UNIT 2

The cell and

the classification
1 T
 he special characteristics
of the Earth
2 T
 he differences between living
and non-living things
3 Cells
4 T
 he vital functions of living
things
of living things
5 T
 he classification of living
things
6 T
 he classification of living
things: the five kingdoms
7 Biodiversity

REVISION ACTIVITIES

SCIENCE PRACTICAL
Observing eukaryotic cells

WORK ON YOUR KEY

COMPETENCES
Different types of cells
How is it possible that living things,
such as bacteria, mushrooms or
people, are very different, but are
made up of the same units, cells?
Because living things are very
different, it’s logical to think that
their cells are also very different.
To show that this isn’t the case,
in this task you’ll investigate
the similarities and differences
between prokaryotic cells,
eukaryotic plant cells and
eukaryotic animal cells.
To present your results, you’ll
make a poster showing the
different types of cells and their
characteristics.

OXFORD INVESTIGATION
Go to your GENiOX Desktop.
 Think and discuss

1  What does the title of the

article make you think
A marine reserve to fight the loss
about?
2  The text mentions an action
of biodiversity
that fulfils Sustainable Panama has taken a great step towards protecting its seas. This Central
Development Goals (SDGs) American country, rich in biodiversity, but threatened by climate change,
14 and 15. What are they? has created a marine reserve in the Pacific Ocean. The reserve covers
67 742 km2, which is almost the same size as the land mass of the country.
3  What does the word
biodiversity mean? This protected area includes nine submerged mountain ranges, with
underwater mountains that are sometimes over 3 000 m high. The zone is
4  What does the word
a feeding and breeding ground for sea turtles, marlins (or sailfish), sharks
conservationist mean?
and whales, including species that are vulnerable or in danger of extinction.
5  Are biological reserves The reserve is in the Cordillera de Coiba, which is a large area, rich in
the solution to loss of resources for fishing and also an important place for marine species to
biodiversity? find food. Panama is one of the countries that is most affected by climate
6  Discuss how you, as change, and by creating this reserve they fulfil the protection goals of the
students in ESO 1, could Convention on Biological Diversity, which was signed by 196 countries to
contribute to conserving conserve and promote the sustainable use of marine resources. Together
biodiversity. with the neighbouring reserves in Colombia, the protected area is 121 341
km2, making it the third largest marine reserve in the tropical Pacific.
Conservationists are very excited about this new reserve, created by
decree last Tuesday afternoon, on World Oceans Day […]
Protecting these areas is an investment for the future for people who live
from marine resources and, indirectly, for the population of the world
within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Carlos Salinas Maldonado El País, June 2021 (Adapted)

Granito de Oro Island, Coiba National Park, Panama. Nature reserves are protected spaces
which are created to conserve ecosystems which have great value. This may be because of
their rarity, fragility, importance or uniqueness.
 1 The special characteristics of the Earth
The Earth has a range of characteristics that allow life on our planet to exist.
 It is 149.6 million kilometres away from the Sun.
 It has an atmosphere.
 It has liquid water.
 It has basic chemical elements such as hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, oxygen, and others.
How do these characteristics allow the development of life on our planet?

The Earth is a dynamic combination of levels or subsystems that interact

with each other.
mild: not severe or strong.
1

The atmosphere. This is the gaseous layer that surrounds the Earth. It
 
controls the climate and the atmosphere we live in and allows us to breathe.
The hydrosphere. This consists of all the bodies of water in their different
 
Atmosphere
states on the surface of the Earth. Aquatic life forms live and develop in
the areas of liquid water.
The geosphere. This is the solid part of the Earth. It mainly consists of
 
rocks and minerals. This supports the development of life on Earth.

