LIFE SCIENCES

GRADE 11 CAPS
STRUCTURED, CLEAR, PRACTICAL -
HELPING TEACHERS UNLOCK THE
POWER OF NCS

KNOWLEDGE AREA: Diversity,

change and continuity
TOPIC 1: Biodiversity and
Classification of Micro-organisms

Biodiversity
 SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION:

Review of Five Kingdom Classification System

Viruses

Bacteria

Protista

Fungi
 REVIEW OF THE FIVE KINGDOM
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
Organism are grouped into 5 kingdoms according to certain common
characteristics.

KINGDOM MONERA: consists of all those organisms that are

prokaryotes.
KINGDOM PROTISTA: these are eukaryotes that are unicellular.
KINGDOM PLANTAE: these are eukaryotes that are multi-cellular
and are autotrophic.
KINGDOM FUNGI: these are eukaryotic, multi - cellular,
heterotrophic organisms that digests their food
before taken them in.
KINGDOM ANIMALIA: are eukaryotic, multi-cellular, heterotrophic
organisms that take in their food before

digesting them.
 THE TERM MICRO-ORGANISM
Structures that can be seen with the naked eye are
called macroscopic.
Structures that are only visible with the microscope are
called microscopic.
Some organisms are so tiny that they can only be
viewed under the microscope, these organisms are
called micro-organisms.
Micro-organisms occur in all five kingdoms.
There is a sixth group for organisms that cannot be
placed into any of the 5 kingdoms.
These micro-organisms are called viruses.
 VIRUSES
CLASSIFICATION:
Viruses do not belong to any one of the 5 kingdoms
because they have characteristics of both living and non -
living organisms.
Viruses are considered to be living, because they undergo
reproduction when they are within cells of a living
organisms.
Viruses are non-living:
1. They can not respire.
2. They can not reproduce on their own.
3. They form crystals and can survive in this form
for many years.
 VIRUSES

STRUCTURE:

Viruses are microscopic as mentioned earlier.

They are smaller than bacteria and ribosomes.
Most viruses are only visible under the electron
microscope.
They have a regular shape, or can be spherical, spiral
or rod-like.
Some have tails to help in attaching them to the
host cell.
VIRUSES: STRUCTURES
The virus has an outer coat,
called the protein coat.
Within the protein coat there
is a central nucleic acid core.
The nucleic acid core maybe
either DNA or RNA.
Viruses that attack animals
have a nucleic acid core of
either DNA or RNA.
Those viruses that attack plants or bacteria have a
nucleic acid core of RNA.
A virus that attacks a bacteria is called bacteriophage.
Viruses do not have any other cell structures.
For example there is no vacuoles and
mitochondria.
Therefore viruses are said to be a-cellular or
non-cellular.
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VIRUS:

All viruses are parasitic.

Viruses are absolutely specific.
This means that a particular virus will only live in a
particular host and nowhere else.
For example the mumps virus is only found in the
salivary glands of a human.
Virus cause diseases.
Some examples of diseases in humans that are caused by
viruses are:
mumps, measles, AIDS, common cold and small pox.
Viruses are able to reproduce by converting the hosts
nucleic acid to the viral nucleic acid.
 BACTERIA
LOCATION and CHARACTERISTICS:

Bacteria occur in the air, water and soil.

They thrive in areas that are moist and damp.
The optimum temperature for bacteria to grow and
reproduce is between 30⁰C and 37⁰C.
They can survive at extremes of temperatures ranging
from -18⁰C to 70⁰C.
Some bacteria require oxygen to survive.
These bacteria are called aerobic bacteria.
Some bacteria do not require oxygen to survive.
These bacteria are called anaerobic bacteria.
BACTERIA: STRUCTURE
 STRUCTURE:

Bacteria are living organisms.

They are the smallest living
organisms.
They are microscopic and
unicellular.

They can occur in 1 of 4

shapes: coccus, bacillus,
spirillum and vibro.
Each bacterium has the
following general structure:
They are surrounded on
the on outside by a slime
capsule.
The slime capsule
prevents the bacterium
form drying out.
Below the slime capsule is
the cell wall.
The cell wall is made up of
3 compounds:
polysaccharides, proteins
and lipids.
Some bacteria have these
long whip-like structures
called flagella.
The flagella are used for
locomotion.
The cell membrane lies
within the cell wall.
The cell membrane is
called the plasmalemma.
The plasmalemma
encloses the cytoplasm.
The nuclear material is
embedded in the centre of
the cytoplasm.
The nuclear material is the
chromatin network, but it
is not bound by any
nuclear membrane.
Therefore the bacteria is a
prokaryote.
This area is called the
nucleoid.
Ribosomes are also found
in the cytoplasm.
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Bacteria may be autotrophic or heterotrophic.

