Living Things and Biodiversity Review

Flashcards covering the vital functions of living things, classification of vertebrates and plants, and the importance of biodiversity based on lecture notes.

What are the seven vital functions that scientists use to distinguish living things from non-living things?

Living things need food, need oxygen, move, grow, detect and react to stimuli, excrete, and reproduce.

Why is the robot Sophia not classified as a living thing despite being able to move and communicate?

Because she does not carry out all seven vital functions of living things.

How do grasses obtain their food?

They make their own food through photosynthesis.

What is the purpose of oxygen for living things?

They use oxygen to break down food for energy.

How do whales obtain oxygen from the air?

They breathe through a hole located on the top of their head.

According to the text, what distance can a kangaroo jump in a single leap?

Over $9\,m$

What is the maximum daily growth recorded for bamboo in the notes?

Up to $1.2\,m$ each day

How quickly can a Venus flytrap close its trap once prey falls inside?

In about $0.1\,s$

Why do living things need to excrete?

To remove waste substances from the body that may be harmful if they accumulate.

What is the definition of biodiversity?

The wide variety of living things on Earth.

How many kinds of living things do scientists estimate exist on Earth?

As many as $100$ million kinds.

In science, what is the process of putting similar things into groups called?

Classification.

What are the five groups of vertebrates?

Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Which group of vertebrates has moist skin with no scales and undergoes a change from water-dwelling young to land-dwelling adults?

Amphibians.

What are the key features of mammals regarding their offspring and feeding?

They give birth to live young and have mammary glands that produce milk for feeding the young.

What is the primary difference between vascular and non-vascular plants?

Vascular plants have vascular tissues (pipe-like structures) for transporting water and food, whereas non-vascular plants do not.

Define the relationship of 'parasitism' as described in the notes.

A relationship where some living things live on or inside others, getting food from them and causing them harm.

In a marine food chain consisting of seaweeds, small fish, and sharks, identify the 'primary consumer'.

Small fish.

What happens to the amount of seaweed in a habitat if the number of sharks decreases rapidly?

The seaweed decreases because the number of small fish increases and they eat more seaweed.

What percentage of the world's economy is estimated to be derived from biological resources?

At least $40\%$

What common medicine has raw materials that can be extracted from willow trees?

Aspirin.