Characteristics of Living Organisms

 Movement: an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of

position or place
 Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living
cells to release energy for metabolism
 Sensitivity: the ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external
environment and to make appropriate responses
 Growth: a permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell number
or cell size or both
 Reproduction: the processes that make more of the same kind of organism
 Excretion: the removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste products of
metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and substances in
excess of requirements
 Nutrition: the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development; plants
require light, carbon dioxide, water and ions; animals need organic compounds,
ions and usually need water

Exam Tip
Use this mnemonic to help you remember these processes:

MRS. H. GREN

 Movement
 Respiration
 Sensitivity
 Homeostasis
 Growth and development
 Reproduction
 Excretion
 Nutrition

How Organisms are Classified

 There are millions of species of organisms on Earth

 A species is defined as a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce
fertile offspring
 These species can be classified into groups by the features that they share e.g.
all mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed young from mammary glands and
have external ears (pinnas)
The Binomial System

 Organisms were first classified by a Swedish naturalist called Linnaeus in a way

that allows the subdivision of living organisms into smaller and more specialised
groups
 The species in these groups have more and more features in common the more
subdivided they get
 He named organisms in Latin using the binomial system where the scientific
name of an organism is made up of two parts starting with the genus (always
given a capital letter) and followed by the species (starting with a lower case
letter)
 When typed binomial names are always in italics (which indicates they are Latin)
e.g. Homo sapiens
 The sequence of classification
is: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
 Linnaeus’s system of classification

Exam Tip
The order of classification can be remembered by using a mnemonic like:

KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GRAN’S SPAGHETTI

Dichotomous Keys
 Keys are used to identify organisms based on a series of questions about their
features
 Dichotomous means ‘branching into two’ and it leads the user through to the
name of the organism by giving two descriptions at a time and asking them to
choose
 Each choice leads the user onto another two descriptions
 In order to successfully navigate a key, you need to pick a single organism to
start with and follow the statements from the beginning until you find the
name
 You then pick another organism and start at the beginning of the key again,
repeating until all organisms are named

Example of a dichotomous key #1

 Example of a dichotomous key #2

Exam Tip
Simple dichotomous keys almost always come up in the multiple choice paper, so make
sure you can use one.Very occasionally they show up in the theory paper, and when
they do you almost always have to use one instead of constructing one, so focus on this
rather than spending hours learning to construct them yourself!

Reflecting Evolutionary Relationships: Extended

 Classification systems aim to reflect evolutionary relationships between species

 Traditional biological classification systems grouped organisms based on
the features that they shared

o If organisms shared more similar features then they were said to be more
closely related
 In the past, scientists have encountered many difficulties when trying to
determine the evolutionary relationships of species based on this method
 Using the physical features of species (such as colour/shape/size) has many
limitations and can often lead to the wrong classification of species

Using DNA to Classify Organisms: Extended

 Organisms share features because they originally descend from a common

ancestor
 Example: all mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed young from mammary
glands and have external ears (pinnas)
 Originally, organisms were classified using morphology (the overall form and
shape of the organism, e.g. whether it had wings or legs) and anatomy (the
detailed body structure as determined by dissection)
 As technology advanced, microscopes, knowledge of biochemistry and
eventually DNA sequencing allowed us to classify organisms using a more
scientific approach
 Studies of DNA sequences of different species show that the more similar the
base sequences in the DNA of two species, the more closely related those
two species are (and the more recent in time their common ancestor is)
 This means that the base sequences in a mammal’s DNA are more closely
related to all other mammals than to any other vertebrate groups
 DNA sequences can show how closely related different species are

 The sequences above show that Brachinus armiger and Brachinus hirsutus
are more closely related than any other species in the list as their DNA
sequences are identical except for the last but one base (B.armiger has a T in that
position whereas B.hirsutus has an A)
 As DNA base sequences are used to code for amino acid sequences in proteins,
the similarities in amino acid sequences can also be used to determine how
closely related organisms are

The Five Kingdoms

 The first division of living things in the classification system is to put them into
one of five kingdoms. They are:
o Animals
o Plants
o Fungi
o Protoctists
o Prokaryotes

 Main features of all animals:

o they are multicellular
o their cells contain a nucleus but no cell walls or chloroplasts
o they feed on organic substances made by other living things
 A typical animal cell

 Main features of all plants:

o they are multicellular
o their cells contain a nucleus, chloroplasts and cellulose cell walls
o they all feed by photosynthesis
 A typical plant cell