Biosphere
The biosphere. This is not an actual layer, but consists of all the
 
living things on the Earth, together with the areas they inhabit. So
the biosphere includes all living things, part of the atmosphere (the
troposphere), the hydrosphere and the surface of the geosphere.
Hydrosphere Geosphere
1.1. The Earth, the planet of life
Interaction between the Earth’s spheres.
These are the characteristics that make life possible on the Earth.
CLIL activities The distance between the Earth and the Sun allows the presence of
 
mild temperatures on the Surface. Although these temperatures aren’t
1 There are currently constant, because the Earth’s orbit is elliptic not circular, they are always
numerous space missions which habitable. This characteristic means there is liquid water.
are studying the planets and
satellites of our solar system The presence of liquid water is essential for cellular processes and the
 
looking for life, and also to see vital functions of living things. The interior of our cells as well as the
if they could be appropriate for liquids we produce mostly consist of water.
human habitation in the future, The Earth’s atmosphere protects living things from UV radiation and
 
if it is necessary. In small groups, creates the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect helps to keep the
discuss why these missions Earth’s temperatures mild. It also contains essential gases for life to exist,
probably won’t discover a place such as oxygen for respiration and carbon dioxide, which together with
for humans to live in our solar water and sunlight, allow photosynthesis.
system.
The presence of basic chemical elements. When these elements are
 
combined, they become the molecules that build organic matter.
Important elements are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen.
CLIL activities
2  In groups of four, prepare a short presentation 3  Listen to the four statements and, in your
about the Earth’s special characteristics. notebook, write true or false. Correct the false
statements.

32 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

 virus
macromolècules

2 The differences between living and non-living things

The diagram below shows levels of organisation in the structure of the matter that formsvirusliving things. Which of these levels do
both living and non-living things share?
átoms molècules macromolècules

1. Atom. The 2. Molecule. A group of 3. Cell. The 4. Tissue. A group of cells

smallest unit atoms. functional with a similar structure
that forms and that perform the same
cèl·lules
matter. structural function.
unit of life.
biosfera cèl·lules

7. Organism. 5. Organ. A
organismes 6. System. A group
A living thing
ecosistema
group of tissues
of organs that work organismes
that can be that carry out a
together. biocenosi

unicellular or specific function.

multicellular.
poblacions

poblacions
All matter in the Universe, including all living things on Earth, is made up of
tiny particles called atoms. Atoms of the same type group together to form
chemical elements. Chemical elements group together to form molecules.
There are many different living things on Earth, but they all have some
characteristics in common.
 heir chemical elements are different from the chemical elements in
 T
non-living things. Living things have exclusive molecules that can’t be
found in non-living things.
 They are made of cells.
 All perform the vital functions: nutrition, interaction and reproduction.

2.1. Chemical elements that are only found in living things

The Earth’s crust Living things
Rest (1.8%) Rest (1%)

Mg (Magnesium) (2.2%) S (Sulphur) (1%)

K (Potassium) (2.5%) P (Phosphorus) (2%)

Na (Sodium) (2.5%) N (Nitrogen) (3%)

Ca (Calcium) (3.5%) H (Hydrogen) (10%)

Fe (Iron) (4.5%) C (Carbon) (18%)

Al (Aluminium) (8%) O (Oxygen) (65%)

Si (Silicon) (28%)

O (Oxygen) (47%)
Percentages of chemical elements that form the Earth’s crust and living things.
Which is the most abundant element in both living and non-living things? Which elements are most common in living
and in non-living things?

As you can see, some elements are abundant in living things, but are not so
abundant in the Earth’s crust. The elements that form living things are called
bioelements.

2. The cell and the classification of living things 33

 2.2. D ifferences between living and non-living things
CLIL activities Bioelements are the units that make up living matter.

4 The table below shows

STEA M The most abundant biolements are also known as primary biolements.
the amount of water that They’re carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P)
different living things contain. and sulphur (S).
What’s the average amount of Other bioelements, such as calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K) and
water? iron (Fe) are less abundant, but they’re still essential for living things.
Organism Water (%) Bioelements combine to create biomolecules. Living things are made up of
Adult person 63 biomolecules.
River crab 77 There are two types of biomolecules.
Snail 80
 Organic. They’re only found in living things and their main element is
Jellyfish 95 carbon. They can be carbohydrates, lipids, proteins or nucleic acids.
Algae 98
Biomolecules Functions Examples
Fungus 91
They release energy immediately in the Glucose, lactose
Lichen 55 Carbohydrates
organism. and sucrose
 o do this, add all of the percentages
T They store energy that may be needed in Fats, waxes and
Lipids
and divide by the number of entries the future. cholesterol
(in this case seven). They form structures such as skin, hair and Haemoglobin,
Proteins
muscle. collagen and keratin
They store genetic information which is DNA and RNA
Nucleic acids
needed for cells to work adequately.