There are 2 types of autotrophic bacteria.
They are photosynthetic bacteria and
chemosynthetic bacteria.
The photosynthetic bacteria make their own food
using sunlight.
Chemosynthetic bacteria also make their own
food, but the energy need is obtained from
chemical processes.
There are 3 types of heterotrophic bacteria:
parasitic bacteria, saprophytic bacteria and mutualistic
bacteria.
The parasitic bacteria obtain their food from the living
organisms on which they live. They cause harm to these
living organisms.
If the parasitic bacteria cause diseases they are called
pathogens. If they do not cause disease then they are
called non-pathogens.
The mutualistic bacteria have a close relationship with
another organism in which they both benefit.
The saprophytic bacteria obtain their food from dead
and decaying matter. This makes them very important in
the nitrogen cycle and as decomposers.
 PROTISTA
These are eukaryotes.
They do not fit into the
any of the other 4
kingdoms.
Slime moulds,
protozoans, diatoms,
red, brown and green
algae are examples of
protists.
The organism that belong to this kingdom do not
have the same basic structure.
They show a great deal of diversity in their
structure.
Some of them are unicellular and microscopic.
Others are multicellular and macroscopic, for
example seaweeds.
Protozoans are a group of protists that are animal
like and are able to move, like the Amoeba and
Euglena. They have pseudopodia or flagella to
enable them to move.
Others are plant like and cannot move, like the sea
weed.
Those that have flagella show differences too. The
flagella of the dinoflagellates are arranged in many
patterns.
Their shape and structure also vary greatly.
Spirogyra are made up of long, thin filaments while the
Chlorella are unicellular.
The diatoms look like microscopic, glass-like ornaments.
The slime moulds look like fungi.
Some have chloroplast (Euglena and Spirogyra) and
others do not.
 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:

Most are aquatic while others are terrestrial

found living in damp soil or snow.
They have both autotrophic and heterotrophic
organisms.
There are different types of heterotrophic protists
as well.
Some of them are parasitic e.g. Entamobea
histolytica and others are free living.
The slime moulds engulf their food by a process
called phagocytosis.
Phagocytosis is the process during which food is
engulfed by the pseudopodia together with droplet
of water to form a food vacuole.

Asexual reproduction by binary fission occurs.

During binary fission one cell divides to form two.

In other lifecycles both sexual and asexual

reproduction occurs.
 FUNGI
Mushrooms, yeast, ringworms and the moulds
found on bread are examples of fungi.

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF FUNGI:

Like the Protista, all fungi do not have the same
structure.

They all show the following basic structure.

1. Fungi are similar to plants because they all
have cell walls.
2. However they are all unlike plants, they do not have
chloroplasts. Therefore they are unable to make
their own food. They are therefore heterotrophic.
3. They all reproduce by spores.
4. Their spores are produced in different parts of the
fungus. For example: the bread mould spores are
produced in spore cases called the sporangiophore,
while the mushroom spores are produced in club-
shaped structures. These structures are found
within the cap of the mushroom. The cap is the
fruiting body and still the Penicillium produce spores
in a sac-like structures.
5. The fungi are heterotrophic, but they all obtain
their food differently.
6. Some are parasites, since they depend on other
living organisms for food.
7. Others are saprophytic, they feed on dead and
decaying matter.
8. Some are unicellular like the yeast.
9. Most are multicellular.
The structure of the bread
mould:

Since the bread mould does not

have true roots, stems and
leaves it is called a thallus.
The mould looks like a tangled
mass of thread-like structure
called the mycelium.
Each threadlike structure is called hyphae.

There are 3 types of hyphae :

1. Rhizoids - these are root-like hyphae that

penetrate the bread.
2. Stolons - these creep over the surface of the
bread.
3. Sporangiophores - these are upright hyphae
and they end in structures that carries spores.
 SOME PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE WHEN
WORKING WITH CULTURES.
A culture is a growth, of in this case, of micro-organisms.
When handling pathogenic cultures it is not possible for
us to see whether the micro-organism is pathogenic or
not because they cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Therefore we should take the following precautions:

1. Do not touch the culture unless you are asked to do
so by your teacher (safe to touch).
2. Wear gloves when handling these cultures.
3. Do not inhale deeply or sneeze near the culture. If
you inhale to deeply you might inhale some of the
spores and you might get infected with the micro
organism. If you sneeze you might blow the spore
towards your classmates.
4. If the culture spills on to any part of your body, wash
thoroughly with running water and tell you teacher.
5. When your are done with the culture, remove and
wash your gloves.
 AGAR PLATES
Agar is a jelly-like substance
that comes from certain
marine algae.
It is used as a base on which
micro-organisms are cultured.
An agar plate is a petri dish
that has agar on it, other
nutrients are added to it.
The agar together with the nutrients serve as a growth
medium for micro-organisms.

There are many types of agar plates.

