HURDCO International School

Subject- Biology
Chapter-1 Classification
Characteristics of Living Organisms
• Movement
• Respiration
• Sensitivity
• Growth
• Reproduction
• Excretion
• Nutrition:
How Organisms are Classified: Basics
• 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
specialized groups
• 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
The Five Kingdoms
The first division of living things in the classification system is to put
them into one of five kingdoms. They are:
• Animals
• Plants
• Fungi
• Protoctists
• Prokaryotes
Animalia
all animals – animals are multicellular (eukaryotic lacking cell wall
material, but have a chromosome containing nucleus), do not have
cell walls, do not have chlorophyll, feed heterotrophically
(heterotrophs can't make their own food) e.g. fish, insects,
mammals, reptiles etc.
 Plantae
All plants - are multicellular (eukaryotic), have cell walls (and a
chromosome containing nucleus), have chlorophyll, feed
autotrophically (autotrophs can make their own food from
photosynthesis) e.g. grasses, flowers, trees etc.
Fungi
Usually multicellular (eukaryotic), have cell walls, do not have
chlorophyll  e.g. mushrooms, toadstools, yeasts. Fungi can
(i) feed saprophytically - saprophytes/saprotrophs feed off dead
organisms and decaying material,
(ii) Parasite symbiont - feeding off another living organism (at its
host's expense!)
(iii) symbiosis, where both the fungus and host benefit each other.
Fungi

MUSHROOM YEAST MOLD

Protoctista (protists)
Usually unicellular (single celled eukaryotes), have a nucleus, protists
include algae (can photosynthesize) and protozoa.
Protoctista

protozoa
Protoctista

SEAWEED

BLUE-GREEN ALGAE ON WATER

Prokaryotes
Unicellular (single celled prokaryotic organisms), have no nucleus
e.g. bacteria, cyanobacteria and archaea.
Classification of Animals
Animals

Animals are divided into two categories:

1. Invertebrates: animals without a backbone or bone skeleton.
2. Vertebrates: animals with a backbone or bone skeleton.
Mammalia
• These organisms have mammary glands. They have two pairs of
limb. Digits are provided with claws, nails or hooves. Skin is covered
by hair and they have an external ear called pinnae. They are warm-
blooded animals.
• Examples of Class Mammalia include monkeys, lions, bats, squirrels
and humans.
 Vertebrates (continued)
Mammals
Birds
• Birds have a streamlined body to offer low air resistance during
flight. The forelimbs are modified into wings, with the power coming
from breast muscles. Feathers play important roles, from flight,
thermal insulation to water-proofing. 
• They are warm-blooded and can regulate their body temperature.
• Aves have beaks, which are used for preening and feeding.
• Examples of Class Aves are Parrot, Pigeon, Duck, etc.
 Vertebrates (continued)
Birds
Reptilia
• Reptilia are ectothermic in nature (cold-blooded). They are
characterized by osteoderms which form scales, bony plates or
scutes on the skin. 
• Reptiles also lack an external ear and some reptiles such as snakes
are actually “deaf” and instead, pick up vibrations through the
ground. 
• Snakes possess Thermoception means that snakes can see infrared
radiation emitted by objects or prey.
• Examples of Class Reptilia are Tortoise, Wall lizard, Snake, etc.
 Vertebrates (continued)
Reptiles
Amphibia

• Amphibia are cold-blooded and require an aquatic habitat to lay

eggs.
• These organisms are mainly characterized by the two pairs of limbs,
smooth and moist skin for respiration.
• They also possess protruding eyes which are protected by usually
more than one pair of eyelids. (Frogs have 3).
• Examples of Class Amphibia are frog, toad, and salamander.
 Vertebrates(continued)
Amphibia
Fishes
• They are aquatic animals, having a streamlined body and a pair of fins
which are used for propulsion and movement. Furthermore, fish are
cold-blooded, but the discovery of a new species in 2015 has
changed this perception. The opah or the moon-fish is a fully warm-
blooded fish capable of regulating its body temperature.
• Endoskeleton may be cartilaginous or bony and respiration occurs
through gills. They do not possess eyelids because the surface of the
eye is to be kept moist all the time.
• Examples of Class Pisces includes dogfish and Rohu.
 Vertebrates(continued)
Bony fish
 Myriapods (Invertebrates- arthropods)
• Body consists of many segments
• Each segment contains at least 1 pair of jointed legs
• 1 pair of antennae
• E.g. Centipede
Insects (Invertebrates- arthropods)
• 3 part body – head, thorax and abdomen
• 3 pairs of jointed legs
• 2 pairs of wings (1 or both pairs may be vestigial- meaning
nonfunctional and undeveloped
• 1 pair of antennae
• E.g. Butterfly
 (Invertebrates- arthropods)
Insects
Arachnids (Invertebrates- arthropods)
• 2 part body – cephalothorax and abdomen
• 4 pairs of jointed legs
• No antennae
• E.g. Spider
Crustaceans (Invertebrates- arthropods)
• More than 4 pairs of jointed legs
• Chalky exoskeleton formed from calcium
• Breath through gills
• 2 pair of antennae
• E.g. Crab
Classifying Plants
• Ferns & Flowering Plants
• 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
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
• 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)
 Viruses
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
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
THANK YOU