
They lay eggs with hard shells.
5.a. Vertebrates
features of a mammal.
Figure 1.30: Some of the visible external
5. Mammals
(pangolin, whale, dolphin)
They have hair on their skin.
Their young develop in a uterus,
attached to the mother by a
placenta.
The females have mammary
glands, which produce milk to feed
their young.
They have different kinds of teeth
(incisors, canines, premolars and
molars).
They have a pinna (ear flap) on the
outside of the body.
They have sweat glands in the skin.
They have a diaphragm.
5.b. Arthropods
Figure 1.32: Features of a typical insect.
1. Insects
(dragonfly)
They are arthropods with three pairs of jointed legs.
They have two pairs of wings (one or both may be
vestigial).
They breathe through tubes called tracheae
Their body is divided into a head, thorax and abdomen.
They have one pair of antennae.
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.34: Features of a crustacean.
2. Crustaceans
(crabs, lobsters and woodlice)
They are arthropods with more
than four pairs of jointed legs.
They have two pairs of antennae
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.36: Features of an arachnid.
3. Arachnids
(spiders, ticks and scorpions)
They are arthropods with four pairs
of jointed legs.
They have no antennae.
Their body is divided into two parts –
a cephalothorax and abdomen
5.a. Vertebrates
Figure 1.38: Features of a myriapod.
4. Myriapods
(centipedes)
Their body consists of many similar segments.
Each of their body segments has jointed legs
They have one pair of antennae
Figure 1.2: Characteristics of living organisms.
5. Group within the animal
and plant kingdoms
5.c. Ferns
Figure 1.40: Features of a fern.
Ferns
They are plants with roots, stems
and leaves (fronds).
They do not produce flowers.
They reproduce by spores produced
on the undersides of their fronds.
5.c. Flowering plants
Figure 1.43: Features of a dicot plant.
Figure 1.42: Features of a monocot plant.
Mocots (monocotyledons)
They have seeds with two cotyledons.
They usually have a main root with side roots coming out from
it. (tap root system)
Their leaves have a network of veins.
They have flower parts (e.g. petals) in multiples of four or five.
They have vascular bundles in the stem, arranged in a ring.
Mocots (monocotyledons)
They have seeds with one cotyledon.
Their roots grow out directly from the stem. (branching root
system)
Their leaves have parallel veins.
They have flower parts in multiples of three.
They have vascular bundles in the stem, arranged randomly.
Figure 1.42: Features of a monocot plant.
Figure 1.43: Features of a dicot plant.
5.c. Flowering plants
6. Viruses
Figure 1.34: Features of a crustacean.
Not considered to be living organisms
cannot do anything other than just exist until they get inside a living cell
(host cell)
do not have any characteristics of living organism
=> take over the cell’s machinery to make multiple copies of themselves
=> burst out of the cell and invade others