CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING ORGANISMS
Characteristics of living organisms
Growth: all organisms begin small and get larger, by the growth of their cells and by adding new
cells to their bodies.
Movement: all organisms are able to move. Most animals can move their whole body from place
to place, and plants can slowly move parts of themselves.
Sensitivity: all organisms pick up information about changes in their environment and react to
the changes.
Excretion: all organisms produce unwanted or toxic waste products as a result of their metabolic
reactions, and these must be removed from their body.
Reproduction: organisms are able to make new organisms of the same species as themselves.
Nutrition: organisms take substances from their environment and use them to provide energy or
materials to make new cells.
Respiration: all organisms break down glucose and other substances inside their cells, to
release energy that they can use.
The classification system
Species: a group of organisms that can reproduce and produce fertile offspring
Binominal system: an internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism
is made up of two parts showing the genus and species.
Classification: means putting things into groups, the main reason for classifying living things is
to make it easier to study them.
Dichotomous keys: A dichotomous key is an important scientific tool, used to identify different
organisms, based on the organism's observable traits. Dichotomous keys consist of a series of
statements with two choices in each step that will lead users to the correct identification.
The kingdoms of living organisms
Animals: multicellular, cells have a nucleus but no cell walls or chloroplasts and feed on organic
substances made by other living organisms.
Plants: multicellular, cells have a nucleus, cell walls made of cellulose and often contain
chloroplasts, feed by photosynthesis and may have roots, stems and leaves.
Fungi: usually multicellular, have nuclei, have cell walls, not made of cellulose, do not have
chlorophyll.
Prokaryotes: often unicellular, have no nucleus, have cell walls, not made of cellulose, have no
mitochondria.
Classifying animals
Phylum Vertebrates → these animals with a supporting rod running along the length of the body
● Class fish: vertebrates with scaly skin, have gills, have fins, live in water
● Class amphibians: live on land, go back to the water to breed, vertebrates with moist,
scale-less skin
● Class reptiles: do boy need to go back to water to breed because their eggs have a
waterproof shell which stops them from drying out, vertebrates with scaly skin, lay eggs
with rubbery shells
● Class birds: like reptiles, vertebrates with feathers, endothermic
● Class mammals: is the group that humans belong to, vertebrates with hair, endothermic,
have a placenta
Phylum Arthropods → are animals with jointed legs, but no backbone, they have a waterproof
exoskeleton
● Insects: arthropods with three pairs of jointed legs, two pairs of wings, breathe trough
tracheae, body decided into head thorax and abdomen.
● Crustaceans: live in wet places, breathe through gills, arthropods with more than four
pairs of jointed legs
● Arachnids: breathe through gills called book lungs, four pairs of jointed legs
● Myriapods: body consists of many segments, each segment haas jointed legs
Classifying plants
Flowering plants → plants with roots, stems and leaves
→ Monocotyledonous: have only one cotyledon in their seeds. They usually have a branching
root system, and often have leaves in which the veins run in parallel to one another.
→ Dicotyledonous: have two cotyledons in their seeds. They frequently have a tap root system,
and their leaves are often broader than those of monocots, and have a network of branching
veins.
Keys → a 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. This kind of key is called a
dichotomous key, dichotomous means ‘branching into two’ and refers to the fact that you have
two descriptions to choose from at each step. (Pag 15)
Constructing keys → to create a key for identifying flowers, make a list of features that clearly
vary between them. Choose features that cannot be mistaken. Split the flowers into groups
based on these features. Keep refining the key until each group contains only one flower. Test
the key with a friend and make adjustments if needed.