Diversity of Living Things Lecture Notes

Flashcards covering key concepts from a lecture on the diversity of living organisms, including classification, kingdoms, microorganisms, and plant groups.

What is the term for grouping organisms according to their characteristics?

Classification or Taxonomy

Who is known as the Father of Systematic Biology?

Carolus Linnaeus

What are the two parts of an organism's name in the Binomial System?

Genus and Species

In the binomial system, how are names written?

In Latin, printed in italics.

Which groups represents the largest classification of organisms?

Kingdom

Which groups represents the smallest classification of organisms?

Species

Which groups are closely related to form a Genus?

Species

What are microorganisms?

Organisms that are too small to be seen with the naked eye.

What's the primary structural characteristic of monera?

They are unicellular organisms.

What is a key structural characteristic of bacteria regarding its nucleus?

They do not have a true nucleus (prokaryotic cell structure).

What are the three main nutritional categories of bacteria?

Heterotrophic, Parasitic, and Autotrophic

How do bacteria reproduce?

Asexually by binary fission.

What kind of organisms are Fungi?

Eukaryotic

What makes up the cell walls of fungi?

Chitin

Describe saprophytic fungi.

Heterotrophic; digest food outside the body and absorb nutrients from the environment.

How do parasitic fungi obtain food?

By living on other living organisms (plants or animals) and absorbing food from the host.

Give an example of symbiotic relationship of fungi

Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae.

What is budding?

A piece of the organism becomes detached and continues to live and grow on its own.

What is fragmentation?

When the multicellular organism splits into fragments, and each fragment develops into a mature organism.

How are spores produced?

Sexually by the fruiting body.

What are Protoctista?

Any eukaryotic organisms that are not plant, animal, or fungus.

What are the two groups of Protoctista?

Protozoa (animal-like) and Protophyta (plant-like)

What is phagocytosis?

The method of feeding by capturing food.

How do protophyta, such as euglena and chlamydomonas, obtain their food?

They are autotrophic and use simple inorganic materials to make food during photosynthesis.

What causes malaria?

A protozoan parasite called Plasmodium

How is malaria transmitted?

By the female Anopheles mosquito

Why are viruses not considered to be alive?

On their own, they can do nothing until they enter a living cell.

Describe the size of viruses.

Extremely small, much smaller than bacteria (50 times smaller).

What does the viral core consist of?

Genetic material (either DNA or RNA).

What is the protein coat surrounding the genetic material of a virus called?

Capsid

What happens when a virus invades a host cell?

It takes over the cell's metabolic processes to reproduce.

What are the key characteristics of animals in the animal kingdom?

They are multi-cellular organisms, their cells have no cell walls or chloroplasts, and most ingest solid food and digest it internally.

What are the general features of arthropods?

They all have jointed legs, have two pairs of antennae, sensitive to touch and chemicals; have a hard, firm exoskeleton (chitin) covering their bodies; have segmented bodies; have flexible joints which permit movement.

What are the three body segments of insects?

Head, Thorax, and Abdomen

What is the vertebral column?

Backbone which runs along the dorsal (top) surface of the body.

What adaptation characterizes vertebrates

Vertebrates have internal skeletons, called the endoskeletons, which are made of bones.

What kind of cell wall do plants have?

Cell wall made of cellulose.

How do plants obtain food?

Most plants are autotrophic and manufacture their own food using light energy from the sun.

What are the two main groups of plants?

Angiosperms (flowering/seed bearing) and Gymnosperms (non-flowering/non-seed bearing)

What is a structural characteristic of angiosperms relating to photosynthesis?

Have large leaf surfaces which allow a high rate of photosynthesis.

What are the two classes of Angiosperms

Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons

What is a key characteristic of dicotyledons regarding their seeds?

They have two cotyledons (seed leaves) in their seeds.

Where are the vascular bundles of the stem located within dicotyledons?

Occur in rings

What is a key characteristic of monocotyledons regarding their seeds?

Seeds possess one cotyledon (seed leaf).

How would you describe the root system of monocotyledons?

Fibrous

Where are the vascular bundles of the stem located within monocotyledons?

Scattered

Give examples of gymnosperms

Ferns, Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) and Algae (multicellular and unicellular)