LIVING AND NON-LIVING THINGS
People, animals and plants are living things.
Rocks, air and wind are non-living things.
Characteristics: They are born from other living things.
They eat.
They react to their environment.
They grow.
They reproduce.
Finally, they die.
LIFE PROCESSES
There are three basic life processes:
Nutrition
Living things eat food, which contains nutrients.
Nutrients are substances which provide energy.
Autotrophs: organisms that produce their own food
(plants).
Heterotrophs: organisms that need other organisms for nourishment,
are incapable of producing their own food
(animals and fungi).
Sensitivity
Living things react to their environment.
Reproduction
Living things have offspring.
Many living things need a mate to reproduce.
New living things replace the ones which die.
Asexual reproduction: the most simple, consisting of the división of an
individual into two or more parts, each of which forms a new individual.
Sexual reproduction: a new individual is formed by the joinig of two
sex cells or gametes.
CELLS
1. What is a cell?
Cells are the smallest living units in a living thing.
Unicellular: are made up of a single cell.
Multicellular: are made up of many cells.
2. What are cells like?
Cells differ in shape and size.
They carry out different tasks.
3. Parts of a cell
The membrane is the covering around the cell.
The nucleus is the part which controls the cell.
Cytoplasm is between the nucleus and the membrane.
Plants cells also have a hard cell wall around the membrane.
This is why some plant stems are hard.
THE ORGANISATION OF LIVING THINGS
1. How are living things organised?
Multicellular living things have the following structure:
Cells form tissues
Tissues form organs
Organs form systems
An organism is a complete living thing
Tissues cells
Organs tissues
are made up of which work together
Systems organs
Organism systems
KINGDOMS
Living things are classified into groups called kingdoms:
1. THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
Animals are multicelular.
They eat other living things
They can move from one place to another
They have a nervous system and sense organs
They react to stimuli
2. THE PLANT KINGDOM
Plants are multicelular.
They use sunlight and substances from the soil and air to make their food.
They cannot move. They have roots in the ground.
They don´t have a nervous system or sense organs
They react slowly to some stimuli (grow towards the light).
3. THE FUNGI KINGDOM
Most fungi are multicelular. A few are unicelular.
They depend on other organism for food. They don´t make their own food.
They cannot move. They are fixed to something.
4. MONERA OR BACTERIA
Includes the most simple monocellular organisms
(true bacteria or blue-green bacteria)
5. PROTISTA
Includes protozoa and higher algae.
LIVING BEINGS
People, animals and plants are living things.
Characteristics: They are born from other living things.
They eat.
They react to their environment.
They grow.
They reproduce.
Finally, they die.
Differences among them:
UNICELLULAR or organisms formed by a single cell.
MULTICELLULAR or organisms formed by many cells.
Are classified into five main kingdoms:
1. Monera or bacteria: includes the most simple monocellular organisms
(true bacteria or blue-green bacteria)
2. Protista: includes protozoa and higher algae.
3. Fungi: includes yeasts, moulds and fungi that form mushrooms.
4. Plants: includes most autotrophic organisms that are capable of
fotosynthesis and incapable of moving.
(plants, trees and shrubs)
5. Animals: includes heterotrophic organisms, capable of moving.
(Carnivorous, herbivorous and omnivorous)
Can also be classified into species or groups.
NONLIVING BEINGS
Materials and objects such as water, rocks, a table, air or a shoe are nonliving
things.
Has not life, activity or movement.
LIFE PROCESSES
The vital functions in living things
NUTRITION
The organism obtains and transforms the energy it needs for survival.
In animals, nutrition involves the processes of:
Digestion----Respiration----Transport----Excretion
Plants obtain the water and mineral salts they need to survive through their roots.
The processes are:
Absorption----Transpiration----Photosynthesis----Respiration
Can be classified by their form of nourishment as:
Autotrophs: organisms that produce their own food
(plants).
Heterotrophs: organisms that need other organisms for nourishment, are
incapable of producing their own food
(animals and fungi).
REPRODUCTION
Ensures continuity of the species.
There are two types of reproduction:
Asexual reproduction: the most simple, consisting of the división of an
individual into two or more parts, each of which forms a new individual.
Sexual reproduction: a new individual is formed by the joinig of two
sex cells or gametes.
INTERACTION
Animals:
They interact with their environment to find food and defend themselves.
The senses and the nervous system are directly involved in the interaction
function.
Plants:
They respond to environment stimuli in various ways:
o A plant growing on dry terrain develops a much more extensive root
system to take up as much water as possible.
o Sunflowers are capable of moving towards the sun to get as much
sunlight as posible.
