2.

1 Concept & Use Of A Classification System

Definitions:
1) Classification: Means grouping organisms according to the features that they share.
2) Species: A group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring. Fertile means that
their offspring should be able to reproduce.
3) Binomial System: Is a system of naming species as an internationally agreed system in which
the scientific name of the organism is made of two parts: genus and species.
Advantages of Binomial system:
→ Universally known
→ Reflects evolutionary relationships
→ Short hands: one/two words eg. mammals

Linnaeus’s System Of Classification

K= Kingdoms
P= Phylum - Animals with a backbone
C= Class- Hairs, suckle young ones on milk
O= Order- Flesh eating, cats, dogs, bears, seals, etc.
F= Family- Cats, small cats, large cats, domestics
G= Genus- Certain cats, like leopards, tigers
S= Species- Lions

Scientific names of organisms is genus followed by the species, this is the binomial system of classification
(BI = 2 and NOMIAL = name )
→ Rules: genus - in uppercase ‘H’
→ species - lowercase ‘h’
→ both the names if handwritten must be underlined and in italic print form
→ Homo sapien or Equus quagga

Some species can be bred together such as horses and donkeys but they produce an offspring (mule)
which cannot breed
→ Male donkey + Female donkey → Fertile offspring
→ Male horse + Female donkey → Infertile offspring
2.2 Features Of Organisms

5 Kingdoms: Animals, Plant, Fungus, Prokaryote & Protoctist

Animal Kingdom:
I. Ingestion: taking in food - organic (proteins, fats, carbohydrates) material from other organisms.
II. Move from place to place (except sponges)
III. Sexual reproduction (a few have asexual): involves use of gametes (sperms and eggs)
IV. No cell wall

Vertebrates: have a vertebral column (backbone)

1. Fish: e.g trout, salmon
→ Skeleton made of bones or cartilage (material softer than bone).
→ Skin covered in scales
→ fins present to increase SA to push against water when swimming.
→ Gills protected by a bone called an operculum.
→ Eggs have no shells but covered with jelly
→ Fertilisation is external - eggs laid in water.

2. Amphibians: e.g. salamander, frogs, toads, newts

→ soft, moist (helps in breathing as they breathe through skin) with no scales.
→ live on land but always return to water to lay eggs
→ eggs hatches into larva called tadpoles - breathe with gills
→ eggs have no shells
→ the change from larva to adult (metamorphosis) - losing gills, tail gets shorter, etc.
→ back feet are webbed
→ body temperature fluctuates with environment temperature (cannot regulate temperature) -
coldblooded
→ adult amphibians have lungs to breathe (only larvae have gills).

3. Reptiles: e.g. crocodile, lizard, turtle, tortoise

→ dry, scaly skin to prevent water loss
→ coldblooded - bask in sun to warm themselves if it is cold
→ fertilisation is internal
→ eggs have thick leathery shell to prevent egg from drying out
→ eggs are laid on land

4. Birds: e.g. swans, penguins, ostrich

→ only animals with feathers (insulation and flying - not all)
→ feed with beak
→ lay hard shell eggs on land
→ lungs for breathing
→ maintains constant body temp - warm blooded / homeotherm
→ scaly feet / legs
→ fore limbs are turned into / modified to form wings
→ hind limbs have claws for capturing prey / perching.
 5. Mammals: e.g. impala, cows, elephants, mice, whale, humans
→ live on land or water
→ hair / fur on some parts
→ skin for insulation against heat loss and sensitivity (whiskers)
→ maintains constant internal body temperature (warm blooded)
→ fertilisation is external
→ external ear / pinna
→ mammary glands for milk to feed young ones

Invertebrates: have no vertebral column

Arthropods: all have jointed limbs and their exoskeleton is made up of a chemical called
chitin.
1. Insects: e.g. dragonfly, locust, butterflies, mosquito, housefly
→ 3 body parts - head, thorax, abdomen
→ 3 pairs of legs
→ ½ pairs of wings
→ 1 pair of antennae attached to the head
→ 1 pair of compound eyes (100s of small units called ocelli)
→ breathe through small holes called spiracles one on each side of the abdomen

2. Arachnids: e.g. spiders, scorpion, ticks

→ body divided into 2 parts - cephalothorax + abdomen
→ no antennae
→ 4 pairs of jointed legs
→ many simple eyes, no compound eyes
 → pedipalps for biting poisoning

3. Crustaceans: e.g. crabs, woodlouse, prawns, lobsters

→ Body divided into two parts: cephalothorax and abdomen
→ five or more pairs of legs
→ Exoskeleton: strengthened with calcium salts making it harder than other arthropods
(protection from predators)
→ Two pairs of antennae
→ One pair of compound eyes
→ Mostly live on water but some live in extremely damp areas

4. Myriapods (countless legs) e.g. centipedes, millipedes

→ 10 or more pairs of legs (one pair per segment generally)
→ one pair of antennae
→ simple eye
→ distinct head but no thorax or abdomen

Prokaryote Kingdom:
1. Bacteria and algae
2. Consist of single cells
3. Chromosomes are not organised into a nucleus

Fungi Kingdom:
1. Made up of thread like hyphae rather than cells
2. Many nuclei scattered throughout their hyphae
3. Mushrooms, toadstools, puffballs, mould and yeast
4. Can be parasites - bracket fungi on trees

Protoctista Kingdom:
1. Mostly aquatic unicellular organisms
2. They are eukaryotes (have a true nucleus)
3. Live in water bodies like ponds
4. Some are multicellular (eg. seaweed)
5. Some are parasites but some are free living - e.g. plasmodium is a parasitic protoctista that
causes the disease malaria
 6. Reproduce both sexually and asexually
7. Categories of Protoctista:
→ Plant like eg. algae (can photosynthesize)
→ Protozoa ( animal like nutrition)
→ Fungus like

Plant Kingdom:
1. There are two major divisions in plants:
→ Flowering plants
→ Ferns (non flowering plants)

2. Characteristics of Ferns:
→ Are green and can photosynthesize (contain chlorophyll)
→ Have both xylem and phloem
→ Have a compressed stem called rhizome found below the ground, grows horizontally, and the
roots are called fibrous and adventitious roots.
→ Don't produce flowers or seeds
→ Produce spores which are easily carried by the winds
→ They have spore cases called sporangia on the lower surface of fronds (leaves of ferns)

3. Flowering Plants are divided into two subdivisions:

→ Monocotyledon - one cotyledon
→ Dicotyledon - two cotyledons
→ Cotyledon is a structure found in the seed that stores food such as proteins, starch, fat

Structures Monocots Dicots

Seeds one cotyledon two cotyledons

Leaf veins parallel network

Leaf shape Narrow long Broad and short

 Vascular bundle in stems scattered ring

Roots fibrous Tap root

Flower parts Multiples of three Multiples of four

Viruses:
1. Viruses vary in shape and structure
2. Have a central core of DNA or RNA surrounded by a protein coat - capsid
3. Have no nucleus, cell organelles, cytoplasm or cell membrane (some have a membrane outside
their protein coats)
4. Virus particles are not cells
5. Do not feed, respire, excrete or grow but do reproduce inside host cells.