Are vitamins  I norganic. They’re found in living things and non-living things.
biomolecules? They’re water and mineral salts. Water is the most abundant inorganic
biomolecule in living things.
Vitamins are organic biomolecules
which have various chemical
compositions. Biomolecules Functions Examples

They help with the regulatory It takes part in multiple functions, such Water
functions of an organism, such as Water as transport of substances or thermal
obtaining energy, bone calcification regulation.
and the formation of red blood cells. They participate in the formation of rigid Calcium carbonate
Mineral salts structures in the body, such as bones, and and calcium
are involved in important cellular processes. phosphate

CLIL activities
5 Listen and write organic or inorganic. 8 Which biomolecule is described in each sentence?
6  In your notebook, write two true sentences a. It’s the most abundant biomolecule in living
and one false sentence about living and non-living things.
things. Then test a classmate. b. I need these when I run really fast.
7 Classify the following molecules as organic or c. I need these to have strong, healthy muscles.
inorganic: calcium carbonate, lactose, sodium d. It’s responsible for controlling the information
chloride, haemoglobin, cholesterol, water and DNA in cells.

34 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

3 Cells
Groups of organic and inorganic compounds form complex structures called
cells. Cells are the smallest structures that can perform vital functions. Cells
unit: complete, individual thing that
1
are the smallest living things that exist.
can be a component of something
Cells are the structural and functional units1 of living things. bigger.
cork: impermeable, floating
2

Do you know how many cells we have in our body? And in a plant? And in a material that comes from a tree.
bacterium?

CLIL activities
9 Why are cells called ‘the
A human body that weighs approximately 70 kg and is 170 cm tall has around 30
billion cells. A plant of a similar size would have fewer cells because plant cells building blocks of life’? Discuss
are bigger than animal cells. Bacteria, in contrast, are just one individual cell. your ideas with a classmate.
10 Find information
Living things can be: and classify the following
 unicellular. Formed by a single cell. Examples of unicellular organisms can living things as unicellular
be bacteria, protozoa, certain fungi or algae. or multicellular: yeast,
Staphylococcus, Ephemeroptera,
 multicellular. Formed by many cells, like plants and animals. Their size Lepiota, diatom and Fucus.
varies depending on the number of cells in the organism.
11 Discuss the importance
3.1. C ell theory and the discovery of cells of the statements of cell theory.
Have a class debate to do so and
In 1665, the scientist Robert Hooke described a cell for the first time. He answer the following questions:
looked at a thin layer of cork2 with a microscope that he had made and saw Are there living things with no
repeated small polygonal structures. He named these structures cella, a cells in them? Do cells carry out
Latin word which means ‘inner chamber’ or ‘small room’. vital functions? Is there a smaller
level of organisation than cells
that’s alive?
Key points of cell theory 12 Listen to the interview
 All living things are made of cells. about cell theory and make
 All cells come from the division of other pre-existing cells.
 a list of five key ideas in your
 Cells are the basic unit of life.
 notebook. What has more cells,
an animal or a plant?
In 1838, Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann proposed the idea called
cell theory, which was later developed by other scientists.

Why can’t we see cells?

Most cells are too small for us to see because they’re microscopic. The unit
of measurement that we use for cells is the micrometre (μm):
1 μm = 0.001 mm = 0.000 001 m
1 m = 1 000 mm = 1 000 000 μm

Cells in onion skin seen using an optical

microscope

2. The cell and the classification of living things 35

 3.2. Cell types
All cells have the same three basic components: plasma membrane,
cytoplasm and nucleic acid.
Plasma membrane. This layer Cytoplasm. The fluid inside the cell where we
surrounds the whole cell and allows find organelles. Organelles are specialised
the entrance and exit of substances. structures that perform specific cell
functions. Examples of these functions are
Nucleic acids. They contain genetic obtaining energy for the cells or storing
information which is essential for the substances.
adequate functioning of the cell.
Cells can be eukaryotic or prokaryotic depending on their internal structure.

