CHARACTERISTICS

Characteristics of Living
Organisms:
Every living organism has certain
traits that it needs to possess in
order for it to be classified as a
“living thing”. There are 7
characteristics of living thing.
Characteristics of Living
Organisms:
whether they are single-celled or multicellular,
plants or animals, show the characteristics
below:
movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth,
reproduction, excretion and nutrition. You can
remember this list of the characteristics of
living things by using the mnemonic MRS GREN.
Characteristics of Living Organisms:
Movement: is an action by an organism or part of an
organism causing a change of position or place
Characteristics of Living Organisms: Basics
Sensitivity: the ability to detect and respond to changes in
the internal or external environment
Characteristics of
Living Organisms:
Basics
• Respiration: the
chemical reactions
that break down
nutrient molecules in
living cells to release
energy
Characteristics of Living Organisms:
Growth: a permanent increase in size
Characteristics of Living Organisms:
Reproduction: the processes that make more of the
same kind of organism
Characteristics of Living Organisms:
Excretion: is the removal of waste products of
metabolism and substances in excess of requirements
 Characteristics of Living Organisms:
Nutrition: is the taking in of materials for energy, growth
and development
CLASSIFICATION
 How Organisms are Classified
We have millions of diverse species of
organisms on the planet.
 How Organisms are Classified

The smallest natural group of organisms is the

species.
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)
LINNEAUS SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION
The Binomial System
Species must be named in such a way that the name is recognised all
over the world. ‘Money Plant’ and ‘Devil’s Ivy’ are two common
names for the same wild plant. If you are not aware that these are
alternative names this could lead to confusion. If the botanical name,
Epipremnum aureum, is used there is no chance of error. The Latin
form of the name allows it to be used in all the countries of the world
regardless of language barriers.
The Binomial System
Organisms were first classified by a Swedish naturalist called
Carl Linnaeus in a way that allows the subdivision of living
organisms into smaller and more specialised groups
The Binomial System:
It is the system of nomenclature in which each species
of plants or animals receives a name of two terms of
which the first illustrates the genus to which it belongs,
and the second shows the species of the organism
the genus (always start with 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
How Organisms are Classified
Another example is , all cats belong to the same
species, but there are wide variations in the
appearance of different breeds.
 How Organisms are Classified
An American Longhair and a Siamese may look very
different but they breed together successfully.
 How Organisms are Classified
. Closely related species are grouped into a genus
(plural: genera). For example, there are 45 species of
bronzeback snake, all in the same genus
Dendrelaphis.
LINNEAUS
SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
The order of classification can be remembered by
using a mnemonic like:

KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GLORY’S SPAGHETTI

Classification and evolutionary relationships

• Classification systems is just to show you the evolutionary relationships

between species.
• Traditional biological classification systems grouped organisms based on
the features that they shared. 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.
 How Organisms are Classified

• 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). Studying the
anatomy of different groups of vertebrates helps us to learn about their
evolution.
• As technology advanced, microscopes, knowledge of biochemistry and
eventually DNA sequencing allowed us to classify organisms using a more
scientific approach
• If organisms share a common ancestor this will be reflected in how
they are classified. However, if they are found not to share a common
ancestor, as is the case with the pangolin and armadillo, their
classification will be different. Although at first glance the pangolin
and armadillo may appear to share a common ancestor, a closer study
of the two species reveals major differences.
The use of DNA has revolutionised the process of classification. Most
organisms contain chromosomes made up of strings of genes. The
chemical that forms these genes is called DNA (which is short for
deoxyribonucleic acid). DNA is made up of a sequence of bases, coding
for amino acids and, therefore, proteins . Each species has a distinct
number of chromosomes and a unique sequence of bases in its DNA,
making it identifiable and distinguishable from other species. This
helps particularly when different species are very similar
morphologically (in appearance) and anatomically (in internal
structure).
How Organisms are
Classified using DNA

