The Variety of Life

Characteristics and Classification (1)

• Characteristics of living organisms (RINGER):
• ❊ Respire
• ❊ Irritability / Sensitivity
• ❊ Nutrition
• ❊ Growth
• ❊ Excretion
• ❊ Reproduction
• 

Characteristics and Classification (2)

• Respiration:
• ❊ The chemical reactions that break down nutrient molecules in living cells to release energy.
• ❊ Many organisms have gaseous exchange systems that supply their cells with oxygen from their environment
• 
• Caption: Respiratory system in a human body

Characteristics and Classification (3)

• Irritability / Sensitivity:
• ❊ The ability to detect changes in the environment (i.e. stimuli) and respond to them
• ❊ These responses involve the movement of muscles and limbs
• 
• Caption: Most sensitive parts of your body

Characteristics and Classification (4)

• Nutrition:
• ❊ The intake of nutrients (food) - this provides raw materials or energy fro growth, tissue repair and reproduction
• ❊ Plants make their own food by photosynthesis
• 
• Caption: Foods included in your general diet

Characteristics and Classification (5)

• Growth:
• ❊ The process by which an organism changes in size and in form.
• ❊ Growth is a permanent increase in size and dry mass, and results from an increase in cell number or cell size or both
• 
• Caption: Growth of baby into a toddler

Characteristics and Classification (6)

• Excretion:
• ❊ The removal of toxic materials, the waste products of metabolism inside your body
•