NEW WORLD INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

BIOLOGY IGCSE NOTES

CHAPTER – 1

CHARACTERISTICS AND CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING ORGANISMS

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING ORGANISMS:

 Movement: an action by an organism or part of an organism causing a change of position or

place

 Respiration: the chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to
release energy for metabolism

 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

 Reproduction: the processes that make more of the same kind of organism

 Excretion: the removal from organisms of toxic materials, the waste products of
metabolism (chemical reactions in cells including respiration) and substances in excess of
requirements

 Nutrition: the taking in of materials for energy, growth and development; plants require
light, carbon dioxide, water and ions; animals need organic compounds, ions and usually
need water
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 specialised groups
 The species in these groups have more and more features in common the more subdivided
they get
 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

Species

n The smallest group of organisms classified which can interbreed with each other to produce
fertile offspring

Genus

n A rank in classification below family and above species.

OTHER SYSTEMS OF CLASSIFICATION

n Cladistics is another way to classify organisms. It can use data

from DNA or RNA sequences, rather than just physical characteristics. It emphasises the
evolutionary relationships between different species.

n Cladistic - A method of classification that groups organisms according to characteristics

of a common (shared) ancestor.
 How Organisms are Classified

 Organisms share features because they originally descend from a common ancestor
 Example: all mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed young from mammary glands and
have external ears (pinnas)
 Originally, organisms were classified using morphology (the overall form and shape of the
organism, e.g. whether it had wings or legs) and anatomy (the detailed body structure as
determined by dissection)
 As technology advanced, microscopes, knowledge of biochemistry and eventually DNA
sequencing allowed us to classify organisms using a more scientific approach
 Studies of DNA sequences of different species show that the more similar the base
sequences in the DNA of two species, the more closely related those two species
are (and the more recent in time their common ancestor is)
 This means that the base sequences in a mammal’s DNA are more closely related to all
other mammals than to any other vertebrate groups

DNA sequences can show how closely related different species are

 The sequences above show that Brachinus armiger and Brachinus hirsutus are more closely
related than any other species in the list as their DNA sequences are identical except for the
last but one base (B.armiger has a T in that position whereas B.hirsutus has an A)
 As DNA base sequences are used to code for amino acid sequences in proteins, the
similarities in amino acid sequences can also be used to determine how closely related
organisms are

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
The Five Kingdoms

 The first division of living things in the classification system is to put them into one of five
kingdoms. They are:
o Animals
o Plants
o Fungi
o Protoctists
o Prokaryotes

Prokaryotic Organisms

 Prokaryotes do not have a membrane-bound nucleus or membrane-bound

organelles inside their cells.

E.g. bacteria (Lactobacillus d. bulgaricus (rod-shaped bacterium used in yoghurt

production), Pneumococcus (spherical bacterium that causes pneumonia).

 Unicellular and microscopic.

 Have a cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm and plasmids.
 Some can carry out photosynthesis but they mainly feed off other organisms, either dead
or alive making them saprophytic in nature. Mode of nutrition is saprophytic.
 Cell wall present made up of complex sugar called meurin
 Genetic material called plasmid present
 Flagella for locomotion
 Can be killed by antibiotic
 Reproduces by asexual method called Binary fission
 Eukaryotic Organisms

 Eukaryotes are organisms that have a membrane-bound nucleus and organelles inside
their cells.
 They can be unicellular (only one cell) or multicellular (more than one cell).

KINGDOM - PROTOCTISTS

 E.g. Amoeba (like an animal), Chlorella (like a plant)

 Most are unicellular
 All have a nucleus; some may have cell walls and chloroplasts, meaning some protoctists
photosynthesize like plants and some feed on organic substances made by other living
things like animals
KINGDOM - FUNGI

 E.g. moulds, mushrooms, yeast

 Most are multicellular with a mycelium of thread-like structures called hyphae which have
many nuclei but some are single-celled (eg yeast is single celled)
 Cells have nuclei and cell walls made from chitin
 Feed by saprotrophic (on dead or decaying material) or parasitic (on live material) nutrition
by secreting extracellular enzymes onto the food
 May store carbohydrates as glycogen
 Yeast shows asexual reproduction by budding
 Body is thread like called mycelium made up of horizontal or vertical hyphae.
 Horizontal hyphae has root like rhizoids used for nutrition and vertical hyphae has
sporangium for reproduction
 Cell wall present and is made up of complex sugar called chitin
VIRUSES

 E.g. Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Influenza virus

 Much smaller than bacteria

 They are not made from cells and are not considered living organisms as they do not
carry out all the life processes
 Parasitic – reproduce inside host cells by hijacking the cell’s mechanisms to make multiple
copies and then bursts out of the cell to spread throughout the host
 Able to infect every type of living cell
 The envelope is used to gain entry into host cells
 The capsid is a protein coat used to protect the genetic information
 The DNA or RNA contains the code for building new viruses
KINGDOM - PLANTS

 Eg: herbaceous legumes (peas), cereals (wheat)

