HUMAN AND

SOCIAL BIOLOGY
and biology
CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS AND
CELLS
 Objectives
At the end of this session students will be able to:
 Describe the characteristics of living organisms.
 Compare the structures of an unspecialized plant and animal cells and selected
microbes(virus, bacteria, fungi)
 State the functions of cell structures( cell wall, cell membrane, nucleus, ribosomes,
cytoplasm, mitochondria, vacuoles, chloroplasts and endoplasmic reticulum).
 Identify selected cells which make up the human body: epithelial, sperm, egg cells,
nerve cells muscle cells.
 Explain the importance of cell specialization in humans
 Distinguish between osmosis and diffusion.
 Explain the importance of osmosis, diffusion and active transport in living systems.
What Is Biology ?
Biology is the natural science that focuses on the study of life
and living organisms, including their structure, function,
development, interactions, evolution, distribution, and
taxonomy.

The scope of the field is extensive and is divided into several

specialized disciplines, such as anatomy, physiology, ethology,

genetics, and many more.

How do we know that a
thing is living?
We will know by the
characteristics.

What then are these

characteristics?
 GRIMNER
 GROWTH
 RESPIRATION
 IRRITABILITY
 MOVEMENT
 NUTRITION
 EXCRETION
 REPRODUCTION
GROWTH

 A permanent increase
in size and dry mass
by an increase in cell
number or cell size
or both
RESPIRATION

Respiration is known
as, the release of energy
from food. When we
breathe we take in
Oxygen. Oxygen is
used to produce energy.
IRRITIBILITY /SENSITIVITY

 The ability to response to

stimuli. Living Things can adapt
to their environment:
 Modifications enable an
organism to survive better in a
particular environment.
 .e.g.Polar bears have a lot of fur
to whit stand the cold and are
white so that they blend in with
the snow
Movement

The change
in location or
position of
the whole
organism or
part.
NUTRITION

The
obtaining
or making
of food.
EXCRETION

The removal of metabolic

waste. Metabolism is defined
as the chemical processes that
occur within a living organism
in order to maintain life. This
should not be confused with
egestion which is the removal
of undigested food from the
intestine
REPRODUCTION

Reproduction is
the passing on of
genetic
information from
one generation to
another.
 Assessment

1. Name four characteristics of living

things.

2. A car excretes and moves. Explain

in detail whether or not a car is a
living organism. State three points.
Organization in living things
Organization in living things cont’d
 The cell is the basic structural and
functional unit of all living organisms.

CELL A single cell possesses all of

the seven characteristics of living

S
organisms

Some organisms are unicellular, being

composed of a
single cell; others are multicellular, being
composed of many cells.
 What is everyone did the same job?

…..Or all parts of your body did

the same things?
 Multicellular and Unicellular Organisms

 Living organisms can be made of a

single cell, such as bacteria and protists,
or they can be multicellular, like
plants, animals, and fungi comprising
many cells. Unicellular organisms, like
bacteria, are able to perform all life
functions within one single cell. They
can transport molecules, metabolize
nutrients, and reproduce within this one
cell.
Why are humans multicellular
organisms?
 CELL SPECIALIZATION

 Multicellular organisms need many different types of cells

to carry out the same life processes. Each of these special
types of cells has a different structure that helps it perform a
specific function. Humans have many different types of
cells with different jobs, such as blood cells that carry
oxygen and nerve cells that transmit signals to all parts of
the body. Cell differentiation is the process by which cells
become specialized in order to perform different functions.
 assessment
1. With the use of a table compare the structures of plant and animal cells.
2. With reference to the structures in the table drawn in question 1, identify
ONE(1) process which does not occur in animals.
3. Why do multicellular organisms have specialized cellular functions?
Plant Cells
Animal Cells
Functions of parts of the cell
Plant vs animal cell
DIFFERENT HUMAN CELL TYPES
 MICROBES
 Microbes or microorganisms are extremely small organisms which
include viruses, bacteria, protozoa and some fungi. Many microbes
are pathogens, i.e. they cause disease.

WHAT MICROBES DO YOU KNOW?

viruses
BACTERIA
FUNGUS
 ASSESSMENT
1. State one(1) major difference between the cell walls in a plant cell and a bacterial
cell.
2. Which of the following features are not found in bacterial cells: chloroplast,
nucleus, cytoplasm, cell wall, mitochondria.
 Diffusion
 Diffusion is the net movement of particles from an area of higher concentration to an area
of lower concentration until the particles are evenly distributed.
 The particles (molecules or ions) are said to move down a concentration gradient.
 Particles in gases, liquids and solutions are capable of diffusing.

The importance of diffusion in living organisms

 Aerobic respiration- oxygen diffuses into cells and carbon dioxide produced in aerobic respiration
diffuses out.
 Digestion- some of the glucose and amino acids produced in digestion are absorbed through the
cells in the ileum and capillary walls and into the blood by diffusion.
 Photosynthesis-Carbon dioxide into leaves through their stomata and surrounding plant cells by
diffusion, and oxygen produced in photosynthesis moves out of plant cells and leaves by diffusion.
 osmosis
 Osmosis is a special form of diffusion.
 Osmosis is the movement of water molecules through a partially
(differentially) permeable membrane from a solution containing a
lot of water molecules, e.g. a dilute solution (or water), to a solution
containing fewer water molecules, e.g. a concentrated solution.
 OSMOSIS CONT’D

The importance of osmosis in living organisms

 Hydration of body cells -water moves into animal cells from blood plasma and body fluids
by osmosis.
 Absorption of water from food eaten- water is absorbed from the intestines into the blood by
osmosis. This ensures that the body obtains the water it needs from food and drink consume
 Reabsorption in the kidneys-water is reabsorbed from the glomerular filtrate in the kidney
tubules into the blood by osmosis. This prevents the body from losing too much water.
 Turgidity in plants- Water moves into plant cells by osmosis. This keeps them turgid, which
causes non-woody stems to stand upright and keeps leaves firm.
 Water uptake in plants- water is absorbed from the soil by the root hairs of plants and moves
through the cells of roots and leaves by osmosis. This ensures that leaves get a constant
supply of water for photosynthesis.
Explanation of osmosis
Demonstrating osmosis
Effects of concentration on animal cells
Effects on concentration on plant cells
 Active transport
 Active transport is the movement of particles through cell
membranes against a concentration gradient using energy released in
respiration.
 During active transport, energy released in respiration in the form of
ATP is used to move the particles (molecules or ions) through cell
membranes from areas of lower concentration to areas of higher
concentration. Active transport allows cells to accumulate high
concentrations of important substances, e.g. glucose, amino acids
and ions.
 Active transport

The importance of active transport in living

organisms
 Absorption in intestines-some of the glucose and amino acids
produced in digestion are absorbed from the ileum into theblood by
active transport.
 Reabsorption in the kidney-Useful substances are reabsorbed from
the filtrate in the kidney tubules into the blood by active transport.
 Absorption of mineral ions in root hairs- mineral ions move from
the soil into plant roots by active transport.
 assessment
1. Compare the processes of diffusion, osmosis and active transport.
2. Describe ONE(1) process occurring in living organisms which requires:
• Osmosis
• Diffusion
• Active transport.
Summary

 What is Biology?
 Why is the study of Human and Social Biology important?
 What are the 7 characteristics of living things?
 What is the basic unit of life?
 What is cell specialization?
 State two differences between the plant cell and the animal cell