INTRODUCTION TO CSEC

BIOLOGY
4th form
What is Biology?

Biology is literally the study of life: Bio-life, Logy- study.

Biology deals with aspects of living organisms including:
o Structure
o Processes
o Types
o Relationships with each other and with the non-living environment
It is therefore important to understand what it means to be a living organism
and the range of living organisms that exist. Remembering that most are
actually invisible to the naked eye.
 Range of Living Organisms

Living organisms can be divided into 5 major groups called KINGDOMS, which are:

1. Prokaryotes: these are bacteria which have one cell but no nucleus
(All other kingdoms are Eukaryotes -having a complete nucleus)
2 Protists: mostly one-celled but with a true nucleus
3 Fungi: most are multi-cellular and some have thread-like structures
4 Plants: multicellular with a cell wall and chlorophyll
5 Animals: multicellular, no cell wall and no chlorophyll

Kingdoms are further divided into : Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, species.
This is known as Classification. (King Philip Cried –Oh For Goodness Sake)
Each species has a name designated by the binomial system of naming, e.g. as humans we
are Homo sapiens
One of the simplest method of Classification is based on similarities in visible features
 Characteristics of ALL Living organisms
In addition to being made up of at least one cell, ALL living organisms must be able to
display the following (MRS GREN):

1. Movement: a change in position of the whole or part of the organism

2. Respiration : release of energy from a food substrate
3. Sensitivity: the ability to detect and respond to a stimulus
4. Growth: an irreversible increase in size
5. Reproduction: giving rise to new organisms like themselves
6. Excretion: getting rid of metabolic (chemical) waste products
7. Nutrition: feeding – by making or obtaining food

There are a wide range of living organisms, most of which are not even visible to the naked
eye, but which are all equally living , as they satisfy all the above requirements, known as
the Characteristics of Living Organisms or Life Processes
Any definition of a Life Process must be able to be applied to ALL living organisms.
5 Kingdom Classification
Note :
• viruses are NOT
considered living,
as they do not
have a cell and
they cannot carry
out the 7 Life
Processes by
themselves
 Grouping Organisms

You should be able to put organisms in groups based on visible features

You should know features of the following :
Bacteria
Protists
Fungi
Monocotyledons and dicotyledons (flowering plants)
Different groups of arthropods- insects, arachnids, crusteaceans, millipedes
All the vertebrates – fish, amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals
 Prokaryota

Prokaryotes are single celled microscopic organisms

which do not have a nucleus. They are mainly bacteria,
many of which are disease causing organisms, while
many are extremely useful, in living organisms including
humans while others act as decomposers, recycling
materials
 Protista

Protists are also single celled and microscopic but they have an enclosed
nucleus. Some are like animal cells e.g. amoeba, while others have
chlorophyll, like plant cells, e.g. euglena

Euglena
Amoeba
 Fungi
Fungi are a diverse
group, which have
no chlorophyll and
cannot make their
own food. Many
feed on dead and
decaying matter
(saprophytic) and
some are disease
Bread Mould causing organisms Mushroom
on plants and
animals,

Ringworm Yeast
Plant Classification
Non-flowering Plants

Non-flowering plants do not

produce flowers or fruits
Conifers have seeds in pine cones but
pine cones are not fruits.

Conifer Moss Ferns

 Flowering Plants
These produce flowers and fruits with seeds, from which they reproduce

Monocotyledons Dicotyledons
• have one seed leaf • have 2 seed leaves
• long narrow leaves • broad leaves
• Parallel veins • A network of veins
• Fibrous root systems • A taproot system
Monocots and dicots
Animals
Animal classification
 Animals -Invertebrates

ARTHROPODS
Insect Arachnid Crustacean Myriapod

6 legs
3 body segments 8 legs
More than 8 legs Many legs
2 pairs of wings No antennae
Hard shell Many segments
antennae antennae
antennae
 Animals -Vertebrates
Fish Amphibian Reptile

Moist skin Dry scaly skin

Have scales and fins 4 legs
No scales
4 legs Many have a tail

Bird Mammal
Have Have hair
feathers 4 limbs
One pair of
legs
One pair of
wings
Mammals
 Primates

Hominids

Homo Habilis Homo erectus Homo sapiens

Classification of Humans
 Assignment – for class presentation

Choose any living organism from any of the 5 kingdoms

Bring a specimen (must be in a secure container) or a picture –printed or virtual.
Specimens must be small – no cats, dogs, cows etc.
Do a verbal presentation (not a video or power point) not exceeding 3 minutes, which
will include the following:
Your name and one piece of information about yourself
▪ The name (common and scientific) and Kingdom of your specimen
▪ Basic information about where it lives, how it feeds and any special role it may have
including any commercial importance
▪ Is it an endangered or threatened species and if so, why?
▪ Any other interesting information
This is a graded piece of work, so marks will be awarded for both content and delivery