IGCSE BIOLOGY

LESSON 1
Section 1
Content
The nature
and variety of
living a) Characteristics of living
organisms organisms

b) Variety of living organisms

Lesson 1
a) Characteristics of living
organisms
1.1 Understand that living organisms share the
following characteristics:
– they require nutrition
– they respire
– they excrete their waste
– they respond to their surroundings
– they move
– they control their internal conditions
– they reproduce
– they grow and develop.

Classification of
living organisms
 How
many
species?
 About 1.4 million
species have been
described.
 It has been
estimated that
there may be as
many as 8.7 million
species!
 The vast majority
have therefore not
been identified.
 Estimated total Percentage of
Group number of total already
species described

Animals 7.7 million 12%

Fungi 0.61 million 7%
Plants 0.30 million 70%
Protozoa 0.04 million 22%
Chromists
0.03 million 50%
(plant-like)
Suppose you
landed on
another
planet in our
galaxy.
 What signs
of life would
you look for?
 What are the
characteristics
of living
organisms?
MRS GREN
 Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity
Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition
Movement
Most single-celled creatures,
and larger animals, move
about as a whole. Fungi and
plants make movements with
parts of their bodies.
Movement does not
necessarily involve
locomotion (movement of an
organism from place to
place)
 Respiration
Glucose + oxygen → All living organisms break
down food to obtain energy.
Most organisms need oxygen
Carbon dioxide + water for this (aerobic respiration)
whereas others are able to
respire without oxygen
C6H12O6 + 6O2 → (anaerobic respiration).
Taking in oxygen and
6CO2 + 6H2O removing carbon dioxide is
the process of breathing.
Sensitivity
All living organisms respond
to their environment.
Sensitivity is the ability of
living organisms to respond
to stimuli. A stimulus is a
change in the external or
internal environment of an
organism. Plants, for
example, respond to gravity.
This is known as geotropism.
Sensitivity
Living organisms are also
aware of their internal
environment and are able
to respond to changes and
restore the body to its
normal state. This
regulation of the internal
environment is known as
homeostasis.
Growth
Bacteria and single-celled
creatures increase in size.
Many-celled organisms
increase the number of
cells in their bodies,
become more complicated
and change their shape as
well as increasing in size.
Reproduction
Off spring are produced
by the process of
reproduction. Single-
celled organisms and
bacteria may simply keep
dividing into two (eg.
binary fission). Many-
celled plants and animals
may reproduce sexually or
asexually.
Excretion
Excretion involves the
removal of waste
products from the body,
such as carbon dioxide ( a
product of respiration).
Living organisms expel
these substances from
their bodies in various
ways.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the process
of obtaining food. There
are two main methods of
obtaining food –
aututrophic nutrition
(green plants) and
heterotrophic nutrition
(organisms use ready-
made organic compounds
as their food source).
MRS GREN
 Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity
Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition
 Two systems of classification

• NATURAL SYSTEM
• ARTIFICIAL SYSTEM
 I. NATURAL SYSTEM OF
CLASSIFICATION
• Uses common features shared by organisms
• Based on two ideas :
Homologous structures
Evolutionary relationships
 Homologous structures

• Similar in structure but may look different

• Compare the structures shown below:
• Analogous – look similar but are entirely different
• Eg. Fly’s wing and bat’s wing
 Evolutionary relationships

• Similarities in appearance based on inheritance of

features from parents, grandparents or ancestors
 II. Artificial classification

• Usage of any grouping as we like

• Eg. All animals that fly – birds, bats, insects
• Eg. All animals that live in water – fishes, whales
CLASSIFICATION – a method
of scientific taxonomy used to
group and categorize organisms
into groups such as a genus or
species.
CLASSIFICATION – a method
of scientific taxonomy used to
group and categorize organisms
into groups such as a genus or
species.

These groups are known as taxa.

 The modern system of
putting different organisms
into certain groups was
developed by the Swedish
botanist and zoologist Carl
Linnaeus in the eighteenth
century.

He gave each species a

Latin name, consisting of
the genus and the species.
This is known as binomial
nomenclature.
For example, the scientific
name for the rabbit is
Oryctolagus cuniculus. It is
known by this name all over
the world by the scientific
community.

Similarly, the binomial name

for human beings is Homo
sapiens.

