YEAR 10 BIOLOGY

BIOLOGY WITH MR.DONALD

BIOLOGY IGCSE
CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING ORGANISMS
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Living things: Their characteristics

1. Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in

living cell to release energy.

Food+Oxygen energy+water+carbon dioxide

2. Growth: a permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell

number or cell size or both.
3. Movement: an action by an organism or a part of an organism causing in a
change of position or place.
4. Excretion: removal from organisms of toxic materials,the waste products
of metabolism(chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and
substances in excess.
5. Nutrition: the process of taking in materials for energy,growth and
development.Plants require light,carbon dioxide,water and ions;animals
need organic compounds,ions and water.
6. Reproduction: the process that makes more of the same kind of organism.
7. Sensitivity: the ability to detect or sense changes in the
environment(stimuli) and to make responses.
8. Key term: a species is a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce
fertile offspring.

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The variety of living organisms

A LIVING ORGANISM will show some or all the characteristics of life. You can
find out which type of living organism it is by observing the following:

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BIOLOGY WITH MR.DONALD

Five kingdoms
1) It is possible to place any living organism into one of five very large
groups. These groups, distinguished from one another by obvious
characteristics of morphology and anatomy, are called the five kingdoms.
2) Each of these kingdoms contains an enormous number of different
species, and keys can be used within a kingdom to place any individual
species into further groups.
3) The 5 kingdom consist of :-
a) Prokaryotes
b) Protoctistans
c) Plants
d) Fungi
e) Animals

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BIOLOGY WITH MR.DONALD

Hierarchy of classification example for Animal

All animals are ingestive heterotophs

ll chordates have a notochord (becomes

thebackbone)

All mammals have fur andmammary

glands

All carnivores have welldeveloped

carnassial (flesh-cutting) teeth

ll Felidae have retractable claws.

Panthera leo ll Panthera (big cats) can roar but cannot

purr

All lions belong to the samespecies. Members

of the same species can mate and produce
fertile offspring with other members of the
same species

1) The sequence of kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and

species is called a hierarchy of classification.
Notice that each classification group is given a name. Lions belong to the
class Mammalia and the order Carnivora, for example. The final two group
names are written in italics — this is a worldwide convention amongst
scientists.
2) This convention of giving organisms a two-part name made up of their
genus and species was introduced by the Swedish biologist Carolus
Linnaeus. He gave every organism known to science a two-part name
based entirely on the body structure of the organism. This binomial
system of nomenclature is still in use today (binomial = ‘two name’).
3) New species today may be classified based on characteristics such as protein
structure, chromosome number or gene (DNA or RNA) sequence, which
Linnaeus knew nothing about. Each organism, even each individual, has its
own DNA profile. Scientists can compare the DNA profiles of different
species.
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4) Naming the organisms

Homo sapiens(human)
Panthera leo (Lion)
Mimosa pudica (Touch me not plant)

How this helps in classification

1) Protein structure: organisms which are closely related (share a more recent
ancestor) have very similar amino acid sequences in proteins such as
haemoglobin.
2) Organisms that are closely related have very similar DNA profiles — humans and
chimpanzees, for example, share 98.6% of their genes!
3) DNA structure: closely related organisms have very similar base sequences in
DNA because there has been less ‘evolutionary time’ for mutation to change
these base sequences.

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BIOLOGY WITH MR.DONALD

The Diversity of Life

Animal –Vertebrates
1) Fish(all aquatic)
 Scales
 Fins
 Eyes and lateral line
 Jelly-covered eggs;usually use external fertilization
 Ectothermic
 Gills for gas exchange
2) Amphibians(always breed in water)
 Moist skin
 Four limbs
 Eyes and ears
 Jelly-covered eggs;external fertilization
 Ectothermic
 Lungs/skin for gas exchange
3) Reptiles(lays eggs on land)
 Dry,scaly skin
 Four limbs(except snakes)
 Eyes and ears
 Soft-shelled eggs;internal fertilization
 Ectothermic
 Lungs for gas exchange
4) Birds(very few are aquatic)
 Feathers(scales on legs)
 Two wings,two legs
 Eyes and ears
 Hard-shelled eggs;internal fertilisation
 Endothermic
 Lungs for gas exchange

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5) Mammals(very few are aquatic)

 Fur or hair
 Four limbs
 Eyes and ears
 Nipples
 Live young(a few lays eggs)
 Endothermic
 Lungs for gas exchange
 Feed young with milk from mammary glands

Animal-Invertebrates
1) Divided into 4 Groups:-

a) Nematodes b) Annelids
Earthworm
Hookworm

c) Molluscs

Snail

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d) Arthropods
Are the most numerous among all animals.

Insects
 Three body parts-head, thorax and abdomen
 Three pairs of legs Mosquitoe

 Usually one or two pair of wings

 Metamorphosis the characteristics that allow
them to use the resources of their habitat to
the maximum. Thus it do not compete for the
House flies
same food source and can be highly specialized for
different function. Larva for feeding and growth
but adult for locomotion and reproduction.
Crustaceans
 Many segments,usually with each legs,claws or
feelers
 Breathe via gills,as live in water
 Has hard exoskeleton for protection

Crab Lobster

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YEAR 10 BIOLOGY
BIOLOGY WITH MR.DONALD

Arachnids
 Two body parts,eight legs and no wings
 All have piercing jaws as all are predators

Spider

Myriapods
 Long,thin body with many segments to move through soil easily
 Antennae as sense organs in dark habitats

Millipedes

Centipedes

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