LIVING ORGANISMSUNIT 1

Characteristics of living organisms

NUTRITION:

Nutrition involves obtaining energy from food in order to live. All living organisms perform this function, although they don’t all obtain food in the same way.

Characteristics of living organisms

INTERRELATION:

Interrelation consists of getting information from the environment in order to survive.

Characteristics of living organisms

REPRODUCTION:

When living organisms reproduce, they create a new organism of the same kind. This is called reproduction.

The Cell

The cell is the basic unit of life.

Animal cells: Don’t have chloroplast, no cellulose wall, either circular or have iregular shape.

Plant cells: Have chloroplasts, have cellulose wall, are rectangular or regular.

Parts of a Cell

The membrane is the skin of a cell. It separates and protecs the cell. The membrane controls the entry of nutriens into the cell.

The cytoplasm fills the inside of the cell. It is composed mostly of water. In the cytoplasm, there are also roganelles, tiny subunits, which perform operations for the cell.

The nucleus is located at the centre of the cell. It controls the functioning of the cell.

Unicellular organisms

In nature we find some organisms that are made up of only one cell. We call these organisms unicellular.

Microscopio amoeba

Bacterium cell

Algae

Fungi

Multicellular organisms

Organisms that are made up by more than one single cell are called multicellular organisms. Plants, animals, and human beings are some examples. In a multicellular organism, we can find different types of cells.

Inside a multicellular organism we find: Systems and Organs, Tissues and Cells.

Systems

A system is a group of body parts that work together to perform a certain job. Our body is made up of different systems such as the digestive system or the circulatory system.

Organs

Organs make up the system in our body. Our heart, lungs and stomach are some examples of organs in our body. All organs do a specific job within a system. Some organs do two jobs. (mouth)

Tissues and Cells

Each organ in our body is made of different kinds of tissue. Tissue is formed by a group of cells of the same type that act as one to perform a specific function.

The Living Kingdoms

Scientists have classified living things into five kingdoms:

The Animal Kingdom

The Plant kingdom

The Fungi Kingdom

The Protista Kingdom

The Bacteria Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom

Organisms in the Animal Kingdom do not produce their own food. They have to eat other living organisms like plants and animals to live. They can also move from one place to another.

The Plant Kingdom

Organisms in the plant kingdom produce their own food. Most of these organisms use sunlight, water and other substances to make the food they need to live. They can’t move from one place to another, but they can make some movements.

The Fungi Kingdom

The organisms in the fungi kingdom cannot move from one place to another, and they do not produce their own food.

Protista & Bacteria Kingdom

The Protista and Bacteria kingdom include all the unicellular organisms not included in the rest of kingdoms.