Homo is the genus, and

sapiens is the species.
 Classification
Kingdom The largest group of
organisms recognised by
biologists. But how many?
 Classification
Kingdom The largest group of
organisms recognised by
biologists. But how many?

For many years most

biologists favoured the use
of two kingdoms, Plants and
Animals.
 Classification
Kingdom The largest group of
organisms recognised by
biologists. But how many?

For many years most

biologists favoured the use
of two kingdoms, Plants and
Animals.

Modern classification tends

to favour the adoption of 5
kingdoms – Prokaryotes
(Monera), Protoctista,
Fungi, Plants and Animals
 Classification
Kingdom

Monera
Bacteria and Blue-green algae
(Prokaryotes)

Protoctista Amoeba, Paramecium

Fungi Moulds, Mushrooms, Yeast

Algae, ferns and mosses,

Plants
conifers and flowering plants
Jellyfish, worms, arthropods, molluscs,
Animals echinoderms, fish, amphibia, reptiles,
birds and mammals.
 Classification
Kingdom

Viruses are not

considered to
be living, so are
not included in
this
classification
scheme.
Classification

Eg. Lion
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
Class Mammals
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
Class Mammals
Order Carnivores
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
Class Mammals
Order Carnivores
Family Felidae (cats)
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
Class Mammals
Order Carnivores
Family Felidae (cats)
Genus Panthera
 Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Vertebrates
Class Mammals
Order Carnivores
Family Felidae (cats)
Genus Panthera
Species leo
 Classification

Panthera leo

KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GRAN’S SPAGHETTI

 Using DNA to Classify
Organisms
•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
•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
 Classification in detail

• Kingdom Bacteria
• Kingdom Protoctista
• Kingdom Fungi
• Kingdom Plantae
• Kingdom Animalia
 Common Cell Structures
•The cells of all living organisms contain the following:
• Cytoplasm
• Cell membrane
• DNA as genetic material (either found in the nucleus or free
in the cytoplasm)

Cell Composition & Structure

When viewed under an electron microscope (at a much higher
magnification), all cells also contain the following:
Ribosomes for protein synthesis
Enzymes for respiration (in many, but not all types of cells,
found in
mitochondria)
 Kingdom Bacteria or Monera

• These are bacteria and blue-green algae

Characteristics
▪ Unicellular organisms
▪ Have no nucleus
▪ Have a cell wall
 Main features of all Prokaryotes
(bacteria, blue-green algae)

• often unicellular
• cells have cell walls (not made of cellulose)
and cytoplasm but no nucleus or mitochondria
 Kingdom Protoctista
• Simple organisms
• They have a nucleus
• Some are unicellular, others multi-cellular(sea-weeds)
• All of them live in water (no protection against drying out)
• Feeding : Chlorella (feed by photosynthesis)
Amoeba ( feed on other living things)
Characteristics:
▪ Cells have nuclei
 Main features of all Protoctists (e.g.
Amoeba, Paramecium, Plasmodium)

• most are unicellular but some are multicellular

• all have a nucleus, some may have cell walls and
chloroplasts
• meaning some protoctists
photosynthesise and some feed on organic
substances made by other living things
 Kingdom fungi

Characteristics
▪ Multi-cellular
▪ Cells have nuclei
▪ Have cell walls
▪ Do not have chlorophyll (cannot photosynthesize)
▪ Feed saprophytically or parasitically
 Viruses: Extended

• Viruses are not part of any classification system as

they are not considered living things
• They do not carry out the seven life processes for
themselves, instead they take over a host cell’s
metabolic pathways in order to make multiple
copies of themselves
• Virus structure is simply genetic material (RNA or
DNA) inside a protein coat
 Invertebrates

• Invertebrates do not possess a backbone

• One of the morphological characteristics used to
classify invertebrates is whether they have legs or
not
• All invertebrates with jointed legs are part of the
phylum Arthropods
• They are classified further into the following
classes:
Classification of invertebrates –
kingdom Animalia
 Phylum Annelida (annelids)

• They are worms, elongated cylindrical bodies

• Body made of ring-like segments
• No legs, each segment has chaetae (bristles), which
help in locomotion
• Mostly in water and soil
• Clitellum is associated with reproduction
• Eg. Earthworm
 Phylum arthropoda

• Animals with jointed legs, but no backbone

• Waterproof exoskeleton (cuticle), allows them to
live on dry land
• Body is segmented into 3 distinct regions – head,
thorax and abdomen
 Class Crustacea