Some agar plates grow certain types of bacteria and not
others.
At school we use nutrient agar plates because these
plates do not selectively grow pathogenic bacteria.
Therefore it is safer to use.
 TERMINOLOGY:
Kingdom Monera: consists of all those organisms
that are prokaryotes.
Prokaryotes: are those organisms that do not have
true nuclei.
Kingdom Protista: these are eukaryotes that are
unicellular.
Eukaryotes: are organisms that have true nuclei.
Kingdom Plantae: these are eukaryotes that are
multicellular and are autotrophic.
Unicellular: are organisms that are made up of one cell
only.
Multicellular: are organisms that are made up of more
than one cell only.
Autotrophic: are organisms that are able to
manufacture their own food.
Heterotrophic: are those organisms that are unable to
manufacture their own food.
Kingdom Fungi: these are eukaryotic, multicellular,
heterotrophic organisms that digests
their food before taken them in.
Macroscopic structures: are structure that can be seen
with the naked eye.
Microscopic structures: are those that are only visible
with the microscope.
Micro-organisms: are tiny organisms that can only be
viewed under the microscope.
Symmetrical: is when an organism can be cut into two
identical halves.
Acellular structures: are those that are not considered to
be cells because they do not have
any cell structure.
Bacteriophage: is a virus that attacks a bacteria.
Aerobic bacteria: live in the presence of oxygen.
Anaerobic bacteria: can live in the absence of oxygen.
Flagella: are the long whip-like structures that are used
for locomotion.
Nucleoid: is the area within the bacteria that contains
nuclear material.
Aquatic organisms: are those that live in water.
Terrestrial organisms: are those that live on land.
Phagocytosis: is the process during which food is
engulfed by the pseudopodia together
with droplet of water to form a food vacuole.
Mycelium: is a tangled mass of thread-like structures.
Hyphae: is each threadlike structure in a mycelium.
Thallus: is an organism that does not have true roots,
stems and leaves.
Rhizoids: these are root-like hyphae that penetrate the
bread.
Stolons: these creep over the surface of the bread.
Sporangiophores: these are upright hyphae and they end
in sporangiophores, that carries spores.
Agar: is a jelly-like substance that comes from certain
marine algae.
Agar plate: is a petri dish that has agar on it, then other
nutrients are added to it.
 QUESTION 1
The kingdom that has all the prokaryotes is.

A. Monera
B. Protista
C. Plantae
D. Fungi
 QUESTION 2
The kingdom that is made up of organisms that digest their
food before taking it in is…

A. Monera
B. Protista
C. Animalia
D. Fungi
 QUESTION 3
The kingdom that contains all the autotrophic organisms is…

A. Monera
B. Protista
C. Plantae
D. Fungi
 QUESTION 4
The kingdom that is made up of eukaryotic,
unicellular organism is…

A. Monera
B. Protista
C. Plantae
D. Fungi
 QUESTION 5
The micro-organism that is both living and non-living
is…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 6
All heterotrophic, eukaryotic organisms belong to the
Kingdom…

A. Monera
B. Protista
C. Animalia
D. Fungi
 QUESTION 7
The smallest living micro-organism is…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 8
Small pox is a disease that is caused by…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 9
The organism that is able to reproduce by converting the
host’s nuclei to its own…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 10
Unicellular, prokaryotic organism with cell walls
and flagella…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 11
Diatoms, Spirogyra and seaweed are examples
of…

A. Bacteria
B. Virus
C. Fungi
D. Protista
 QUESTION 12
The jelly-like material derived from seaweeds is
called…

A. Agar
B. Diatoms
C. Seaweeds
D. None of the above
 QUESTION 13
The rod-like shape of the bacteria is…

A. Coccus
B. Spirilum
C. Bacillus
D. Vibro
 QUESTION 14
The area of the cytoplasm in bacteria that contain
nuclear material.

A. Nucleoid
B. Nucleus
C. Nucleolus
D. Chromatin network
 QUESTION 15
The outer coat of the virus is called…

A. Plasma lemma
B. Cell wall
C. Cell membrane
D. Protein coat
 QUESTION 16
The root like hyphae of the bread mould is

A. Rhizoids
B. Stolon
C. Sporangiophore
D. Mycelium
 QUESTION 17
Collective name given to the tangled mass of thread-
like structures in the bread mould is…

A. Rhizoids
B. Stolon
C. Sporangiophore
D. Mycelium
 QUESTION 18
The upright hyphae of the bread mould is…

A. Rhizoids
B. Stolon
C. Sporangiophore
D. Mycelium
 QUESTION 19
Since the bread mould does not have true root, stems and
leaves it is called a…

A. Rhizoids
B. Thallus
C. Sporangiophore
D. Mycelium
 QUESTION 20
The horizontal hyhpae, found on the surface of the
bread in the bread mould is…

A. Rhizoids
B. Stolon
C. Sporangiophore
D. Mycelium
 SOLUTION:
1. A
2. D
3. C
4. B
5. B
6. C
7. A
8. B
9. B
10. A
11. D
12. A
13. C
14. A
15. D
16. A
17. D
18. C
19. B
20. B