CHAPTER 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING
THINGS
LIST SOME CHARACTERISTICS
OF LIVING THINGS
LIVING ORGANISMS HAVE SEVEN
FEATURES OR
CHARACTERISTICS WHICH
MAKE THEM DIFFERENT FROM
OBJECTS THAT ARE NOT ALIVE
 MOVEMENT
An action by an organism or part of an organism causing a
change of position or place.
Are plants living
things? Do plants
move?
 RESPIRATION
The chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and
release energy for metabolism. All the chemical reactions that happen in
a cell including respiration are called metabolism.

Food + oxygen Energy + CO2 + H2O

 SENSITIVITY
The ability to detect or sense stimuli in the internal or external
environment and to make appropriate responses.
 GROWTH
A permanent increase in size and dry mass by an increase in cell
number or cell size or both.

One method of measuring growth is by finding its

dry mass. This involves finding the mass of
several organisms of the same type over a period
of time.
 REPRODUCTION
The process that makes more of the same kind of organism.
 EXCRETION
Removal from organisms of the waste products of metabolism
(chemical reactions in cells including respiration), toxic
materials and substances in excess of requirements.

How do plants excrete?

Through Photosynthesis.
Through shedding of leaves.
 NUTRITION
Taking in materials for energy, growth and development; plants
require light, carbon dioxide, water and ions; animals need
organic compounds and ions and usually need water.
How do plants take in nutrition?
 MOVEMENT

NUTRITION RESPIRATION

SEVEN
EXCRETION CHARACTERISTICS SENSITIVITY
OF LIVING THINGS

REPRODUCTION GROWTH
 A MNEMONIC TO REMEMBER THESE CHARACTERISTICS

MRS GREN
 IN ADDITION TO THESE SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS LIVING
ORGANISMS HAVE ANOTHER FEATURE IN COMMON
When we study living organisms under microscope, we can see that they are all
made of cells.
These cells have:
➢ Cytoplasm
➢ A cell membrane
➢ A chemical called DNA, making up their genetic material.
➢ Ribosomes, which are used for making proteins inside the cell.
➢ Enzymes that are used to help the cell to carry out anaerobic respiration
CLASSIFICATION
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY CLASSIFICATION?
Grouping things together on
the basis of certain common
features. It is actually the
method of putting similar
things into one group
 WHAT IS THE NEED TO CLASSIFY LIVING
THINGS?
• The main and the sole reason to classify living things is to make their study easy.
• We put humans, dogs, horses and mice into one group (the mammals) because they share certain
features (for example, having hair) that are not found in other groups.
• What can we deduce from this common character that is found in these animals (mammals)?
• They all must have descended from the same ancestor called a common ancestor.
• We would therefore expect all mammals to have similar structures and that work in similar ways.
• What will we conclude when we find a new animal that has hair and suckles its young on milk?
 WHAT DID THE BIOLOGISTS USE TO DECIDE WHICH
ORGANISMS WERE MOST CLOSELY RELATED?

Morphology – overall form and shape

Anatomy – detailed body structure which could be determined by

dissection

WHAT IS ONE OF THE MODERN AND MOST POWERFUL TOOL

TO STUDY CLASSIFICATION?
USING DNA TO HELP WITH
CLASSIFICATION
WHAT IS A DNA?
WHERE IS IT PRESENT?
WHAT DOES IT CONTAIN?
WHAT ARE THE BASES PRESENT IN DNA?
 DNA
• DNA is present in the nucleus of the cell.
• DNA is the chemical (Nucleic acid) from which our
chromosomes are made.
• It is the genetic material, passed on from one generation to
the next.
• Each DNA molecule is made up of a string of smaller
molecules containing 4 different bases.
• They are A- Adenine, G – Guanine, T – Thymine, C –
Cytosine.
• These bases can be arranged in any order.
• Biologists can compare the sequences of bases in the DNA of
organisms from two different species.
• The more similar the more closely related the bases are to
one another.
• They have a more recent common ancestor than species that
have DNA base sequences that are less similar.
• The similarities in the sequences of amino acids in proteins
can be used in the same way.
THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

Who was the first person to try to classify

organisms?
He divided the living things into groups
called?
 THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
▪ The first person to classify organisms in a scientific way was a
Swedish naturalist called Carolus Linnaeus.
▪ He introduced his system of classification in 1735
▪ He divided all the different kinds of living things into groups called
species.
▪ He recognised 12,000 different species.
▪ Linnaeus’s species were groups of organisms that shared the same
appearance and behaviour.
▪ This system is still being used today.
▪ Usually we say that organisms belong to the same species if they
can breed together successfully, and the offspring that they produce
can also breed.
 SPECIES
• Horses belong to the species Equus
caballus. – Members of this species can
reproduce with each other. The offspring
are also horses.

