IGCSE Biology

B1: Characteristics and classification of

living organisms

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Websites

■ https://www.savemyexams.co.uk/notes/igcse-
biology-cie-new/1-characteristics-classificatio
n-of-living-organisms/1-3-features-of-organis
ms/

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What is Biology?

■Biology can be defined as:

“The study of living organisms and
their environment”.

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1.1 Characteristics of living organisms

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Brainstorm!

■ What are some characteristics that all living

things share?

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Characteristics of living organisms

■ How many did you ❑ Respire

write down? ❑ Respond to stimuli
■ MRS GREN ❑ Grow
is a mnemonic for the ❑ Reproduce
Characteristics of Life
Movement, Respiration,
❑ Move
Sensitivity, Growth, ❑ Eat (Nutrition)
Reproduction, ❑ Excrete
Excretion, Nutrition

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Living things respire

■ All living things acquire energy through the process

of respiration.
■ Respiration takes place within cells and is often
respresented as:

Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon dioxide + Water

+ Energy
C6H12O6 + 6O2 ↔ 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy
Glucose

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Living things respond to their
environment

■ Living things will make

changes in response to
a stimulus in their
environment.
■ A plant grows towards
light.

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Living things grow
■ An organism gets larger as the number of its
cells increases.

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Living things reproduce

■ Reproduction is not essential for the survival

of individual organisms, but must occur for a
species to survive.
■ Species:
“a group of organisms capable of
interbreeding and producing fertile offspring”.

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Living things reproduce

■ All living things reproduce in one of two ways:

❑ Asexual reproduction - producing offspring without
the use of gametes (sex cells).
❑ Sexual reproduction - producing offspring by the
joining of sex cells.

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Living things move

■ Plants tend to stay in one location, although

some plants are capable of movement .
❑ The sensitive plant – Mimosa pudica

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Living things move

■ Animals move to obtain food, in response to

their environment, or to find a mate.
■ Some animals are sessile (move very little).
■ Movement includes:
❑ Internal movement of organelles and fluids
❑ External movement or locomotion.

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Living things eat (nutrition)

■ In order to provide themselves with energy

many living things eat.
■ Living things take nutrients into their bodies
-organic substances and mineral ions
■ These provide raw materials or energy for
growth and tissue repair.
■ Nutrients are absorbed and assimilated.

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Types of nutrition

❑ Autotrophs (plants and algae) produce

organic molecules using energy from the sun.
❑ Heterotrophs (animals) eat plants or other
animals.
❑ Saprotrophs (bacteria and fungi) obtain their
nutrients from decaying plant or animal matter.

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Living things get rid of waste materials -
excretion
■ Organisms eliminate
toxic materials or waste
products of metabolism
(chemical reactions in
cells) and substances
that are in excess of
requirements.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Nutrition

■ The taking in of nutrients which are organic

substances and mineral ions, containing raw
materials or energy for growth and tissue
repair, absorbing and assimilating them.

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Syllabus definition of terms: 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.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Respiration

■ The chemical reactions that break down

nutrient molecules in living cells to release
energy.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Sensitivity

■ The ability to detect or sense changes in the

environment (stimuli) and to make responses.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Reproduction

■ The processes that make more of the same

kind of organism.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Growth

■ A permanent increase in size and dry mass

by an increase in cell number or cell size or
both.

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Syllabus definition of terms: Movement

■ An action by an organism or part of an

organism causing a change of position or
place.

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Characteristics of living things (7)

■ Nutrition
■ Excretion
■ Respiration
■ Sensitivity
■ Reproduction
■ Growth
■ Movement

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Other characteristics?

■ Composed of cells
❑ Viruses are considered non-living (acellular)
■ Levels of organization
❑ Cellular or molecular
■ Adapt to their environment (evolution)
■ Maintain homeostasis
❑ Relatively constant internal environment: pH,
temperature, salinity.

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.1 pages 2-3 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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1.2 Concept and use of a classification system

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Syllabus-Core

■ State that organisms can be classified into groups by the

features that they share.
■ Define species as a group of organisms that can
reproduce to produce fertile offspring.
■ Define and describe the binomial system of naming
species as an internationally agreed system in which the
scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts
showing the genus and species.