 Multicellular
 Cells contain a nucleus, chloroplasts and cellulose cell walls
 All feed by photosynthesis
 Store carbohydrates as starch or sucrose
 Contain a large, central cell vacuole

NON FLOWERING PLANTS

FERNS

n With true roots, stems, leaves and vascular tissues

n Reproduce by spores (SPORE FORMATION)
n Live in damp places
n 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
n The plant kingdom includes organisms such as ferns and flowering plants

FLOWERING PLANTS

n With flowers for reproduction

n Seeds are produced inside the fruit (matured ovary)

FLOWERING PLANTS ARE DIVIDED INTO MONOCOTS AND DICOTS

Characteristics of monocots / Monocotyledons

1. possess one cotyledon

2. leaves are parallel-veined,
3. no branching.
4. Flower parts are in 3's or multiples of 3,
5. vascular bundles appear to be scattered through the stem cross-section
6. fibrous root system present

Characteristics of dicots / Dicotyledons

1. embryo with two cotyledons

2. leaves have network of veins
3. stem and leaves are branched
4. flower parts are in 4’s or multiples of 5’s
5. vascular bundles are arranged in a ring
6. tap root system present
 KINGDOM – ANIMALS

 Eg: humans (mammals), butterflies (insects)

 Multicellular
 Cells contain a nucleus but no cell walls or chloroplasts
 Feed on organic substances made by other living things
 Store carbohydrates as glycogen
 Divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of backbone:
o Invertebrates : without backbone
o Vertebrates : with backbone

INVERTEBRATES

General Characteristics of All Arthropods

n All have exoskeletons for support and protection

n All have jointed appendages

n Body regions include: a head, thorax, and an abdomen.

n Some have a cephalothorax (head and thorax are fused together)

• Divided into 4 classes

1. Insects

2. Arachnids

3. Crustaceans

4. Myriapods
Class – Insects
eg. Bees, House flies, Butterflies

Insects - Characteristics

n Body divided into head, thorax and abdomen

n Antenna present

n Three pairs of jointed limbs

n Compound eyes present

n Adults have wings

n Shows metamorphosis in their life cycle

Class – Arachnids
eg. Spiders, Scorpions

Arachnids - Characteristics

n Spiders are the largest group of arachnids.

n Most arachnids have only 2 body regions- a

cephalothorax and the abdomen.

n Have four pairs of legs

n Simple eyes present

n Arachnids have 2 chelicerae for poisoning prey

and 2 pedipalps for sensing and handling food.

n 4 remaining appendages aid in locomotion.

Class - Crustaceans
eg. Crabs, Lobsters, Shrimps

n Body divided into cephalothorax

and abdomen

n Most crustaceans are aquatic and

use gills for gas exchange.

n 2 pairs of antennae for sensing.

n Mandibles for crushing food that

move side to side.

n Eyes are located on movable stalks.

n Many have five pairs of walking legs used for seizing prey and cleaning other appendages.

n First pair is often modified into strong claws.

Class – Myriapods
eg. Centipedes and Millipedes

n Centipedes belong to class Chilopoda and millipedes belong to class Diplopoda.

n Centipedes are carnivorous and eat soil arthropods, snails, slugs, and worms.

n Centipede bites are painful to humans.

n Both have Malphigian tubes for waste excretion.

n Both have tracheal tubes for gas exchange.

n Millipedes eat mostly plants and dead material.

n Millipedes also have stink glands for scaring predators.

VERTEBRATES

n Divided into 5 groups:

– Fish

– Amphibians

– Reptiles

– Birds

– Mammals

Fish eg. Shark, perches

n Aquatic

n Cold-blooded (poikiolothermic)

n Body covered with wet and slimy scales

n Streamlined body for easy movement through

water

n Fins for balance and to control movement

n Gills for breathing

n Gills may be covered with a flap called

operculum

n Lateral line present

n Heart is two chambered

n External fertilization
Amphibians
eg, Frogs, Salamanders

n Cold-blooded

(poikiolothermic)

n Moist, scaleless skin

n Limbs present

– tetrapods

n Larvae (tadpoles) use gills for breathing; adults use lungs

n Lungs in adults help in breathing on land and when in water they breathe with the help of
moist skin.

n Lay eggs and shows External fertilization

n Hind limbs are longer than the fore limbs

Reptiles eg. Snakes, Crocodiles

n Cold-blooded (poikilothermic)

n Body covered with dry, hard scales

n Live on land

n Breathe with lungs

n Internal fertilization; lay shelled eggs

Birds eg. Penguins, sparrow

n Warm-blooded (Homeothermic)

n For limbs modified into wings covered with feathers

to keep body warm

n Beak for feeding

n Lungs for breathing

n Internal fertilization; lay shelled eggs

Mammals eg. Human Bear

n Warm-blooded (Homeothermic)

n Body covered with hair or fur

n Females have mammary glands for producing milk

n Lungs for breathing

n Diaphragm present

n Internal fertilization; embryos develop inside

mothers’ bodies

n External ear pinna

n Whiskers present

n Parental care seen