Ribosome Prokaryotic cells

Cytoplasm  They are between 0.5 and 10 µm in size.
Genetic They carry genetic material (DNA) in the cytoplasm.

material A cell wall surrounds the plasma membrane.
 
Flagellum Vacuole 
They don’t have many organelles. They have ribosomes, which create

proteins, and vacuoles, to store substances.
Cell wall
 Some have additional structures, such as a flagellum, to help them move.


Plasma membrane Eukaryotic cells

 They are between 10 and 150 µm in size.
 The cell’s nucleus contains genetic material.

 Not all of them have a cell wall around the plasma membrane.

 They have a variety of organelles.

The two main types of eukaryotic cells are animal cells and plant cells.

Plant cell Animal cell

Chloroplast Nucleus Centrioles

Cytoplasm

Ribosome

Vacuole Mitochondria
Vacuole
Plasma membrane
Cell wall

CLIL activities
13  Compare the structures of animal and plant cells. Which
structures do plant cells have that animal cells don’t and viceversa?
14  Listen to the podcast. Draw a table in your notebook to write down
what they say about eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.

36 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

Cell specialisation
Multicellular eukaryotic organisms contain specialised cells that have
different functions. Each cell uses different DNA information to carry out its
specific function.

Neurones Sperm Bone cells

Red blood cell

Muscle cells

Cell specialisation has a series of advantages.

 Longevity. Damaged cells or old cells are replaced by new cells. This
allows multicellular organisms to have more chance of survival.
 Division of labour. Each cell type performs a particular function, so all the
cells in an organism can perform different tasks at the same time.
 More efficiency. Given that cells are specialised in doing a particular task,
they are better at it.

CLIL activities
15 Can a bacterium have different types of cells? Why?/Why not?
16  Draw a eukaryotic plant cell and an animal cell. Discuss their
differences with a classmate.
17  In your notebook, write the name of the eukaryotic cell part that
performs the following functions:
a. It regulates the entrance of substances.
b. It stores and protects genetic material.
c. It gives consistency to a plant cell.
d. It contains organelles.
18  What advantages and disadvantages do unicellular organisms have
compared to multicellular ones?
19 Identify the organelle responsible for:
a. protein synthesis. c. cell respiration.
b. photosynthesis. d. storing substances.
20  With a classmate, make a Venn diagram to compare and contrast a
bacterium cell and a white blood cell. Which is more complex?
21 Is the shape of cells related to the function they perform? Find
examples to illustrate your answer.

2. The cell and the classification of living things 37

 4 The vital functions of living things
Living things come in all shapes and sizes, but they all perform the vital functions. Do you know how plants perform the vital
functions? And bacteria? What’s the purpose of each vital function? You can think about vital functions of animals to help you
answer the questions.

Nutrition Interaction Reproduction

Organisms need matter and energy to live and perpetuate1 their species. In
order to do this, they need to interact with their environment.
1
perpetuate: make something
continue in the future. Living things perform the vital functions of nutrition, interaction and
2
feed on: eat something as food reproduction.
regularly.
4.1. Nutrition
The objective of nutrition is to take in matter to renew and maintain the
organism’s structures and to produce energy to perform the vital functions.
Depending on the matter, nutrition can be autotrophic or heterotrophic.

Autotrophic Heterotrophic
Living things that take in inorganic Living things that take in organic
matter from the environment and matter from the environment are
transform it into organic matter heterotrophic organisms. They feed
perform autotrophic nutrition. Examples on2 other living things or their remains.
are plants, algae and some bacteria. Examples are animals, fungi, protozoa
Autotrophic organisms are food for and some types of bacteria.
heterotrophic organisms.

38 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

4.2. Interaction
Living things need to sense changes in their environment and in their bodies
so they can respond to them. This process is called interaction. offspring: young of an animal or
1

plant
 Changes in the environment are known as stimuli (for example, changes
in the amount of sunlight or temperature or the presence of chemical 2
split: divide into separate parts
substances). Stimuli are perceived by receptors (for example, sense
organs in animals and some specialised cells in plants).
 Living things process stimuli and produce responses from single cells
or from complex coordination systems such as the nervous system in
animals.
 Effectors are complex structures that execute responses to stimuli.
Muscles, for example, generate movement and glands secrete chemical
substances and eliminate toxins.