The Animal Kingdom

 Several main features are used to place organisms into groups within the animal
kingdom

Vertebrates

 All vertebrates have a backbone

o There are 5 classes of vertebrates

Vertebrate Table
 Vertebrate classification

Invertebrates

 Invertebrates do not possess a backbone

 One of the morphological characteristics used to classify invertebrates is whether
they have legs or not
 All invertebrates with jointed legs are part of the phylum Arthropods
 They are classified further into the following classes:

Invertebrate Table
 Arthropod classification

The Five Kingdoms: Extended

 The first division of living things in the classification system is to put them into
one of five kingdoms
 They are:
o Animals
o Plants
o Fungi
o Protoctists
o Prokaryotes
 Main features of all fungi (e.g. moulds, mushrooms, yeast)
o usually multicellular
o cells have nuclei and cell walls not made from cellulose
o do not photosynthesize but feed by saprophytic (on dead or decaying
material) or parasitic (on live material) nutrition

A typical fungal cell

 Main features of all Protoctists (e.g. Amoeba, Paramecium, Plasmodium)

 o most are unicellular but some are multicellular
o all have a nucleus, some may have cell walls and chloroplasts
o meaning some protoctists photosynthesise and some feed on organic
substances made by other living things

Two examples of protoctist cells

 Main features of all Prokaryotes (bacteria, blue-green algae)

o often unicellular
o cells have cell walls (not made of cellulose) and cytoplasm but no
nucleus or mitochondria
 A typical bacterial cell

The Plant Kingdom: Extended

 At least some parts of any plant are green, caused by the presence of the
pigment chlorophyll which absorbs energy from sunlight for the process
of photosynthesis
 The plant kingdom includes organisms such as ferns and flowering plants

Ferns

 Have leaves called fronds

 Do not produce flowers but instead reproduce by spores produced on the
underside of fronds
 Ferns

Ferns reproduce by spores found in the underside of their fronds

Flowering plants

 Reproduce sexually by means of flowers and seeds

 Seeds are produced inside the ovary found at the base of the flower
 Can be divided into two groups – monocotyledons and dicotyledons
 Wheat plants are monocotyledons

Sunflowers are dicotyledons

How do you distinguish between monocotyledons and dicotyledons?

1) Flowers

 Flowers from monocotyledons contain petals in multiples of 3

 Flowers from dicotyledons contain petals in multiples of 4 or 5

2) Leaves
  Leaves from monocotyledons have parallel leaf veins
 Leaves from dicotyledons have reticulated leaf veins (meaning that they are all
interconnected and form a web-like network throughout the leaf)

Comparing monocots and dicots

Exam Tip
Identification of monocotyledons and dicotyledons comes up fairly frequently in the
multiple choice paper and so it is worth learning the two differences between their
flowers and leaves.

Viruses: Extended

 Viruses are not part of any classification system as they are not considered
living things
 They do not carry out the seven life processes for themselves, instead
they take over a host cell’s metabolic pathways in order to make multiple
copies of themselves
 Virus structure is simply genetic material (RNA or DNA) inside a protein coat
 Structure of a typical virus

2.1.1 Cell Structure

Animal & Plant Cells
Animals

 The main features of animals:

o They are multicellular
o Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane
o Their cells do not have cellulose cell walls
o Their cells do not contain chloroplasts (so they are unable to carry
out photosynthesis)
o They feed on organic substances made by other living things
o They often store carbohydrates as glycogen
o They usually have nervous coordination
o They are able to move from place to place
 A typical animal cell

Plants

 The main features of plants:

o They are multicellular
o Their cells contain a nucleus with a distinct membrane
o Their cells have cell walls made out of cellulose
o Their cells contain chloroplasts (so they can carry out photosynthesis)
o They feed by photosynthesis
o They store carbohydrates as starch or sucrose
o They do not have nervous coordination
A typical plant cell
Cell Structures Found in Both Animal and Plant Cells Table
An animal and plant cell as seen under a light microscope