• 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
 •A gene is a basic unit of
inheritance passed on from
parents to their children.
Genes contain DNA, which
determines the physical
and biological traits of each
person.
Human and primate evolution is a good example
of how DNA has been used to make a process of
evolution clear. Traditional classification of
primates (into the groups of monkeys, apes and
humans) was based on their anatomy, particularly
their bones and teeth.
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
Features of organisms
FEATURES IN THE CELLS
OF LIVING THINGS
• All living organisms have certain
features in common, including the
presence of cytoplasm and cell
membranes, and DNA as genetic
material which can be found in the
cytoplasm or in the nucleus. A kingdom
is a category of living organisms.
PLANT CELL
 The first division of living
The Five Kingdoms things in the classification
system is to put them into one
of five kingdoms. They are:
• Animals
• Plants
• Fungi
• Protoctists
• Prokaryotes (Bacteria)
Main features of all animals
• Animals are multicellular
organisms whose cells have
nucleus with no cell walls or
chloroplasts. Most animals
ingest solid food and digest it
internally. They feed on
organic substances made by
other living things.
 Main features of
all plants
• The plant kingdom Plants are
made up of many cells – they
are multicellular. Plant cells
have an outside wall made of
cellulose and nucleus. Many of
the cells in plant leaves and
stems contain chloroplasts
with photosynthetic pigments
(e.g. chlorophyll). Plants make
their food by photosynthesis.
The Fungi kingdom
Most fungi are made up of thread-like
hyphae, rather than cells, and there are
many nuclei scattered throughout the
cytoplasm in their hyphae
The fungi include organisms such as mushrooms,
toadstools, puffballs and the bracket fungi that grow on
tree trunks . There are also the less obvious, but very
important, mould fungi, which grow on stale bread,
cheese, fruit or other food. Many of the mould fungi live
in the soil or in dead wood
The yeasts are single-celled fungi that have some features
similar to moulds. Some fungal species are parasites, as is the
bracket fungus . A parasite is an organism living on another
organism (the host), gaining food and shelter from it. It is a very
one-sided relationship. Fungal parasites live in other organisms,
particularly plants, where they cause diseases that can affect
crop plants, such as the mildew
 Main features of all fungi (e.g. moulds, mushrooms, yeast)

*Usually multicellular.
*Cells have nuclei and cell
walls made from chitin,
not cellulose .
*Do not photosynthesize
but feed by saprophytic
(on dead or decaying
material) or parasitic (on
live material) nutrition
The Protoctist kingdom
These are single-celled (unicellular) organisms which have their chromosomes
enclosed in a nuclear membrane to form a nucleus. Some of the Protoctista (e.g.
Euglena and Chlamydomonas) have chloroplasts and make their food by
photosynthesis. Organisms like Amoeba and Paramecium take in and digest solid
food and so are animal-like in their feeding. Amoeba is a protozoan that moves by a
flowing movement of its cytoplasm. It feeds by picking up bacteria and other
microscopic organisms as it moves.
They are mainly microscopic and
some aggregate (group together)
into larger forms, such as colonies or
chains of cells that form filaments

