Biology: Living Things and Plants

Living Things

• Living things, also known as organisms, exhibit key characteristics: growth, reproduction, respiration, sensitivity, excretion, and nutrition.
• Growth involves increasing size or cell number.
• Reproduction creates new organisms like the parent.
• Respiration releases energy from food, consuming oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
• Sensitivity allows organisms to react to environmental changes.
• Excretion removes waste products.
• Nutrition obtains nutrients from food for energy and growth.

Plants

• Plants are autotrophs, making their own food through photosynthesis.
• Photosynthesis uses sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce food and oxygen.
• Plant structures include roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits.
• Roots absorb water and minerals.
• Stems support the plant and transport materials.
• Leaves are the primary sites of photosynthesis.
• Flowers facilitate reproduction.
• Fruits protect and disperse seeds.
• Plants are vital for Earth's oxygen supply.

Animals

• Animals, or heterotrophs, must consume other organisms for nutrition.
• Animals adapt for survival via feeding, movement, and protection strategies.
• Animal behaviors include seeking food, responding to threats, and caring for young.
• Animal groups include mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
• Mammals are warm-blooded and nourish their young with milk.
• Birds have wings and feathers, laying eggs.
• Reptiles are cold-blooded with scaly skin.
• Amphibians live in both water and land.
• Fish live in water, breathing through gills.

Nutrition in Plants

• Plants make food through photosynthesis, using sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and chlorophyll.
• Chlorophyll absorbs sunlight; a green pigment in leaves.
• Photosynthesis converts light energy into chemical energy stored in food.
• Oxygen is a vital byproduct of photosynthesis.

Nutrition in Animals

• Animals consume other organisms for nutrients.
• Animals exhibit various feeding strategies; herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals, and omnivores eat both.
• Digestive systems break down food for absorption and use.
• Digestive systems differ based on diet.

Respiration in Living Things

• Respiration releases energy from food using oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide.
• Respiration occurs in all living things, in plants and animals.
• Plants respire both day and night.

Importance of Photosynthesis

• Photosynthesis creates food for plants, releasing oxygen crucial for animals.
• Plants are primary producers in the food chain.
• Photosynthesis is essential for maintaining a balanced environment.

Excretion in Plants

• Plants remove waste through processes like releasing gases and dropping dead leaves.

Excretion in Animals

• Animals excrete waste products like urine, sweat, and carbon dioxide.

Sensitivity in Living Things

• Living organisms react to their surroundings using their senses.
• Plants and animals respond to stimuli like light, heat, and touch.

Comparing Living Things

• Comparing plants and animals highlights their distinctions and commonalities.
• Adaptations reflect differing needs in diverse environments.

Growth

• Plant growth continues throughout life, increasing leaves, stems, and roots.
• Animal growth is limited, with specific patterns per species.

Reproduction

• Living things reproduce to create similar organisms.
• Animal reproduction varies from laying eggs to live birth.
• Plants reproduce using flowers, leading to fruits and seeds.

Life Cycle

• A living thing's life cycle are the development stages from birth to death.
• Life cycles differ drastically among species.
• Plant and animal life cycles have distinctive stages.