Cell Structures Found Only in Plant Cells Table

Bacteria Cells

 Bacteria, which have a wide variety of shapes and sizes, all share the following
biological characteristics:
o They are microscopic single-celled organisms
o Possess a cell wall (made of peptidoglycan, not cellulose), cell
membrane, cytoplasm and ribosomes
o Lack a nucleus but contain a circular chromosome of DNA that floats
in the cytoplasm
o Plasmids are sometimes present - these are small rings of DNA (also
floating in the cytoplasm) that contain extra genes to those found in the
chromosomal DNA
o They lack mitochondria, chloroplasts and other membrane-bound
organelles found in animal and plant cells
 Some bacteria also have a flagellum (singular) or several flagella (plural). These
are long, thin, whip-like tails attached to bacteria that allow them to move
 Examples of bacteria include:
o Lactobacillus (a rod-shaped bacterium used in the production of yoghurt
from milk)
o Pneumococcus (a spherical bacterium that acts as the pathogen causing
pneumonia)
 A typical bacterial cell

Identifying Cell Structures & Function

 Within the cytoplasm, the following organelles are visible in almost all cells
except prokaryotes when looking at higher magnification (ie using an electron
microscope):
o Mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion) are organelles found throughout
the cytoplasm
o Ribosomes are tiny structures that can be free within the cytoplasm or
attached to a system of membranes within the cell known as Endoplasmic
Reticulum
o Endoplasmic reticulum studded with ribosomes looks rough under the
microscope; this gives rise to its name of Rough Endoplasmic
Reticulum (often shortened to R.E.R.)
o Vesicles can also be seen using a higher magnification - these are small
circular structures found moving throughout the cytoplasm
Structures in an animal cell visible under a light microscope and an electron
microscope

Structures in a plant cell visible under a light microscope and an electron

microscope
2.1.2 Organisation of Cells
Producing New Cells

 The cells in your body need to be able to divide to help your

body grow and repair itself
 Cells grow and divide over and over again
 New cells are produced by the division of existing cells

Specialised Cells
Specialised cells in animals

 Specialised cells are those which have developed certain characteristics in

order to perform particular functions. These differences are controlled by
genes in the nucleus
 Cells specialise by undergoing differentiation: this is a process by which cells
develop the structure and characteristics needed to be able to carry out their
functions

Specialised Cells in Animals Table

Diagrams of specialised cells in animals:

Ciliated cell
Nerve cell
Red blood cells
Sperm cell

Egg cell
Examples of specialised cells in plants:

Diagrams of specialised cells in plants:

Root hair cell
Xylem structure
 Palisade mesophyll cell

Levels of Organisation in an Organism

Levels of organisation
  Your syllabus states that you should be able to identify the different levels of
organisation in drawings, diagrams and images of familiar material
 An example of this is shown in the exam question below:

Typical levels of organisation question

Exam Tip
Most incorrect answers here come from not being able to identify a tissue, so it’s worth
making sure you understand and remember that tissues are always made up of only
one type of cell.

2.1.3 Magnification Formula

Magnification Formula
Calculating magnification and specimen size using millimetres as units
  Magnification is calculated using the following equation:

Magnification = Image size ÷ Actual size

 A better way to remember the equation is using an equation triangle:

Magnification equation

 Rearranging the equation to find things other than the magnification becomes
easy when you remember the triangle - whatever you are trying to find, place
your finger over it and whatever is left is what you do, so:
o Magnification = image size / actual size
o Actual size = image size / magnification
o Image size = magnification x actual size

Remember magnification does not have any units and is just written as ‘x 10’ or ‘x 5000’

Worked Example
An image of an animal cell is 30 mm in size and it has been magnified by a factor of x
3000. What is the actual size of the cell?

To find the actual size of the cell:

 Worked example using the magnification equation

2.1.4 Converting Between Units: Extended

Converting Between Units: Extended
Using millimetres and micrometres as units

 The table below shows how millimetres are related to two other measures of length
 What this basically means is that 1mm = 1000µm and 1cm = 10,000µm
 This usually comes up in questions where you have two different units and you need to ensure
that you convert them both into the same unit before proceeding with the calculation
 For example:
 Example extended magnification question

 Remember 1mm = 1000µm

 2000 / 1000 = 2 so the actual thickness of the leaf is 2mm and the drawing thickness is 50mm
 Magnification = image size / actual size = 50 / 2 = 25
 So the magnification is x 25 (NO UNITS)
Exam Tip
If you are given a question with two different units in it, make sure you convert them to the same
unit before doing your calculation.If you don’t, there is a good chance that your answer will be
the same as one of the incorrect options in a multiple choice question so you may think you got it
right when, in fact, you haven’t!The following diagram may help with unit conversion between
mm and µm:

3.1.1 Diffusion
Diffusion

 Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of its higher concentration to a

region of its lower concentration
  Molecules move down a concentration gradient, as a result of their random
movement