Some have features making them

more like animal cells
e.g. Plasmodium (the protoctist that
causes malaria)
Some have features, such as cell
walls and chloroplasts, making them
more like plant cells e.g. green algae,
such as Chlorella
The Prokaryote kingdom
These are the bacteria and the blue-green
algae. They consist of single cells but are
different from other single-celled organisms
because their chromosomes are not organised
into a nucleus. Often unicellular. cells have cell
walls (not made of cellulose)and cytoplasm
but no nucleus or mitochondria.
Classifying Animals
 Body temperature
Fish, amphibia and reptiles are often referred to as ‘cold-blooded’. This is a misleading term. A fish in a
tropical pool or a lizard basking in the sun will have warm blood. The point is that these animals have a
variable body temperature that, depends on the temperature of their surroundings. Reptiles, for
example, move into sunlight or hide in shade to control their temperature, but there is no internal
mechanism for temperature control. Warm-blooded animals usually have a body temperature that is
higher than their surroundings. The main difference, however, is that these temperatures are kept
mainly constant despite any variation in external temperature. There are internal regulatory mechanisms
that keep the body temperature within narrow limits. The advantage of being warm-blooded is that an
animal’s activity is not dependent on the surrounding temperature. A lizard’s body movements may
become slow if the surrounding temperature falls. This could be a disadvantage if the lizard is being
chased by a warmblooded predator whose speed and reactions are not affected by low temperatures.
Vertebrates
Vertebrates are animals which have a vertebral column (backbone). The vertebral column is
sometimes called the spinal column, or just the spine, and consists of a chain of cylindrical bones
(vertebrae) joined end to end. The front end of the spinal cord is expanded to form a brain, which is
enclosed and protected by the skull. The skull carries a pair of jaws which, in most vertebrates, contain
rows of teeth.
.
The five classes of
vertebrates are fish,
amphibia, reptiles, birds and
mammal .
.
Fish
Fish are cold-blooded vertebrates. Many of them have a smooth, streamlined
shape that allows them to move through the water easily. Their bodies are
covered with overlapping scales and they have fins, which are important in
movement and balance. Fish have filamentous gills to breathe. The gills are
protected by a bony plate called the operculum. Fertilisation usually takes place
externally; the female lays jelly coated eggs in water and the male sheds sperms
on them after they have been laid.
Amphibia
Amphibia are cold-blooded vertebrates
with four limbs and no scales. The class
includes frogs, toads and newts. The
name, amphibian, means ‘double life’ and
refers to the fact that the organism spends
part of its life in water and part on the
land. They have eyes and ears( external
ear drums)
All three groups are carnivorous. Amphibians have four limbs. In frogs
and toads, the hind feet have a web of skin between the toes. This
helps them swim. Amphibians have moist skins with a good supply of
capillaries, which can exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the
air or water. They also have lungs . Their young ones breathe with
gills.
Newts swim by a wriggling, fish-like
movement of their bodies and make
less use of their limbs for swimming.
Fertilisation, is external. They
produce jelly coated eggs in water.
Reptiles
Reptiles are land-living vertebrates. Their skins are dry and the outer layer of
epidermis forms a pattern of scales. This dry, scaly skin helps reduce water loss.
Also, the eggs of most species have a tough, paperlike shell (rubbery shell).
Reptiles are cold-blooded. When reptiles warm up, they can move about rapidly
to chase insects and other prey. Reptiles include lizards, snakes, turtles,
tortoises and crocodiles.
Apart from snakes,
reptiles have four limbs,
each with five toes. Some
species of snake still have
the traces of limbs and
girdles. Male and female
reptiles mate, and sperms
are passed into the
female’s body. So, the
eggs are fertilised
internally before being
laid. In some species, the
female keeps the eggs in
the body until they are
ready to hatch.
Birds
Birds are warm-blooded
vertebrates. The vertebral column
in the neck is flexible but the rest
of the vertebrae are merged to
form a rigid structure. This is
probably an adaptation to flight,
as the powerful wing muscles
need a rigid frame to work
against. The epidermis over most
of the body produces a covering
of feathers but, on the legs and
toes, the epidermis forms scales.
The feathers are of several kinds. The fluffy down feathers form an insulating layer close
to the skin; the contour feathers cover the body and give the bird its shape and
coloration; the large quill feathers on the wing are vital for flight. Birds have four limbs,
but the forelimbs are modified to form wings. The feet have four toes with claws, which
help the bird to perch, scratch for seeds or capture prey, according to the species. The
upper and lower jaws are extended to form a beak, which is used for feeding in various
ways. In birds, fertilisation is internal and the female lays hard-shelled eggs in a nest

where she incubates them (keeps them warm and safe).

Mammals
Mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates
with four limbs, they have four types of
teeth. They differ from birds because they
have hair rather than feathers. Unlike the
other vertebrates, they have a diaphragm,
which plays a part in breathing. They also
have mammary glands and suckle their
young on milk. Humans are mammals. All
mammals give birth to fully formed young
instead of laying eggs. The eggs are
fertilised internally and go through a
period of development in the uterus. They
have external ears called pinnas.
 • Vertebrates

All vertebrates have a

backbone. There are 5
classes of vertebrates:
Invertebrates (no backbones)
*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:
Invertebrates
 common features of
Arthropods
1. The name arthropod
means ‘jointed limbs’,
and this is a feature
common to them all.
2.They also have a hard,
firm, external skeleton,
called a cuticle.
common features of
Arthropods

