IGCSE BIOLOGY:VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
MRS GREN
Mnemonics for characteristics of living organisms
Movement
Action by an organism causing a change of position or place
Respiration
Chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy
Sensitivity
The ability to detect and respond to changes in the environment.
Growth
Permanent increase in size
Reproduction
Processes that make more of the same kind of organism
Excretion
Removal from organisms of waste products of metabolism, toxic materials, and substances in
excess of requirements
Nutrition
Taking in of materials;plants require light, carbon dioxide water, and ions; animals need organic
compounds and ions and usually water
Binomal naming system
Latin; Genus species; Genus always in capital, species either italics or underlined; eg: Homo
[i]sapien[i]
Modern classification
Determined by sequences of bases in DNA and of amino acids in proteins; more accurate
Classical classifcation
Based on studies of morphology and anatomy
Five organisms kingdom
Animal, Plants. Fungus, Prokaryote, Protoctist (colonies of single cell)
, Vertebrate
Animals with a backbone; mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish
Reptiles
Cold-blooded; lungs; dry scaly skin; leathery-shelled eggs
Amphibians
Cold-blooded; adults have lungs, larvae have gills; moist skin; lay jelly-coated eggs in water
Fish
Cold-blooded; gills; wet scale; lay eggs in water
Birds
Warm-blooded; lungs; feathers; hard-shelled eggs; wings
Mammals
Warm-blooded; lungs; body hair/fur; give birth to live young; produce milk
Invertebrate
Animals without a backbone; arthropods; myriapods, insects, arachnids, crustaceans
Myriapods
Segmented bodies; paired/jointed legs; one pair of antennae; at least nine pairs of legs
e.g. Centipedes, milipedes
Insects
Exoskeleton; 3 pairs of jointed legs; 3 body segments; 2 to 4 wings
e.g. Ant, bees
Arachnids
Exoskeleton; 4 pairs of jointed legs; 2 body segments; feeding/defense appendages
e.g. Spiders
Crustaceans
Exoskeleton; 5 to 7 pairs of jointed legs; 2 to 3 body segments; one pair of antennae
Plants
MRS GREN
Mnemonics for characteristics of living organisms
Movement
Action by an organism causing a change of position or place
Respiration
Chemical reactions in cells that break down nutrient molecules and release energy
Sensitivity
The ability to detect and respond to changes in the environment.
Growth
Permanent increase in size
Reproduction
Processes that make more of the same kind of organism
Excretion
Removal from organisms of waste products of metabolism, toxic materials, and substances in
excess of requirements
Nutrition
Taking in of materials;plants require light, carbon dioxide water, and ions; animals need organic
compounds and ions and usually water
Binomal naming system
Latin; Genus species; Genus always in capital, species either italics or underlined; eg: Homo
[i]sapien[i]
Modern classification
Determined by sequences of bases in DNA and of amino acids in proteins; more accurate
Classical classifcation
Based on studies of morphology and anatomy
Five organisms kingdom
Animal, Plants. Fungus, Prokaryote, Protoctist (colonies of single cell)
, Vertebrate
Animals with a backbone; mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish
Reptiles
Cold-blooded; lungs; dry scaly skin; leathery-shelled eggs
Amphibians
Cold-blooded; adults have lungs, larvae have gills; moist skin; lay jelly-coated eggs in water
Fish
Cold-blooded; gills; wet scale; lay eggs in water
Birds
Warm-blooded; lungs; feathers; hard-shelled eggs; wings
Mammals
Warm-blooded; lungs; body hair/fur; give birth to live young; produce milk
Invertebrate
Animals without a backbone; arthropods; myriapods, insects, arachnids, crustaceans
Myriapods
Segmented bodies; paired/jointed legs; one pair of antennae; at least nine pairs of legs
e.g. Centipedes, milipedes
Insects
Exoskeleton; 3 pairs of jointed legs; 3 body segments; 2 to 4 wings
e.g. Ant, bees
Arachnids
Exoskeleton; 4 pairs of jointed legs; 2 body segments; feeding/defense appendages
e.g. Spiders
Crustaceans
Exoskeleton; 5 to 7 pairs of jointed legs; 2 to 3 body segments; one pair of antennae
Plants