Diffusion across the cell membrane

 For living cells, the principle of the movement down a concentration gradient is the
same, but the cell is surrounded by a cell membrane which can restrict the free
movement of the molecules
 The cell membrane is a partially permeable membrane - this means it allows some
molecules to cross easily, but others with difficulty or not at all
 The simplest sort of selection is based on the size of the molecules
 Diffusion helps living organisms to:
o obtain many of their requirements
o get rid of many of their waste products
o carry out gas exchange for respiration

Examples of diffusion in living organisms

 You will need to learn examples of substances that organisms obtain by diffusion
 Don’t forget that plants require oxygen for respiration at all times, as well as carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis when conditions for photosynthesis are right (e.g. enough
light and a suitable temperature)
 Examples of Diffusion Table

Where does the energy for diffusion come from?

 All particles move randomly at all times

 This is known as Brownian motion
 The energy for diffusion comes from the kinetic energy of this random movement of
molecules and ions
 Brownian motion

3.1.2 Factors that Influence Diffusion

Factors that Influence Diffusion
Surface area to volume ratio

 The bigger a cell or structure is, the smaller its surface area to volume ratio is, slowing
down the rate at which substances can move across its surface
 Many cells which are adapted for diffusion have increased surface area in some way -
eg root hair cells in plants (which absorb water and mineral ions) and cells lining the
ileum in animals (which absorb the products of digestion)
 Cell adaptations for diffusion

The highly folded surface of the small intestine increases its surface area
Distance

 The smaller the distance molecules have to travel the faster transport will occur
 This is why blood capillaries and alveoli have walls which are only one cell thick, ensure
the rate of diffusion across them is as fast as possible

Temperature

 The higher the temperature, the faster molecules move as they have more energy
 This results in more collisions against the cell membrane and therefore a faster rate of
movement across them

Concentration Gradient

 The greater the difference in concentration on either side of the membrane, the faster
movement across it will occur
 This is because on the side with the higher concentration, more random collisions
against the membrane will occur

Exam Tip
You should have carried out investigations into the factors that influence the rate of
diffusion and as so should be able to use the information above to explain
experimental results in an exam. You should also be able to plan and carry out an
experiment which can investigate the effect of one of these factors.

3.1.3 Water
Water as a Solvent

 Water is important for all living organisms as many substances are able to dissolve in
it (it is a solvent)
 This makes it incredibly useful and essential for all life on Earth
 Water is important as a solvent in the following situations within organisms:
o Dissolved substances can be easily transported around organisms - eg xylem
and phloem of plants and dissolved food molecules in the blood
o Digested food molecules are in the alimentary canal but need to be moved to
cells all over the body - without water as a solvent this would not be able to
happen
o Toxic substances such as urea and substances in excess of requirements such
as salts can dissolve in water which makes them easy to remove from the body
in urine
o Water is also an important part of the cytoplasm and plays a role in
ensuring metabolic reactions can happen as necessary in cells
 Water as a solvent

3.1.4 Osmosis
Osmosis

 All cells are surrounded by a cell membrane which is partially permeable

 Water can move in and out of cells by osmosis
 Osmosis is the diffusion of water molecules from a dilute solution (high concentration
of water) to a more concentrated solution (low concentration of water) across
a partially permeable membrane
 In doing this, water is moving down its concentration gradient
  The cell membrane is partially permeable which means it allows small molecules (like
water) through but not larger molecules (like solute molecules)

Osmosis and the partially permeable membrane

3.1.5 Osmosis Experiments

Osmosis Experiments
Immersing plant cells in solutions of different concentrations

 The most common osmosis practical involves cutting cylinders of root vegetables such
as potato or radish and placing them into distilled water and sucrose solutions of
increasing concentration
 The cylinders are weighed before placing into the solutions
 They are left in the solutions for 20 - 30 minutes and then removed, dried to remove
excess liquid and reweighed
Potatoes are usually used in osmosis experiments to show how the concentration
of a solution affects the movement of water, but radishes can be used too

 If the plant tissue gains mass:

o Water must have moved into the plant tissue from the solution surrounding it by
osmosis
o The solution surrounding the tissue is more dilute than the plant tissue (which is
more concentrated)
 If plant tissue loses mass:
o Water must have moved out of the plant tissue into the solution surrounding it
by osmosis
 o The solution surrounding the tissue is more concentrated than the plant tissue
(which is more dilute)
 If there is no overall change in mass:
o There has been no net movement of water as the concentration in both the plant
tissue and the solution surrounding it must be equal
o Remember that water will still be moving into and out of the plant tissue, but
there wouldn’t be any net movement in this case