3.Their bodies are

segmented (made up of
several sections), and,
between the segments
(sections), there are
flexible joints which allow
movement.
4.In most arthropods, the
segments are grouped
together to form the head,
thorax (the middle section
of the body) and abdomen
(the part of the body
behind the thorax).
Crustacea
Marine crustacea are crabs, prawns, lobsters, shrimps and barnacles.
Freshwater crustacea are water fleas, Cyclops, the freshwater shrimp
(Gammarus) and the water louse (Asellus). Woodlice are land-
dwelling crustacea. Like all arthropods, crustacea have a chalky
exoskeleton (a rigid external skeleton made from calcium) and more
than six pairs of jointed legs.
 Crustacea
They also have two pairs of
antennae (long thin feelers
attached to the head) which are
sensitive to touch and to
chemicals, and they have
compound eyes. Compound
eyes are made up of tens or
hundreds of separate lenses with
light-sensitive cells underneath.
Most crustacea have a pair of
jointed limbs on each segment
of the body, but those on the
head segments are modified to
form antennae or specialised
mouth parts for feeding .They
breathe through their gills.
Insects
The insects form a very large class of arthropods. Some are Wasps, butterflies,
mosquitoes, houseflies, earwigs , greenflies and beetles (e.g. ladybird) are just a
few of the subgroups in this class. Insects have segmented bodies with a firm
exoskeleton, three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and, usually, two pairs of
wings (one or both pairs may be vestigial – meaning non- functional and
underdeveloped). The segments are grouped into 3 body part head, thorax and
abdomen regions. They have a pair of antennae.
Insects are different from
crustacea because they
have wings, only one pair
of antennae and only three
pairs of legs. There are no
limbs on the abdominal
segments.
Arachnids
These are spiders,
scorpions, mites and ticks.
Their bodies are divided
into two regions, a
combined head and thorax
region, called the
cephalothorax, and the
abdomen . They have four
pairs of limbs on their
cephalothorax. In addition,
there are two pairs of
pedipalps. One pair is used
in reproduction; the other
is used to pierce their prey
and paralyse it with a
poison secreted by a gland NO ANTENNAE
at the base. There are
usually several pairs of
simple eyes.
Myriapods
These are millipedes and centipedes. They have a head and a segmented body
that is not clearly divided into thorax and abdomen. There is a pair of legs on
each body segment. As the myriapod grows, extra segments are formed. The
myriapods have one pair of antennae and simple eyes. Centipedes are carnivores,
feeding on other animals, but millipedes are herbivores, feeding on plant
material.
Classifying
Plants
The plant kingdom
Plants are multicellular. Plant cells have an outside wall made of
cellulose. Many of the cells in plant leaves and stems contain
chloroplasts with photosynthetic pigments (e.g. chlorophyll). Plants
make their food by 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
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
 How to distinguish between monocotyledons
and dicotyledons:
1) FLOWERS
*Flowers from monocotyledons contain petals in multiples of 3
(3,6,9..)
*Flowers from dicotyledons contain petals in multiples of 4 or
5(8 ,10..)
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 )
Viruses
There are many different types of virus and they vary in their shape and structure.
All viruses, however, have a central core of RNA or DNA surrounded by a protein
coat. Viruses have no nucleus, cytoplasm, cell organelles or cell membrane, though
some forms have a membrane outside their protein coats. So, virus particles are
not cells. They do not feed, respire, excrete or grow, and it is arguable whether
they can be classed as living organisms. Viruses do reproduce, but only inside the
cells of living organisms, using materials provided by the host cell. Virus structure is
simply genetic material (RNA or DNA) inside a protein coat. The protein coat is
called a capsid.
Dichotomous Keys
Constructing & Using a Key

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
CONSTRUCTING DICHOTOMOUS KEY
You need to be able to develop the skills to make simple dichotomous keys,
based on easily identifiable features. If you know the main characteristics of
a group, it is possible to draw up a logical plan for identifying an unfamiliar
organism. The first question should be based on a feature that will split the
group into two. The question is going to give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. For each
of the two subgroups formed, a further question based on the features of
some of that sub-group should then be written.