LIVING AND
NON-LIVING THINGS;
Biology is the science of life ( Greek word Bios means Life and Logos means Discovers).
Living
things are divided into two (2) Namely:
( 1) Plants- the
study of plants is called Botany
( 2) Animals- the
study of animals is called Zoology
Living Thing
Characteristics of Living things
Living Thing
Animals are the best example of living things.
(1) Movement: different organisms move in varying
forms. Animals movement are more noticeable than plants growth movement and
cyclosis. Features such as Pseudopodia, Flagella, Cilia,
Fore and hind legs, etc all this are various examples of movement in
animals.
(2) Respiration: Respiration is also a major
characteristic of living things. Air is
needed for respiration in animals in order to break down food substances and
release of energy.
( (3) Nurtrition if life is to be continues then food
is necessary for all types of living things. Without nutrition (food) living
things will never exists.
(4) Irritability: living things are always needed to
respond to the both external and internal changes (stimuli). If internal or external, one of them is
absent then the living things may be affected.
(5) Growth: These associated with increase in size, weight and complexity. All living things deals with growth.
(6) Excretion: Toxic metabolic nitrogenous wastes
which would have been harmful are removed because presence of metabolic waste
products without excrete, it and it may cause any disease to living things.
(7) Reproduction: All living things possess a reproduction to bring a new ones to
life. This may occur through two (2)
ways; Sexual or Asexual reproduction.
(8) Adaptation: for any organism to survive, such
organism must have the ability to adapt to changes in its environment.
(9) Competition: Living things tend to struggle for
many of the necessities of live such as food in order to survive. Some living things are even fight between
them to get food for survive. For examples Lion, Tiger etc
(10) Death: this is
the last characteristic of living things , all living things in this world must
die at the end of their life be it naturally or accidentally or due to
infection.
Non-Living
Things
Non-Living
Things are those things that do not
possess movement means they do not have all the characteristic of living
things listed above. Examples of
non-living things are stone, gravels, iron etc.
A Rock (stone) is the only example of Non-Living thing, because rock has no live and does not move from one various place to another.
VIRUS
Virus is a very small micro-organism
(smaller than bacteria) that is often parasitic within living tissues or
cells. When outside the cells it is
particulate non living. But within the
cells, it replicates (a form of reproduction).
They are bridge between living and non living things.
Properties of virus
(1) Its very small
(2) It either has DNA or RNA but both
(3) Lacks apparatus used in protein
synthesis (as non-living thing).
(4) It does not reproduce by binary
fission
(5) It produces by replication (as living
thing)
(6) It does not respire, excrete, feed
etc. Outside the tissue or cell (as
non-living thing)
(7) Virus causes many chronic diseases
such as; Pox Virus, Polio Virus, Rhoda, AIDS, Rhino, Herpes, etc
UNIT 2:
Differences between Plants And Animals
PLANTS
1) Movements are restricted.
2) The cell are rigid
3) They manufacture food with
chlorophyll
4) They possess large vacuoles
5) Cellulose cell walls are present
6) Glucose is stored as starch
7) Stored waste products without harm
8) Growth is not limited
9) Response to stimulus is delayed
10) Growth mostly at roots and
shoots(capillary)
11) Most of them have characteristic of
green plants. ANIMALS
1) They move
in different ways
2) The cell are flexible
3) They
depend on already made food
4) The
possess smaller or no vacuoles
5) Cellulose
cell walls are absent
6) Glucose
is stored as glycogen
7) Waste
products are removed
8) Growth
gradually through standstill
9) Response
is automatic and quick
10) Growth
mostly in all parts body
11) Most of them possess different colors.
EUGLENA
EUGLENA; possess the characteristics of both
plants and animals. It is therefore
referred to as a dual organism.
ANIMALS CHARACTERISTICS
1) Possession of flagellum for
locomotion
2) Possession of eye spot for response
to light
3) Presence of gullet for passage of
food as well as reservoir
4) Possession of pellicle
5) Possession of myonemes for locomotion
6) Presence of contractile vacuole for
excretion
7) Holozoic nutrition when it is starved
of light
PLANTS CHARACTERISTICS
1) Possession of chloroplast for
photosynthesis
2) Possession of paranoid
3) Storage of starch in form of
paramylum granules
4) It is able to photosynthesize in the
presence of light.
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