4.3. Reproduction
Reproduction is the creation of offspring1. Offspring guarantee the
survival of the species.
There are three types of reproduction:

Asexual Sexual
 A single individual generates multiple identical descendants.  It requires the reproductive cells
 Unicellular organisms and some multicellular ones reproduce this way. (gametes) of two individuals (male and
female) to join together.
There are three main types:
 Multicellular organisms perform sexual
 
Binary fission. One cell splits2 into two cells of a similar size. reproduction.
 It takes longer than asexual reproduction.
 Descendants are not identical to their
Gemmation. One cell splits into two cells of different sizes.
  parents.

Combination of sexual and asexual

Sporulation. The nucleus of a cell divides multiple times, creating lots of cells.
 
 S
ome species can reproduce both
sexually and asexually during their life
cycles. Examples of these organisms are
mosses, ferns and jellyfish.

CLIL activities
22  Explain to a classmate what the vital functions 25  Find two main differences between sexual and
are and why they are important. asexual reproduction. Discuss the differences with a
classmate.
23 What is the difference between autotrophic and
heterotrophic nutrition? What is the relationship 26  In groups of three, choose a living thing and give
between organisms that perform autotrophic and a short presentation about its vital functions.
heterotrophic nutrition?
27  Listen to the reporter. Summarise the difference
24  When you touch a hot pan accidentally, you between sense organs and effector organs in one
remove it immediately. Identify the stimulus, the sentence.
response to it and the body structures involved.

2. The cell and the classification of living things 39

 5 The classification of living things
A friend has given you a bag that has a lot of different types
of biscuits in it. You want to organise them in a box to see the
different types easily, instead of taking a biscuit from the bag and
not knowing which it is. To do this, you’ve decided to put similar
biscuits in groups to make it easier to choose the biscuit you want.
What criteria would you use to put the biscuits into groups? There’s
an example given here.

Biscuits with a filling Biscuits without a filling

What do you think about the criterion ‘it’s very tasty’ to find a particular type of biscuit? Would everyone find the biscuit you’re
referring to? Is it useful to use the criterion ‘dough without chocolate’ in relation to the group of biscuits without a filling?

CLIL activities Classifying is grouping different elements according to common

characteristics. These criteria are known as classification criteria.
28 What is a classification
criterion? Write three criteria The criteria to classify living things must be:
to divide your class into three
groups.
29 Listen and explain the
meaning of classification in your natural. They must be objetive. They can’t discriminatory. They must
notebook. Then identify the based on functional or depend on the likes be characteristics that
phylum and class of a ladybird. anatomical aspects, not and dislikes of an some of the elements
on random criteria. individual. we’re classifying have, but
not all of them.

Can you think of ways to classify the biscuits by creating smaller groups of similar biscuits? Can you do so until you only have one
left? You can see an example below.

Biscuits Cream Chocolate

with a filling filling dough

40 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

Taxonomy is the science of classifying living things according to natural
criteria. It classifies living things into groups of organisms that have shared
characteristics.
Each group of living things, or taxon, is assigned to a taxonomic category.
The most basic category is the species.

Taxonomic categories
Kingdom

Number of species
Phylum

Class

Similarities
Order

Family

Genus
Species

Taxonomic categories

A species is a group of individuals that have many common characteristics

and can reproduce and have fertile1 offspring. fertile: able to reproduce.
1

To name species we use the system of binomial nomenclature, invented by dichotomous key: sets of pairs
2

Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Each species has a name with two Latin words written of short, objective, discriminatory
in italics. The first word is the genus. The second word describes a specific descriptions that allow the
characteristic of the species. identification of a species.

For example, the binominal nomenclature of a cork oak is:

Quercus suber

Quercus is the name of the genus. suber means cork in Latin.

CLIL activities
30 Complete the following dichotomous key2 in your 31 Research and classify a dog and a holm oak. Start
notebook to classify a fish, a bear, a bird and a bat. with the kingdom and finish with the species.
1. It has fins. 32 Can a genus include members of different families
It’s a … or members of different species?
It doesn’t have fins. Go to 2.
33  In groups, write a series of questions using the
2. It has a beak.
taxonomic categories table. Then do a class quiz.
It’s a …
It doesn’t have a beak. Go to 3. Explain how ...
3. It can fly. Why do ...?
It’s a …
It can’t fly. It’s a … What’s the difference between ...?

