Classifying Living Things
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What you will learn
- 1Classify living things as animals, plants, or other organisms
- 2Name the seven characteristics shared by all living things
Mini Lesson
Scientists sort all living things into groups called kingdoms. The main groups we study are animals, plants, and other living things such as fungi and microorganisms. Every living thing shares seven important characteristics.
Three Main Groups
- Animals: can move on their own, cannot make their own food, must eat plants or other animals. Examples: eagle, earthworm, shark.
- Plants: cannot move around, make their own food from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide from the air (photosynthesis), have roots and leaves. Examples: oak tree, cactus, fern.
- Other living things: do not fit neatly into animal or plant groups. Fungi (mushrooms, mold) feed on dead material. Microorganisms (amoeba, bacteria) are too small to see without a microscope.
The 7 Characteristics of Living Things — MRS GREN
- Movement: all living things move, even if only very slowly.
- Respiration: living things release energy from food.
- Sensitivity: living things respond to changes in their environment.
- Growth: living things grow and develop over time.
- Reproduction: living things produce offspring.
- Excretion: living things remove waste products from their bodies.
- Nutrition: living things need food or make their own to get energy.
Words to know
Classify
To sort things into groups based on shared features
e.g. We classify living things as animals, plants, or other.
Organism
Any single living thing
e.g. A worm is an organism.
Fungi
A group of living things, like mushrooms and mold, that feed on dead material
e.g. Fungi grow well in damp places.
Microorganism
A living thing too small to see without a microscope
e.g. Bacteria are microorganisms.
Reproduction
When living things produce new young of their kind
e.g. Reproduction lets a species continue.
Remember MRS GREN — Movement, Respiration, Sensitivity, Growth, Reproduction, Excretion, Nutrition. These seven features are shared by every living thing on Earth.
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