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Classification of organisms
■ Organisms are separated into groups or categories
so that they are more easily studied and discussed
by scientists.
■ Biologists group organisms to represent similarities
and relationships.
■ Organisms can be classified into groups by the
features that they share.
■ Classification systems change with expanding
knowledge about new and well-known organisms.

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Syllabus-Supplement

■ Explain that classification systems aim to reflect

evolutionary relationships.
■ Explain that classification is traditionally based on
studies of morphology and anatomy.
■ Explain that the sequences of bases in DNA and of
amino acids in proteins are used as a more accurate
means of classification.
■ Explain that organisms which share a more recent
ancestor (are more closely related) have base
sequences in DNA that are more similar than those that
share only a distant ancestor.

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The binomial system

■ The binomial system of naming species as an

internationally agreed system in which the
scientific name of an organism is made up of
two parts showing the genus and species.

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What is a species?

■ A species is a group of organisms that can

reproduce to produce fertile offspring.

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Binomial Nomenclature
■ Carolus von Linnaeus
❑ Swedish naturalist

■ Two-word naming system (1735)

■ Genus:
■ Noun, Capitalized
■ Underlined or Italicized
Carolus von Linnaeus
❑ Species: (1707-1778)

■ Descriptive, Lower Case Swedish scientist who laid

the foundation for modern
Underlined or Italicized taxonomy

■ Hierarchical Classification
❑ Seven Taxonomic Categories

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Weblinks

■ https://youtu.be/lnvlMlopu2A
■ https://youtu.be/Gb_IO-SzLgk
■ https://youtu.be/RcA7wuOkBvc

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Hierarchical Classification
■ Taxonomic categories
❑ Kingdom(5) King
❑ Phylum Philip
❑ Class Came
❑ Order Over
❑ Family For
❑ Genus Green
❑ Species Soup

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Supplementary

■ Classification systems aim to reflect

evolutionary relationships.
■ Classification is traditionally based on studies
of morphology and anatomy.

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What is morphology?

■ Morphology comes from a Greek word

meaning ‘shape’ or ‘form’.

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What about DNA?

■ The sequences of bases in DNA and of

amino acids in proteins are used as a more
accurate means of classification.

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DNA and Ancestry

■ Organisms which share a more recent

ancestor (are more closely related) have
base sequences in DNA that are more similar
than those that share only a distant ancestor.

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adjective: phylogenetic

■ phy·lo·ge·net·ic
■ Relating to the evolutionary development and
diversification of a species or group of
organisms, or of a particular feature of an
organism.
■ "the phylogenetic relationship of mammalian
species“

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.2 pages 4-5 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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The five kingdoms

■ Kingdom Monera (bacteria)

■ Kingdom Protista (single celled organisms)
■ Kingdom Plantae
■ Kingdom Fungi
■ Kingdom Animalia

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The Animal kingdom

■ Phylum Vertebrates Invertebrate Phyla

❑ Fish ■ Nematodes

■ Annelids
❑ Amphibians
■ Molluscs
❑ Birds
■ Arthropods
❑ Reptiles
❑ Classes
❑ Mammals
■ Crustaceans

■ Myriapods

■ Insects

■ Arachnids

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Invertebrate Phyla

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The Plant Kingdom

The plant kingdom is divided into four phyla :

■ Mosses and Liverworts

■ Ferns

■ Conifers

■ Flowering Plants

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Examples of Latin binomial names

■ Homo sapiens
■ Helianthus annuus

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1.3 Features of organisms

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Syllabus-Core
■ List the features in the cells of all living organisms,
limited to cytoplasm, cell membrane and DNA as genetic
material.
■ List the main features used to place animals and plants
into the appropriate kingdoms.
■ List the main features used to place organisms into
groups within the animal kingdom, limited to:
❑ the main groups of vertebrates: mammals, birds,

reptiles, amphibians, fish

❑ the main groups of arthropods: myriapods, insects,

arachnids, crustaceans.

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Syllabus-Supplement
■ List the features in the cells of all living organisms,
limited to ribosomes for protein synthesis and enzymes
involved in respiration.
■ List the main features used to place all organisms into
one of the five kingdoms: Animal, Plant, Fungus,
Prokaryote, Protoctist
■ List the main features used to place organisms into
groups within the plant kingdom, limited to ferns and
flowering plants (dicotyledons and monocotyledons).
■ List the features of viruses, limited to protein coat and
genetic material.