2. The cell and the classification of living things 41

 6 The classification of living things: the five kingdoms
Imagine you’re a biologist. What are the biggest differences between the pairs of living things in the photos? Would you be able to
identify groups of living things that share the characteristics you’ve described?

Protozoa Mushroom Bacteria Palm tree Olive tree Lemur

In 1969, Robert H. Whittaker proposed five kingdoms based on three

criteria: type of cell, number of cells and type of nutrition.
Then, in 1985, Lynn Margulis improved the classification and gave names to
the five kingdoms.

Kingdom Monera Protoctista Fungi Plant Animal

Example

Type of cell Prokaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic

Cell Unicellular Unicellular or Unicellular or Multicellular Multicellular
organisation multicellular multicellular
Tissues No No No Yes Yes
Type of Autotrophic or Autotrophic or Heterotrophic Autotrophic Heterotrophic
nutrition heterotrophic heterotrophic
Bacteria Protozoa and algae Yeasts, moulds Hepaticae, Invertebrates
Living things and fungi mosses, ferns and and vertebrates
spermatophytes

In 1990, Carl Woese suggested a new category to go above the kingdom:

the domain. There are three domains: Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya.

CLIL activities
34 In your notebook, identify the kingdoms these 35 Which kingdoms have both tissue and eukaryotic
living things belong to: porcupine, oak, shiitake cells?
mushroom, streptococcus and green algae.
36  Listen to the students make statements about
the five kingdoms and write true or false in your
notebook. Correct the false statements.

42 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

7 Biodiversity
Did you know that scientists have described 1.75 million
species of living things? Did you know that the total
estimated number of species is 50 million? How is it
possible that so many species of living things have
originated from a single organism?
All living things come from the first cell that existed.
This cell is the base of the ‘tree of life’. The branches of
the tree are made up of the descendants of that original
single cell. They reproduced and multiplied as they
changed over millions of years. Those changes allowed
some individuals to adapt better to their environment
and to survive and reproduce. The ‘tree of life’. Where would you be?
This process, which is called biological evolution, continues to take place today. It’s this process which has allowed millions of
different species of living things to exist on the Earth.

The variety of different living things on the Earth is called biodiversity. It

includes the variety of individuals within a species, as well as of species and
preserve: protect, keep something
1
ecosystems. in its original state.
Preserving1 biodiversity is essential for several reasons:
 
Living things provide us with a great variety of materials, food and
medicines. Some also maintain the quality of water and soil.
 
The extinction of one species affects all the other species that interact
with it. If habitats are damaged or destroyed, the living things that live
there are also affected.

CLIL activities
37  Our planet’s current deforestation rate is equal to the size of
S TE M
A

20 football fields disappearing every minute. One football field is

5 000 m2. Calculate how many squareAmetres of forest disappear:
a. in one day. b. in one week.
The biodiversity of an ecosystem is not exactly equal to the number of
38 
species that live in it; we must also consider how abundant the species
are, which means finding out the total number of individuals of each
species. Which of the two ecosystems would you say has a greater
biodiversity, A or B? Give reasons for your answer.
A B

39  BIn groups, discuss how humans can have a negative effect on

biodiversity. Give examples and share your ideas with the class.
40 Why is it important to preserve biodiversity? In your notebook, give
examples of the effects of the disappearance of a species.

2. The cell and the classification of living things 43

 Revision activities
The special characteristics of the Earth The cell
41 Explain why these statements are true or false. 47 Write the function performed by the following
a. 
The presence of water is essential for life. cell structures:
b. 
The atmosphere is not essential for life to exist. a. nucleus.
c. 
If the axis of rotation of our planet was b. plasma membrane.
perpendicular instead of tilted, we would still c. chloroplast.
have the same amount of species on our planet.
d. mitochondria.
42  The table below shows the percentages of
48 Explain what cell specialisation is, which organisms
three gases in the atmosphere of different planets:
have it and its advantages.
Carbon 49  Copy the following diagram in your notebook
Planet Nitrogen Oxygen
dioxide
and answer the questions.
Venus 96% 3% 0%
Earth 0.036% 78% 21%
Mars 95% 3% 0%

a. 
What are the main differences in the composition
of the atmosphere of Venus, Earth and Mars?
b. 
Do you think there’s a link between the
composition of the atmosphere and the
presence of life? Explain your answer.