• Donkeys belong to a different species,

Equus asinus. Donkeys reproduce with
each other to produce fertile donkeys.

• But donkeys can also reproduce with

horses.

• If a male donkey reproduces with a female

horse, the offspring is a mule. Mule’s are
strong and healthy, but they cannot
reproduce. They are infertile.
 THE CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
• Five animals that belong to the mammal order.
• Characteristic feature – all have hair.
• What features differ between these groups?
• Canis – they have relatively shorter heads.
• Equus - Large and long head with eyes facing sideways.
 THE BINOMIAL NAMING
SYSTEM
Why do you think a naming system is needed?
What do you know about the binomial naming system?
Why is it called a Binomial naming system?
In what language are the binomial names written?
 THE BINOMIAL NAMING SYSTEM
• Linnaeus gave every species of living organisms
two names, written in Latin.
• This is called the binomial system.
• The first name is the name of the genus the
organism belongs to.
• And the genus name always starts with a capital
letter.
• The second name is the name of its species, and
always starts with a small letter.

• Eg. Wolf belongs to the genus Canis and the

species lupus.
• Hence its binomial name is Canis lupus
 QUESTIONS

1. Yaks have the scientific name – Bos grunniens. Explain what

this tells us about the groups into which yaks are classified
(Write your answer based on the binomial nomenclature)

2. A yakolo is the offspring of a yak and a buffalo. Yakolos are

unable to reproduce. Explain how this suggests that yaks and
buffalos belong to different species
 QUESTION 1.1
Kingdom Animal Animal
The table shows how two organisms – a
Phylum Arthropods Vertebrates
monarch butterfly and a giant pangolin are Class Insects Mammals
classified. Order Lepidoptera Pholidota
a. Use the information to suggest whether (butterflies and moths)
Family Danaidae Manidae
these two organisms are not related at all,
Genus Danaus Manis
distantly related or closely related. Explain
Species Danaus plexippus Manis gigantea
your decision.
b. Write down the genus of the giant pangolin.
c. Use the internet or a textbook to find out
how a human is classified. Write it down in
a table like the one shown in figure
 QUESTION 1.1
c. Use the internet or a textbook to find out how a human is classified. Write it
down in a table like the one shown in figure

Kingdom Animal

Phylum Vertebrates

Class Mammals

Order primates

Family Hominidae

Genus Homo

Species Homo sapiens

 THE KINGDOMS OF LIVING
ORGANISMS
INTO HOW MANY KINGDOMS THE LIVING ORGANISMS ARE CLASSIFIED?

ARE THERE ARE ONLY TWO OR HAVE YOU HEARD OF ANY FURTHUR
CLASSIFICATION.

INTO WHICH KINGDOM WILL YOU PLACE ORGANISMS SUCH AS FUNGI

AND BACTERIA?
 THE KINGDOMS OF LIVING ORGANISMS

PROKARYOTES
 KINGDOM ANIMALIA
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ANIMAL CELL?
 ANIMALS
Characteristics:
• Most animals can move actively hunting for
food.
• Their cells have no cell wall.
• Multicellular (their bodies contain many cells)
• Cells have a nucleus but no chloroplast.
• Feed on organic substances made by other
living organisms.
 KINGDOM PLANTAE
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE PLANT CELL?
 PLANTS
• Most familiar ones are the flowering plants. They have
leaves, stem, roots and flowers.
Mosses are non-vascular
• There are other types of plants including ferns, and mosses plants. They produce spores
for reproduction instead of
– which do not have flowers. seeds and don't grow flowers,
wood or true roots. Instead of
• They all have the green pigment chlorophyll. roots, all species of moss have
rhizoids
• This pigment helps the plant in preparing food by
Fern, are nonflowering vascular
photosynthesis. plants that possess
true roots, stems, and
• They are fixed to a place and often have spreading shape to complex leaves and that reproduce
by spores
capture more sunlight.
Characteristics
• Multicellular
• Cells have nucleus and cell walls made of cellulose and
often contain chloroplast.
 QUESTION
1.2 The figure shows a sea anemone,
a) Explain why people used to think that sea anemones were plants.
b) Explain how using a microscope could help you to confirm that sea
anemones are animals.