Investigating osmosis using dialysis tubing

 Dialysis tubing (sometimes referred to as visking tubing) is a non-living partially

permeable membrane made from cellulose
 Pores in this membrane are small enough to prevent the passage of large
molecules (such as sucrose) but allow smaller molecules (such as glucose and water)
to pass through by diffusion and osmosis
 This can be demonstrated by:
o Filling a section of dialysis tubing with concentrated sucrose solution
o Suspending the tubing in a boiling tube of water for a set period of time
o Noting whether the water level outside the tubing decreases as water moves into
the tubing via osmosis
 Water moves from a region of higher water potential (dilute solution) to a
region of lower water potential (concentrated solution), through a
partially permeable membrane

An example setup of a dialysis tubing experiment

3.1.6 Osmosis in Animals & Plants
Osmosis in Plant Tissues

 When water moves into a plant cell, the vacuole gets bigger, pushing the cell
membrane against the cell wall
 Water entering the cell by osmosis makes the cell rigid and firm
 This is important for plants as the effect of all the cells in a plant being firm is to provide
support and strength for the plant - making the plant stand upright with its leaves
held out to catch sunlight
 The pressure created by the cell wall stops too much water entering and prevents the
cell from bursting
 If plants do not receive enough water the cells cannot remain rigid and firm (turgid) and
the plant wilts

Osmosis: Extended

 Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water
potential (dilute solution) to a region of lower water potential (concentrated solution),
through a partially permeable membrane
 It can get a little confusing to talk about the 'concentration of water' when we also talk
about solutions being ‘concentrated’ (having a lot of solute in them), so instead we can
say that a dilute solution has a high water potential (the right-hand side of the
diagram below) and a concentrated solution has a low water potential (the left-hand
side of the diagram below)
 How osmosis works

Exam Tip
The best explanations to do with osmosis will refer to water potential, so if you are
aiming for a 7, 8 or 9 you will need to understand the concept and use it in your
explanations.

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Osmosis in Animals & Plants: Extended

Plant cells in solutions of different concentrations

 When plant cells are placed in a solution that has a higher water potential (dilute
solution) than inside the cells (e.g. distilled water) then water moves into the plant cells
via osmosis
 These water molecules push the cell membrane against the cell wall, increasing
the turgor pressure in the cells which makes them turgid
 A turgid plant cell

 When plant cells are placed in a concentrated solution (with a lower water potential
than inside the cells) water molecules will move out of the plant cells by osmosis,
making them flaccid
o If plant cells become flaccid it can negatively affect the plant's ability to support
itself
 If looked at underneath the microscope, the plant cells might be plasmolysed, meaning
the cell membrane has pulled away from the cell wall
 A plasmolysed plant cell

Animal cells in solutions of different concentrations

 Animal cells also lose and gain water as a result of osmosis

 As animal cells do not have a supporting cell wall, the results on the cell are more
severe
  If an animal cell is placed into a strong sugar solution (with a lower water potential than
the cell), it will lose water by osmosis and become crenated (shrivelled up)
 If an animal cell is placed into distilled water (with a higher water potential than the
cell), it will gain water by osmosis and, as it has no cell wall to create turgor pressure,
will continue to do so until the cell membrane is stretched too far and it bursts

Effect of osmosis on animal cells

3.1.7 Active Transport

Active Transport

 Active transport is the movement of particles through a cell membrane from a region
of lower concentration to a region of higher concentration using energy from
respiration
 The process of active transport

3.1.8 Proteins & Active Transport

Importance of Active Transport: Extended

 Energy is needed because particles are being moved against a concentration gradient,
in the opposite direction from which they would naturally move (by diffusion)
 Active transport is vital process for the movement of molecules or ions across
membranes
 Including:

o uptake of glucose by epithelial cells in the villi of the small intestine and by
kidney tubules in the nephron
o uptake of ions from soil water by root hair cells in plants

Protein Carriers: Extended

  Active transport works by using carrier proteins embedded in the cell membrane to pick
up specific molecules and take them through the cell membrane against their
concentration gradient:

1.
1. Substance combines with carrier protein molecule in the cell membrane
2. Carrier transports substances across membrane using energy from respiration to
give them the kinetic energy needed to change shape and move the substance
through the cell membrane
3. Substance released into cell

Carrier proteins in active transport

Exam Tip
You don't need to know anything about the phospholipid bilayer when it comes to
active transport!