Differences between living and non-living things

43 Identify three characteristics that differentiate a
rock and an organism.
44 Define atom, molecule and organism. Are levels a. 
Say what type of cell it is and locate and label
of organisation exclusive to living things? Give the following cell structures: cytoplasm,
reasons for your answer. mitochondria, nucleus, plasma membrane, cell
wall, vacuole and chloroplast.
45  A doctor visited an ESO 1 class to talk
about the importance of a good diet for the b. 
Which of the structures are found in all cells?
proper functioning of our cells. She said that c. 
Which structures are found in animal
we need to eat foods rich in some bioelements eukaryotic cells but are not in this diagram?
to avoid suffering from certain diseases. For d. 
Explain why this cell is larger or smaller than
example, eating nuts such as hazelnuts, walnuts or a bacterium?
pistachios, certain lean red meats (veal), liver, and
black pudding, helps to prevent anaemia. The life processes of living things
a. What is anaemia?
50   The PE teacher has asked pupils in ESO 1
b. What bioelement do each of the foods
to run with a partner for 10 minutes. One student
mentioned have?
fainted after 5 minutes, but his partner continued
c. Which important function do those particular and had no problems. The boy that fainted didn’t
bioelements perform in our body? have breakfast but the girl that finished did.
46 Which biomolecule stores the essential a. What’s the relationship between eating
information needed for a cell to function? Which breakfast and physical activity?
one performs an energy function? b. Which vital function is related to this?

44 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I

51 Make a table and show if these concepts relate Biodiversity
to autotrophic or heterotrophic nutrition, or
both: it’s carried out by plants, they take organic 58 Look at the pie chart and order the kingdoms
matter from the environment, protozoa do this, they according to how biodiverse they are.
produce organic matter, they take inorganic matter
Other
from the environment, it’s carried out by some animals
bacteria, it’s performed by animals. Insects
Fungi
52 Identify the vital function that relates to the
following examples: Algae
a. A zebra escapes when it senses the presence
of a lion. Plants Bacteria
b. A sunflower turns towards the Sun. Protozoa
c. A bird incubates its eggs in a nest.
59  Define biodiversity. If we estimate that currently
d. Adding humus to a plant helps the plant grow.
there are 5 million species, why do you think it’s so
e. The pollen of some plants is transported by the important to protect them? What are the possible
wind. consequences of a species becoming extinct?
53  A colony of bacteria is growing in a lab. Each
S TE M
A

bacteria can split into two every 30 minutes,

thanks to the process of binary fission. If there Study skills
were 4000 bacteria to start with, how many
I Prepare a summary of the unit that answers the
would we have after 1 hour?
following questions:
54  In a biology class, students have watched  How are living and non-living things different?
a documentary about the enormous amount of  What are the main biomolecules that make up
plastic in our seas and oceans. In the documentary, living things?
there were images of dead sea animals that had
 What is a cell?
their stomachs full of plastics.
 What are the similarities and differences
a. Why did those animals die?
between a prokaryotic and a eukaryotic cell?
 b. How do plastics affect living things?
 What are the vital functions of living things?
The classification of living things  What are the large groups of living things and
what are their characteristics?
55 If you had to classify living things, would you use
 What are the origins of biodiversity?
external appearance as a criterion? Give reasons
for your answer. II Create a mind map that contains the following
concepts: levels of organisation, fungi, eukaryote,
The five kingdoms bioelements, plant cell, reproduction, biomolecules,
nutrition, cells, Protista, vital functions, animal cell,
56 If we classified living things using six kingdoms kingdoms, Monera, plants, animals, relationship
instead of five, which kingdom would you split and prokaryote.
into two? Give reasons for your answer. III Create your own glossary of scientific vocabulary.
57 Make a table and identify the characteristics of Define the following terms:
each kingdom. biodiversity, bioelement, biomolecule, cell,
a. Type of cell cytoplasm, species, stimulus, eukaryotic, plasma
b. Cell organisation membrane, organelle, prokaryotic, receptor,
kingdom.
c. Presence of tissues
Complete your glossary with other terms related
d. Nutrition
to the subject.
Passnotes Digital Revision activities Concept map