1.3 The Photograph below shows a plant called a liverwort. Liverworts do not have roots or proper leaves.
They do not have flowers. Suggest how you could show that the liverwort belongs to the plant kingdom.
 KINGDOM FUNGI
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FUNGI?
 FUNGI
➢ For a long time fungi were classified as plants Saprophytes are the living organisms that live and feed on dead and decaying
organisms. They are considered extremely important in soil biology.
➢ It was later found that they were really very different from
plants and hence classified into a separate kingdom. A parasite is an organism that lives on or in a host organism and gets its food from or
at the expense of its host
➢ Main body of most fungi is made of microscopic threads
called hyphae
Uses of fungi
✓ We eat them as mushrooms.
✓ Yeast is used in making ethanol and bread.
✓ We obtain antibiotics such as Penicillin from various
different fungi.
Harms caused by fungi
✓ Can cause food decay, while few cause diseases,
including ringworm and athlete's foot.
Characteristics:
• Usually unicellular.
• Have nuclei.
• Have cell walls, not made of cellulose.
• Do not have chlorophyll.
• Feed by saprophytic or parasitic nutrition.
 KINGDOM FUNGI

• Fungi reproduce by forming spores.

• They are tiny group of cells with a tough
They feed by digesting waste organic outer covering.
material and absorbing it into their • They can be spread by wind or animals, and
grow to form a new fungus.
cells.
 KINGDOM PROTISTS
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PROTISTS?
 PROTOCTISTA
Characteristics:
• This kingdom contains a mixture of organisms.
• They have cells with a nucleus, but some have
plant like cells with chloroplasts and cellulose
cell walls.
• While others have animal like cells without these
features.
• Most are unicellular, while some are
multicellular.
• Some feed by photosynthesis and others feed on
organic substances made by other organisms.
 KINGDOM PROKARYOTES
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PROKARYOTES?
 PROKARYOTES
• Bacteria belong to this kingdom. Characteristics:
• They have cells which are very different from • Often unicellular.
the cells of other kinds of organisms. • No nucleus
• Most important difference is the absence of • Have cell walls not made of cellulose.
nucleus. • Have no mitochondria.
• Some are harmful and cause diseases such as TB • Often have plasmids – it is small circular double -
and cholera. stranded DNA molecule that is distinct from a cell's
• They also play useful roles in the carbon cycle, chromosomal DNA
nitrogen cycle, in biotechnology, in treatment of
sewage to make it safe to release into the
environment.
• Also used in making insulin for the treatment of
people with diabetes.
• Some bacteria can carry out photosynthesis.
• Oldest fossils belong to this kingdom, hence it is
believed that they were the first kinds of
organisms to evolve.
QUESTIONS
5. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is often found on
human skin.
a) Name the genus to which the bacterium belongs.
b) Name the kingdom to which this bacterium belongs.
c) Name the two ways in which the structure of Staphylococcus
aureus differs from the structure of a plant cell.

6. Figure shows part of a fungus. The photograph was taken

with an electron microscope.
a) Name the structure labelled A
b) Explain how the cells in this structure differ from the cells of
an organism belonging to the animal kingdom.
c) The structure labelled B contains spores. What is the
function of this structure?
 VIRUSES
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT VIRUSES?
 VIRUSES
• Viruses cause common diseases such as cold and
Influenza, and also more serious ones such as AIDS.
• Viruses are not normally considered to be alive,
because they cannot do anything other than just exist,
until they get inside a living cell.
• After they enter a cell they take over the cells
machinery to make multiple copies of themselves.
• These new viruses burst out of the cell and invade
others.
• When this happens the host cell is killed.
• Viruses cannot move, feed, excrete, show sensitivity,
grow or reproduce on their own.
 VIRUSES
• Viruses cannot be considered a cell, it just
has a piece of DNA or RNA surrounded by
a protein coat.
• The virus shown in the diagram is hugely
magnified.
• You could line up more than 15000 of these
viruses between two of the millimetre
marks on your ruler….
QUESTIONS

1.4 - Why are viruses not generally considered to be living things?

1.5 - State one similarity and one difference between the cells of a fungus and
cells of a plant.
1.6 - How do the cells of bacteria differ from the cells of plants and animals.
ANIMAL KINGDOM
How is the animal kingdom classified?
CLASSIFYING ANIMALS
 PHYLUM VERTEBRATES (CHORDATA)

• Vertebrates are animals with backbones.

• They are divided into five classes
 CLASS FISH (PISCES)
The fish all live in water, except for one or
two like the mudskipper, which can spend
short periods of time breathing air.

