Exploring Life: Understanding Living Organisms and Their Characteristics

1. Variety of Life

2. Is It Alive? • How do you know if something if alive or not? • There are seven life processes (MRS GREN): • Movement • Respiration • Sensitivity • Growth • Reproduction • Excretion • Nutrition

3. MRS GREN • Movement- we need to move around to get food, plants can move their leaves towards sunlight • Respiration- both plants and animals take in Oxygen from the air to release energy • Sensitivity- we are all sensitive to the cold, acidity etc.

4. MRS GREN • Growth- We all grow up (and out!) • Reproduction- All living things make more of themselves • Excretion- Getting rid of waste e.g. we breathe out Carbon Dioxide • Nutrition- Eating (plants take in nutrients from the ground)

5. Organisms • Organism means living thing • There are two big groups: • Plants • Animals • There are alsobacteria and virusesthat make us sick

6. Classification • Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist came up with the classification system • Organisms are placed in groups if they are similar to each other

7. Animals • Animals can be divided into: • vertebrates (have a backbone) • invertebrates (no backbone) • Which group do we belong to? • Vertebrates • Which group do worms belong to? • Invertebrates

8. Vertebrates • There are five groups (BFARM): • Birds • Fish • Amphibians • Reptiles • Mammals

10. Weird Mammals • Dolphins- they have lungs A Bottlenose Dolphin

11. Weird Mammals • Whales- have lungs Killer Whales

12. Weird Mammals • The Blue Whale- the largest animal

13. Weird Mammals • Bats- they are related to rodents

14. Reptiles • The Tortoise live on land

15. Reptiles • Turtles live in water The Green Sea Turtle

16. Birds • Emperor Penguins are one of the few organisms to live in Antarctica

17. Amphibians • The Fire salamander can re-grow legs that have been cut off

18. Amphibians • The poison dart frog is lethal to humans

19. Fish • Sharks are fish, they have gills The Great White Shark

20. Annelids • These are Earthworms and leeches • They are invertebrates • They have rounded bodies • Their body is segmented

21. Arthropods • This big group (phylum) of ancient invertebrates include smaller groups (classes) of insects, spiders, millipedes and crabs • They have a hard body • It is divided into segments • They have jointed legs

22. Arachnids • They have 8 legs • Two body parts and no wings

23. Insects • They have 6 legs and two pairs of wings • They have 3 body parts: Thorax Head The Damselfly Abdomen

24. Insects (Stag Beetle) Head Thorax Abdomen

25. Molluscs • These are slugs, snails, squid and the octupus • They have soft bodies with a head and a muscular foot

26. Plants • These are divided into: • Flowering plants (conifers and seed producing flowers) • Non-flowering plants (Algae, ferns and mosses)

27. Non-Flowering Plants Algal bloom on a river

28. Flowering Plants This Passion Flower makes seeds

29. Keys • This is a question key • It can be used to separate organisms according to their characteristics • Can you name the invertebrate A, B, C and D A= Ant B= Mite C= Spider D= Mayfly

30. Diagram Keys