2. The cell and the classification of living things 45

 Science practical
Observing eukaryotic cells
The discovery of the cell is closely linked to the invention of OBJECTIVES
the microscope. In this practical activity you’ll be observing
 Learn to use a microscope
eukaryotic plant cells and eukaryotic animal cells in order to
 Differentiate eukaryotic plant and animal cells
note some of their differences.
Before completing the activity, you can watch how to do it
in the video

MATERIALS
 microscope  tweezers
 blotting paper   onion
 water  toothpick
 slides  methylene blue
 cover slips

METHOD
1. Cut the onion and separate a part of 7. Repeat steps 4 and 5. Next, place one
the thin inner layer. of the samples in the microscope and
2. Use the tweezers to place the thin layer hold it with the tweezers so that it
on the slide. Try to extend the layer doesn’t move.
evenly over the slide. 8. Begin by observing the sample using
3. Add a drop of water to the sample and the lowest magnification. To focus, first Cells of the skin of the onion
spread it well. Remove excess water change the course adjustment and then
using the blotting paper. the fine adjustment.
4. Add a drop of methylene blue. Leave 9. Write in your notebook the
it to act for 5 minutes and remove any characteristics of the cells observed
excess liquid with blotting paper. and make your own drawings.
5. Place a cover slip over the sample. 10. Use the highest magnification of the
microscope to observe the sample.
6. Scratch the inside of your cheek with a
Draw the sample and make notes
toothpick and spread the sample over
describing everything you see
another slide.
Cells of the oral mucosa

Analyse the experiment

1 What magnification did you use first? 3 What’s the reason for using methylene blue?
2 Answer the questions taking into consideration the 4 What’s the darker dot inside the cells?
magnification of the eyepiece and objective.
a. What was the total magnification you used when 5 Draw your own conclusions about this practical
you used the lowest magnification lenses? activity and explain the differences you have
observed between the two cell types.
b. And when you used the highest magnification?

46 BLOCK: THE DIVERSITY OF LIVING THINGS I Experiment video   Lab report

 LEARNING SITUATION

Work on your key competencias

Different types of cells Poster
How many types of cells are there in nature?
All living things are made up of cells, or at least one. All
cells share three components. The first is an external
layer, the plasma membrane, which surrounds the
cell and allows the entrance and exit of substances.
The second is an internal liquid, the cytoplasm, which
contains specialised structures called organelles. The
third is a nucleic acid molecule, which contains the Bacterial cells
Animal cells
genetic information.
Different species of living things have different
numbers of cells and these cells have different internal
structures.
The aim of this task is to investigate the similarities
and differences between the cells that make up living
things: prokaryotic cells, animal eukaryotic cells
Plant cells Fungal cells
and plant eukaryotic cells. You’ll create a poster to
present the results of your investigation.

Research Development and writing up

1 Find out about the parts of a cell and the function 5 Prepare a list of the characteristics of each type of
of each one. Don’t use only one source of cell and make a table to show the similarities and
information, consult various sources to check the differences between each cell.
data you find.
6 Create a poster with all the information you have
2 After your research, draw a diagram of the steps selected. Remember the instructions for making a
you should follow in order to observe cells with poster described in Unit 1:
their internal organelles. It may be useful to watch  Use a short title and define clear objectives. Don’t
the video of the experiment, Observing eukaryotic forget the names and surnames of the authors.
cells.
 Organise the work in paragraphs or sections.
3 Find out which the main cellular organelles are and  Use images to clarify the information in the text.
the advantages and disadvantages of each type of You can use your own photos if you have done
cell. practical research in the laboratory.
4 Using the previous information, answer this  Include a bibliography with all the sources you
question: What is the relationship between the consulted (texts and images).
function of organelles in eukaryotic cells and the
vital functions of a multicellular living thing? Share your findings
7  Present the poster you have made and discuss
your results with the rest of the class.

Task guide 2. The cell and the classification of living things 47