Characteristics
• Vertebrates with scaly skin
• Have gills
• Have fins
• Their eggs have no shells and are laid in
water.
 CLASS AMPHIBIANS
Although most of them live on land, they go back
to water to [Link]. Frogs, toads and salamanders
are amphibians.
Characteristics
• Vertebrates with moist, scale-less skin.
• Eggs have no shell and are laid in water, larva
(tadpole) lives in water.
• Then they undergo a major change in the shape
of their body, called metamorphosis.
• Adult often lives on land.
• Larva has gills, adult has lungs.
 CLASS REPTILES
• These are the crocodiles, lizards, snakes, turtles and
tortoises.
• They need not go to water to breed because their eggs
have a waterproof shell which stops them from drying
out.
Characteristics:
• Vertebrates with scaly skin.
• Lay eggs with rubbery shell. The amniotic egg of reptiles and birds is
• Most reptiles' eggs have a soft, leathery feel to them, but surrounded by a tough outer shell that protects
the egg from predators, pathogens , damage, and
occasionally the minerals in the eggs can make the drying
shell hard like and bird egg shell
 CLASS BIRDS/(AVES)
• The forelimbs of the birds constitute the radius and
Characteristics: the humerus bones which are fused together. The
forelimbs are modified as wings to help in their
• It is said that they evolved from dinosaurs. flight.
• The breastbone acts as the centre for attachment of
• The birds also lay eggs with waterproof shell. flight muscles.

• Vertebrates with feathers. At times they have

scales on their legs.
• Forelimbs have become wings.
• Lay eggs with hard shells.
• Endothermic. Have a beak.
• Heart has four chambers.

Endotherms/warm blooded animals are animals

which are able to regulate the body temperature
by producing heat within the body.
 CLASS MAMMALS
The placenta is an organ that develops during pregnancy. This structure facilitates
Characteristics exchange of nutrients and wastes between the blood of the mother and that of the
foetus
• Humans belong to this group The diaphragm is dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmically and
continually, and most of the time, involuntarily.
• Vertebrates with hair. And their ears have a
Pinna
• Have a placenta
• Young feed on milk from mammary glands
• Endothermic
Placenta
• Have a diaphragm
• Heart has four chambers
• Have different types of teeth (incisors, canines,
premolars and molars.)
• Have sweat glands in the skin.
Diaphragm in mammals
 PHYLUM ARTHROPODS

• These are animals with jointed legs, but no

backbone.
• They have waterproof exoskeleton that has
allowed them to live on dry land.
• There are more kinds of arthropods in the world
than all the other kinds of animals put together.
Characteristics
• Several pairs of jointed legs
• Exoskeleton
A “jointed leg” means a leg with one or more points somewhere
along its length where the leg is designed to flex—such as at the
knee

Exoskeleton - grasshoppers and cockroaches, and crustaceans such

as crabs and lobsters, as well as the shells of certain sponges and the
various groups of shelled molluscs, including those of snails,
 CLASS INSECTS

• Insects are very successful group of animals.

• Their success is mostly due to their exoskeleton
and trachea, which are very good at stopping
water from evaporating from the insects’ bodies,
so they can live in very dry places.
• They are mainly terrestrial (land-living)
Characteristics:
• Arthropods with three pairs of jointed legs.
• Two pairs of wings (one or both may be vestigial)
• Breathe through trachea.
• Body divided into head, thorax, and abdomen.
• They have one pair of antenna. ADULT FEMALE JUNGLE
NYMPH
 CLASS CRUSTACEANS

• These are the crabs, lobsters, and woodlice.

• They breathe through the gills.
• Most of them live in wet places and many are aquatic.
Characteristics.
• Arthropods with more than four pairs of jointed legs.
• Not millipedes or centipedes.
• Breathe through gills.
• Have two pairs of antenna.
 CLASS ARACHNIDS

• These are the spiders, ticks, and scorpions.

• They are land dwelling organisms.
Characteristics:
• Arthropods with four pairs of jointed legs.
• Breathe through gills called book lungs.
• They do not have antenna.
• Body is divided into two parts – a
cephalothorax and abdomen.
• Cephalothorax – The fused head and thorax.
 CLASS MYRIAPODS
• These are the centipedes
and millipedes
• Both consists of many
segments
• Each segment has jointed
legs.
• They have one pair of
antenna
QUESTIONS

1.7 List three ways in which all mammals differ from all birds.
1.8 Explain why bats are classified as mammals, even though they have wings.
 CLASSIFYING PLANTS