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Features of living cells
■ The cells of all living organisms contain the following:
■ Cytoplasm
■ Cell membrane
■ DNA as genetic material (either found in the nucleus or
free in the cytoplasm).

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Main features of all animals

■ They are multicellular.

■ Their cells contain a nucleus but no cell walls
or chloroplasts.
■ They feed on organic substances made by
other living things.

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Main features of all plants

■ They are multicellular.

■ Their cells contain a nucleus, chloroplasts
and cellulose cell walls.
■ They all feed by photosynthesis.

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Main features of animal and plant cells

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Main features of animal and plant cells

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Prokaryote kingdom: bacteria

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Prokaryote kingdom: bacteria

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Prokaryote kingdom: bacteria

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Kingdom Protoctista

■ Characteristics

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Kingdom Protoctista

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Protoctists: Amoeba

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Features of viruses

■ 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.

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Basic viral structure

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.3 pages 6-7 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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Classification of animals

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Main features: 5 classes of vertebrates

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.4 pages 8-9 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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Invertebrates

■ 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:

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Invertebrates

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Arthropods

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.5 pages 10-11 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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Cell composition and structure

■ Other features in the cells of all living organisms:

❑ ribosomes for protein synthesis

❑ enzymes involved in respiration

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Plant Kingdom – Plantae

■ Kingdom Plantae includes all the plants.

■ They are eukaryotic, multicellular and autotrophic
organisms.
■ The plant cell contains a rigid cell wall.
■ Plants have chloroplast and chlorophyll pigment,
which is required for photosynthesis.

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Plant Kingdom – Plantae

■ The plant kingdom is further classified into subgroups.

■ Classification is based on the following criteria:
❑ Plant body: Presence or absence of a

well-differentiated plant body. E.g. Root, Stem and

Leaves.
❑ Vascular system: Presence or absence of a

vascular system for the transportation of water and

other substances e.g. Phloem and Xylem.
❑ Seed formation: Presence or absence of flowers

and seeds and if the seeds are naked or enclosed in

a fruit.
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■ The plant kingdom has been classified into four
subgroups based on the previous criteria.

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The plant kingdom

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Kingdom Characteristics used to include in Kingdom
Monera Single-celled, may or may not move. Have a cell wall, have no
chloroplasts/nucleus. Very small. One type (blue-green bacteria),
looks like algae. No visible feeding mechanism. Absorb nutrients
through the cell wall or use photosynthesis.
Protista Single-celled and usually move by cilia, flagella, or amoeboid
mechanisms. Usually no cell wall. Have a nucleus and may have
chloroplasts. Small, although some may be recognized with a
microscope/magnifying glass. Nutrients obtained by photosynthesis,
ingestion of other organisms, or both.
Fungi Multicellular, with a cell wall. Have a nucleus, but no chloroplasts.
No means of locomotion. Microscopic to very large (mushrooms).
Nutrients acquired by absorption from decaying material.
Plantae Multicellular and sessile. Gametes of some plants move by cilia or
flagella. Have a nucleus and chloroplasts. Cell walls are present.
Nutrients obtained by photosynthesis (require sunlight).
Animalia Animals are multicellular and move with the aid of cilia, flagella, or
muscles. Have organelles including a nucleus, but no chloroplasts
or cell walls. Animals obtain nutrients by ingestion.
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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.6 pages 12-13 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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1.4 Dichotomous keys

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Syllabus-Core

■ Construct and use simple dichotomous keys

based on easily identifiable features.

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Classifying organisms – dichotomous keys

■ Contrasting statements that branch in

different directions allow the user to identify
or classify an organism.
■ Dichotomous keys are used as tools to help
identify unknown organisms.
■ They use recorded observations in an
organized manner.

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Classifying organisms – 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.

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Classifying organisms – dichotomous keys

■ 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.

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Leaf terms

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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!

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Task

■ Review subtopic 1.7 pages 14-15 of your

textbook and answer the summary questions.

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Task

■ Now answer the end of topic questions on

pages 16-17 of your textbook.

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■ FINI

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