Classification

of living things

Characteristics of living things

Movement

Respiration

Sensitivity

Growth

Reproduction

Excretion

Nutrition

characteristic Definition

Movement The ability to change position of part or all the body

Respiration The break down of food molecules inside living cells to

release energy

Sensitivity The ability to sense and respond to changes in the internal or

external environment.

Growth The permanent increase in (dry) mass, size and/or number of

cells.

Reproduction The ability to produce organisms of the same kind.

Excretion The removal of metabolic wastes, toxic molecules and

substances in excess of requirement from the body

Nutrition Taking in substances needed for growth, respiration and

repair.

Why do we need to classify

living things?

There are over 1.4 million different species of

discovered organisms on earth. We classify

them to make studying them easier.

Organisms are divided into five large groups

called kingdoms.

kingdoms

animals plants Bacteria fungi protoctists

Animals

Plants

Bacteria

Fungi

Protoctists

We still find that in each group there may be

organisms that are very different such as ants and

giraffes in the animal kingdom.

That is why each kingdom is divides into smaller groups

called phyla (singular: phylum).

Each phylum is divided into several classes, then a class is

divide into orders, then family, then genus and finally the

smallest group is called species.

Kingdom>phylum>class>order>family>genus>species.

Try to remember them using this sentence:

King Philip cut oranges for good students.

Animal kingdom

Animals are either vertebrates (have a back

bone) or invertebrate (without a back bone).

Vertebrates are divided into five classes.

vertebrates

Fish AmphibiansReptiles

Birds

Mammals

Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

Body covering

Limbs

Ears

Eggs

Other features

Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals

Body covering

Moist scales Moist,

smooth skin

Dry and

rough scales

Feathers on

body, scales

on legs

Hair/ fur or

whiskers

Limbs Fins instead

of limbs

Young: finsAdult: 4

limbs

4 limbs 4 Limbs(2 wings, 2

legs)

4 limbs

Ears

lateral line

that feels

vibrations

Eardrum on

the surface

of the skin

A hole

leading to

the

eardrum

A hole

leading to

the

eardrum

An external

ear

Eggs

Lay eggs in

the water

covered

with jelly

Lay eggs in

the water

covered

with jelly

Lay eggs on

land with

rubbery

shells

Lay eggs on

land with

hard shells

Give birth

to their

young

Insects Arachnids Crustaceans Myriapods

Body segments

Number of legs

Antenna

Other features

Common features They all have: 1. Segmented bodies 2. Jointed legs 3. A hard exoskeleton

Insects Arachnids Crustaceans Myriapods

Body segments 3 body

segments

2 body

segments

2 body

segments

Many body

segments

Number of legs 3 pairs of legs 4 pairs of legs More than 4

pairs of legs

Many pairs of

legs

Antenna 1 pair none 2 pairs 1 pair

Other features Some have

wings

Some have

poisonous

glands

Some have a

very hard

exoskeleton

None

Common features They all have: 1. Segmented bodies 2. Jointed legs 3. A hard exoskeleton

Compound

eyes help

some

arthropods to

see in low

light

intensities

and can easily

spot

movement.

Molting in insects

Non-Flowering plants

Ferns reproduce by spores

Produce flowers to make seeds.

Monocotyledons

Dicotyledons

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Flowering plants

monocotyledons10

Dicotyledons10

DNA code

Scientists used to classify organisms according to

their morphology (external structure) and anatomy

(internal structure).

A new way to put organisms into groups is by

comparing their codes on the DNA.

Humans share the same 99.5% of their DNA, the

remaining 0.5% causes the variation we see in

humans. Humans and Chimpanzees share the

same 98.8% of their DNA.

DNA could also be used to make links between an

organism and its ancestor.

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