Ferns
• Ferns have leaves called fronds.
• They do not produce flowers, but
reproduce by means of spores produced
on the underside of the fronds.
• These are plants with roots, stems and
leaves.
• Have leaves called fronds.
• Do not produce flowers
• Reproduce by spores.
 FLOWERING PLANTS
• These are the plants that are most familiar to us.
• These also have root, stem and leaves.
• Reproduce sexually by means of flowers and seeds.
• Seeds are produced inside the ovary, in the flower.
• They can be divided into two groups, the monocotyledonous plants and
dicotyledonous plants, often abbreviated to monocots and dicots.
• Monocots have only one cotyledon in their seeds
• They usually have a branching root system.
• They have leaves in which veins run in parallel to one another. Vascular
bundles are random.
• Dicots have two cotyledons in their seeds.
• They have a tap root system.
• Their leaves are often broader than those of monocots, and have a
network of branching veins. Vascular bundles are arranged in a ring
MONOCOT DICOT
 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
• Dichotomous means dividing into 2
• Dichotomous keys are sets of paired (yes/no) statements
that helps a person to find the name of an organism when
he has a picture of it.
• A key is a way of leading you through the name of your
organism by giving you two descriptions at a time.
• Each choice you make then leads you to another pair of
descriptions, until you end up with the name of your
organism.
• This kind of key is called a dichotomous key.
• You must know how to use a dichotomous key and also
construct a key
DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
 STEPS TO CONSTRUCT A DICHOTOMOUS KEY
1. List down the characteristics.
2. Organise the characteristics in order.
3. Divide the specimens.
4. Draw a dichotomous key.
5. Test it out.

• Set up a list of paired statements (The number of paired statements you must construct will be one less than the
number of organisms you have.)
• These statements are generally based on a feature the organism has or does not have.
• Construct your statements based on a list of traits.
• Your statements can have physical feature of the organism.
• The statement must be objective and not subjective.
• Your statement must be specific.
• It must be true statement.
• Stating the location or behaviour of the organism will be a bad choice.
• Classification cannot be used, as the observer many not be aware of it.
 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS

1 a) The organism have fur…………………. Ovis aries

b) The organism dosen’t have fur…………… Go to 2
2 a) This organism have feathers…………… Haliaeetus leucocephalus
b) The organism dosen’t have feathers…………… Go to 3
3 a) This organism have dry skin……………. Lacerta agilis
b) This organism dosen’t have dry skin……………. Go to 4
4 a) This organism have scales……………. Perca flavescens
b) This organism dosen’t have scales…………… Litoria infrafrenata
 DICHOTOMOUS KEYS

Construct a dichotomous key to identify the following species of

flowers
 BIOLOGICAL DIAGRAMS - MAGNIFICATION
The magnification of a diagram is how much larger it is than the real thing (organism).

Size of drawing
Magnification =
Size of real object

• You can find that the spider shown in the diagram is 40 mm

long.
• The real spider was 8mm long.
• So, we can find the magnification as follows
Length in drawing
Magnification =
Length of real spider

40 mm
= = x5
8 mm
 BIOLOGICAL DIAGRAMS - MAGNIFICATION
IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTICE

• Same units must be used for all measurements. Usually millimetres are the
best to use.
• Magnification does not have units. Hence no units must be used in the final
answer.
• But we must use the ‘times sign’ in the answer.
• When we read it, we must read the magnification in the previous slide as
‘times 5’
CALCULATING MAGNIFICATION USING THE SCALE BAR

• As shown in figure, the length of the scale bar when

measured using a scale is 1.5 cm.
• Therefore every 1.5 cm in the image represents an actual
length of 10𝛍𝐦 in the real organism.
10𝝁𝒎 • Therefore,
Image size
Magnification =
Actual size

= 1.5 cm = 15 mm
10𝝁𝒎 𝟎. 𝟎𝟏 𝐦𝐦

= x 1500
 DRAWING BIOLOGICAL DIAGRAMS
• Your drawing should be large, at the same time you have space around it to mark the
labels.
• Use a sharp HB pencil and have a eraser.
• All the lines must be single and clear.
• Don’t use shading unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Don’t use colours.
• Take time to get the outline of your drawing correct first, showing the right proportions.
• Now label the figure, showing features of the organism that are characteristics of its
classification group.
• The lines for the label must be drawn with a ruler.
• The end of the label line must touch the structure being labelled.
• Write the labels horizontally.
• Keep the labels well away from the edges of you drawing.
CONVERSIONS (FOR MAGNIFICATION CALCULATION)
 1 cm = 10 mm
 1 cm = 10,000 𝜇m
 1 cm = 1,00,00,000 nm

 1 mm = 1000 𝜇m (or) 1 𝜇m = 0.001 mm

 1 mm = 10,00,000 nm

 1 nm = 0.001 𝜇m (or) 1 𝜇m = 1000 nm

 1 nm = 10-6 mm = 0.000001 mm