• Crabs, lobsters and woodlice

• Breathe through gills and so live in wet regions
• More than 5 pair of jointed legs
• Two pairs of antennae
• Exoskeleton calcified to form a
hard surface
 Class arachnida

• Spiders, ticks, scorpions

• Four pair of jointed legs, several pairs of simple eyes
• chelicerae for biting and poisoning prey
 Class Insecta
• Exoskeleton and trachea are good at stopping water
from evaporating from the insect’s bodies – can live
in dry places
• Three pair of jointed legs
• Two pairs of wings (one or both may be vestigial)
• One pair of antennae
• Breathe through trachea
• One pair of compound eyes
• Three body regions – head, thorax and abdomen
 Class Myriapoda

• Centipedes and millipedes

• Head and a segmented body not divided into thorax
and abdomen
• 10 or more pairs of legs - A pair of legs on each
body segment
• Centipedes are carnivorous and millipedes feed on
vegetable matter
• One pair of antennae, simple eyes
 PHYLUM CHORDATA –
VERTEBRATES
• Animals which have a “vertebral column” or “spinal
cord” or “spinal column” or “spine”
• The spine is a chain of cylindrical bones joined end to
end (vertebrae)
• The front end of the spine is expanded to form the
brain which is enclosed and protected by the skull
• The skull carries a pair of jaws which have rows of
teeth
• The five classes of vertebrates are
Class Pisces
Class Amphibia
Class Reptilia
Class Aves
Class Mammalia
 BODY TEMPERATURE

• Cold-blooded animals – poikilothermal (variable

temperature)
• Does not literally mean cold-blooded
• It means that these animals have a variable body
temperature which depends on the temperature of
their surroundings – no internal regulatory
mechanism
• Maintenance of body temp by lizard
• Warm-blooded – homeothermic (constant
temperature)
• The body temperature may be higher than that of
the surroundings
• The internal temperatures are kept constant despite
any variations in external temperature
• They have an internal regulatory mechanism
 CLASS PISCES - FISH
• Poikilothermal vertebrates
• Smooth streamlined body
• Overlapping scales and fins
• Breathe through filamentous gills protected by a
gill cover
• Sexual reproduction but external fertilization
 CLASS AMPHIBIA

• Poikilothermal vertebrates with no scales

• Part of life in water and part in land
• Most frogs, toads and newts live on land in moist
places and return to water only to lay eggs
• Toad has drier skin – has glands which exude an
unpleasant tasting chemical which discourages
predators
• Have 4 limbs – frogs and toads’ hind feet have
webbed skin between their toes
• Amphibians have moist skin with a good supply of
capillaries for exchange of gases and water
• Toads have gills, adult frogs have lungs
• Reproduce sexually – external fertilization
 CLASS REPTILIA

• Poikilothermal terrestrial vertebrates with dry skin

and a pattern of scales on top – this resists water
loss
• Eggs of reptiles also have a tough shell
• They have the capacity to regulate their body
temperature by basking in the sun – can then move
about fast
• Lizards, snakes, tortoises, turtles, crocodiles
• Sexual reproduction – internal fertilization
 CLASS AVES (BIRDS)
• Homeothermal vertebrates
• The vertebral column is flexible at the neck and is
rigid at the rest of the body – as an adaptation for
flight for the powerful wing muscles
• Feathers throughout the body except legs and feet –
form an insulating layer close to the skin
• 4 limbs – forelimbs modified to form wings
• Feet have 4 toes with claws which help in perching
and catching its prey
• Sexual reproduction – internal fertilization
• Lays eggs with hard shells which is incubated
 CLASS MAMMALIA
• Homoiothermal vertebrates with hair and 4 limbs
• Give birth to fully grown young ones without laying
eggs
• Have mammary glands and suckle their young on
milk
• Have a placenta
• Have a diaphragm
• The heart has four chambers
• Have different types of teeth
• The cerebral hemispheres are fully developed
 The Plant Kingdom

• 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
• The plant kingdom includes organisms such
as ferns and flowering plants
 Ferns
• Have leaves called fronds
• Do not produce flowers but instead reproduce by
spores produced on the underside of fronds
 Flowering plants

• Reproduce sexually by means of flowers and seeds

• Seeds are produced inside the ovary found at the
base of the flower
• Can be divided into two groups –
monocotyledons and dicotyledons
 Dichotomous Keys
• 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