Characteristics of life (MRS GREN);

Living things:
(1) M Movement (A change in place or position)
(2) R Respiration (Breathing, an exchange of gases: oxygen in - carbon dioxide out)
(3) S Sensitivity (Reacting to the environment)
(4) G Growth (The increase in size)
(5) R Reproduction (Being able to produce more of their kind)
(6) E Excretion (Removal of bodily wastes)
(7) N Nutrition (Being able to take in food to support life processes)

5 kingdoms of living things:

1. bacteria (monera) are:
a. unicellular (single cell)
b. prokaryotic (the cell does not have a nucleus)
2. protozoa (protista) are:
a. unicellular (single cell)
b. eukaryotic (the cell is with a nucleus)
3. fungi (mushrooms and mould)
a. multicellular (have many cells)
b. eukaryotic (the cell is with a nucleus)
c. absorb food
4. plants
a. multicellular (have many cells)
b. eukaryotic (the cell is with a nucleus)
c. photosynthesise
5. animals:
a. multicellular (have many cells)
b. eukaryotic (the cell is with a nucleus)
c. ingest

Cells to systems http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/z9hyvcw/revision

Animal kingdom

Vertebrates (with backbone)

Reproducti
on
Lay eggs in
water

Body
temperature
Cold blooded

Respiration

Skin

Live in water and

breath with gills

Skin covered by scales

Reptiles

Lay eggs on
dry land

Cold blooded

Breath with lungs

Skin covered by scales

or shell

Amphibia
ns

Lay eggs in
water

Cold blooded

Breath with gills

and later with
lungs

Smooth skin

Birds

Lay eggs in
nests

Warm blooded

Breath with lungs

Skin covered with

feathers

Mammals

Give birth
and feed
babies with
milk

Warm blooded

Breath with lungs

Skin covered with hair

(except dolphin)

Fish

Arthropods (joint feet)

All arthropods inherited a particular set of characteristics from their ancestor.

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/3_0_0/arthropodstory
Crustaceans
For ex.
shrimps,
crabs,
lobsters

Have a very hard covering (calcium)

2 pairs of antennae
They live in water.
2 body part because head and thorax together.
More than 4 pairs of legs with different functions.

Insects

1 pair of antennas.
Body has 3 parts, head, thorax and abdomen
All insects have six legs (three pairs of jointed legs) and usually four
wings (two pairs).
They can fly.

Myriapods:
For ex.
Centipedes,
Millipedes

Many body segments, each with 1 or 2 pair of legs

1 pair of antennae

Arachnids
For ex.
Spiders,
scorpions,
ticks

Cells and using a microscope

Cells are the smallest building blocks of all living organisms: no matter bacteria,
animals or plants. They are very small and can be observed only under microscope.
Cells comprise of different parts, each has its specific function:
Cell part
Nucleus
Cytoplasm
Cell membrane
Mitochondrion
Chloroplasts
Vacuole
Cell wall
Ribosomes

Plant (onion) cells

Function
Controls activities of cell, contains the DNA
Jelly like substance that fills the cell, location of many chemical
reactions
Controls which substances can enter and leave the cell
Produces energy for the cell through respiration
Location where photosynthesis occurs and sugar is produced
Water storage and waist container for the cell
Supports and strengthens the cell
Location where amino acids are connected together to produce
proteins

Animal cells (from the inner part of the cheek)

Photosynthesis
Green plants make their own sugars by the process of photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis takes place inside the chloroplasts of plant cells. Chlorophyll, the
green pigment found in chloroplasts, traps light energy, usually from the sun.
Plants also take in raw materials from the environment, water through their roots and
carbon dioxide through their leaves.
Sugar is made for plants to use and oxygen is released into the atmosphere which is
very useful for humans and other organisms that carry out aerobic respiration.
Energy cannot be produced or used up, it can only be converted from one form to
another. In photosynthesis, light energy is converted into chemical energy which is
stored in the sugar molecules produced. This stored energy is then available to the
plant cells to use.
The word photosynthesis can be broken down into its two parts: 'photo' meaning light
and 'synthesis' meaning to make. So plants use light to make their own food (in the
form of sugar). The overall process of photosynthesis can be summarised by the word
equation shown below.

Chlorophyll absorbs light energy + carbon dioxide + water -> carbohydrate (sugar) +
oxygen

Photosynthesis vs Respiration