Junior Certificate ScienceTeacher: Ms. Shevlin

Laboratory Safety

• Can you think of any important safety rules in the Science Laboratory?

Lab Safety Symbols

Chapter 2 Living Things

What do you know about living things?

Design a spider diagram to show what you know about living things!

Chapter Objectives

• To define Biology• To discuss what living things are made

from• To define the word organism and give

examples• To state the characteristics of living things• To discuss each characteristic of living

things in detail

• To investigate the variety of living things • To classify plants and animals and examine

some plants and animals.• To introduce the terms vertebrate and

invertebrate and look at examples• To discuss uses of plants and animals• To define the term Animal Key and Plant Key• To design and use a simple plant and animal

key• To carry out and write up an experiment to

investigate the variety of living things

• Biology is the study of living things e.g. plants, animals, fungi, bacteria

• An organism is another name for a living thing.

• Living things are made of cells

Chapter 2: Living Things

• Living things have the following seven characteristics:

– nutrition – movement– respiration – response/sensitivity.– excretion– growth– reproduction

MRS NERG

Characteristics of Living Things1. NutritionNutrition is the way in which living things get

and use their food.

Plants make their own food (photosynthesis)

Animals get their food from eating plants or other animals.

Characteristics of Living Things2. RespirationRespiration is the way living things get energy.Organisms need energy for growth, movement and activities.

Food + oxygen -> energy + carbon dioxide + water

Characteristics of Living Things3. Excretion Excretion is the getting rid of the wastes that

are made in cells.Animals excrete water, salts, carbon dioxide

4. GrowthAll living things growLiving things grow because their cells are

able to divide and make new copies of themselves.

5. ReproductionReproduction is being able to produce new

individuals of the same kind.

6. Movement All living things can move.

7. Response/sensitivityAll living things need to be aware of changes

in their surroundings and react to these changes.

Response is the ability to react changes in the environment.

Classifying Animals and Plants

• There are two main groups of organismsa)Plantsb)Animals

Uses of Plants1.Food2.Shelter

• Animals can be divided into two groups:• A) Vertebrates – animals with a back bonee.g. humans, frogs, fish, lizards, birds

b) Invertebrates – animals that have no backbone e.g. earthworm, insects, spiders, snails, jellyfish, crabs.

• Uses of Animals1.Food2.Provide materials to make things e.g. wool

and leather

• Animals and plants are identified by using keys.

• Keys ask questions about the parts of plants and animals to allow us to identify them.

• The main differences between animals and plants are:– Animals move from place to place but plants

do not.– Animals take in food but plants make their

own food.– Animal cells do not have a cell wall but plant

cells do have a cell wall.

• Invertebrates are animals that do not have backbones.

• Vertebrates are animals that have a backbone.

• Living things can be identified and named using keys.