LIFE SCIENCES

GRADE 11 CAPS
STRUCTURED, CLEAR, PRACTICAL -
HELPING TEACHERS UNLOCK THE
POWER OF NCS

KNOWLEDGE AREA: Diversity,

change and continuity
TOPIC 1: Biodiversity of
Animals

Key features of
Body Plans of Animals
SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION
The term phylum

Introduction to the Animal Kingdom

Key features of the body plans of

animals

Symmetry and Cephalisation

Number of Tissue Layers in Embryo

Coeloms and blood systems

Type of Gut based on Number of

Openings
PHYLUM:
 Do you remember the 5 kingdoms that all living
organisms are classified into?
 They are:

1. Monera
2. Protista
3. Fungi
4. Plantae
5. Animalia
 Organisms are classified according to certain
common characteristics, for example all the
prokaryotes belong to the Kingdom Monera.
PHYLUM:
 However we find that all the organisms in the
kingdom are not identical.
 They do have some differences.
 Therefore within each kingdom there are many
large groups.
 These large groups are called phyla. (singular
phylum)
 The organisms that belong to a single phylum
share some common characteristics.
 But the organisms that belong to each phylum
are not identical as well.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
 The next slide shows you all the phyla of the
animal kingdom.
INTRODUCTION TO THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
Phylum Porifera

Phylum Cnidara
Phylum
Invertebrates Platyhelminthes
Phylum Nematoda

Kingdom Animalia Phylum Annelida

Phylum Mollsuca

Phylum Arthropoda

Phylum Echinoderma

Vertebrate Phylum Chordata

INTRODUCTION TO THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
 This year we will only look at the body plan of 6
phyla.
 These are:

1. Porifera
2. Cnidara
3. Platyhelminthes
4. Annelida
5. Arthropoda
6. Chordata.
KEY FEATURES IN RESPECT OF BODY
PLANS OF ANIMALS.
 Morphology and development are the features
that are often used to classify organisms into
groups.
 Morphology refers to the external and internal
structural characteristics.
 The morphological and developmental
characteristics that are used for classification are
as follows:
1. Symmetry and cephalisation.
2. Number of tissue layers.
3. Coelom and blood systems.
KEY FEATURES IN RESPECT OF BODY
PLANS OF ANIMALS.
4. Number of openings in the gut.
 The combination of a set of morphological and
developmental characteristics into a
functioning organisms is referred to an
organism’s body plan.
 The body plan of organisms can be used to
determine its level of complexity.
 Or we can say to determine its level of
organization.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Symmetry is when an
organism can be divided
into 2 identical halves.
 Some organisms do not
have a regular shape.
 Therefore these organisms
do not have any symmetry.
 We call them
asymmetrical, like
the sponges shown
alongside.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Animals that have a
circular or radial body
plan show radial
symmetry.
 Radial
symmetry is when
the animal can be cut
along any vertical plane
through the centre to
form two identical halves,
for example the sea
anemone shown
alongside.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Animals that show radial symmetry have no heads
or tails.
 In other words they do not have posterior or
anterior ends.
 Remember we mentioned earlier that their body
parts have a circular arrangement, this means that
all their body parts even the sense organs are
evenly distributed through out the body.
 This allows the animal to sense danger and food
from any direction.
 This means that they will be able to react to danger
coming from any direction.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Radial symmetry is very important to
animals that do not move.
 Since it allows the organism to sense food
and danger from any direction and to react
to food or danger from any direction.
 These animals that do not move are called
sessile.
 Radial symmetry is also important to the
planktonic animals that drift or swim
weakly in the water.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Some animals can be cut into 2
identical halves in the central
longitudinal plane. This is called

bi-lateral
symmetry.
 This means that the animal can
be cut from the top of the
ventral surface to the bottom
of the dorsal surface into 2
identical halves.
 Animals in the phylum
Platyhelminthes, Annelida,
Arthropoda and Chordata show
bi-lateral symmetry.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 Animals that show bi-lateral symmetry have 2
important developments over other organisms.
 The sense organs are accumulated at one end of
the body.
 The end that has the sense organs is called the
anterior end and the opposite end is called the
posterior end.
 This means that the anterior end is different from
the posterior end.
 So the animal now has a definite anterior and
posterior end.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 The accumulation of sense organs at one end of
the body is referred to as cephalisation.
 Cephalisation lead to the development of a central
nervous system.
 The second development that led to bi-lateral is the
differentiation of the upper and lower surfaces.
 The upper surface is the ventral surface.
 The lower surface is called the dorsal surface.
 Different dorsal and ventral surfaces is known as
dorso-ventral differentiation.
SYMMETRY AND CEPHALISATION
 The presence of dorso-ventral differentiation and
cephalisation meant that these organisms have
definite left and right sides.
 Organisms with bi-lateral symmetry are able to
crawl, burrow, swim and fly.
 This type of movement needs to be co-ordinated
by a complex nervous system.
SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO:
 Name and explain the development that lead to
bi-lateral symmetry.
SOLUTION:
 The two developments that led to bi-lateral
symmetry were:
1. The accumulation of sense organs at one end of
the body. This is known as as cephalisation.
2. The differentiation between the dorsal and
ventral surfaces. This is called dorso-ventral
differentiation.
NUMBER OF TISSUE LAYERS:
 Here we are talking about the number of tissue
layers that develop in the embryonic stage.
 Remember that the zygote that is formed during
sexual reproduction is made up of 1 cell only.
 The zygote needs to develop into a multicellular
organism.
 Once it becomes multicellular then the cells need
to differentiate so that the different organs and
the tissues needed by the body can develop.
 NUMBER OF TISSUE LAYERS:
 But before differentiation occurs
the cells need to become
arranged into layers.
 These layers are called the germ
layers.
 Sometimes in some organisms the
cells arrange themselves into two gut
layers.
 These 2 layers are an outer layer
called the ectoderm and an inner
Diploblastic
layer called the endoderm.
organism
 Animals that have only 2 germ
layers are called diploblastic.
 Can you name some diploblastic
animals?
SOLUTION:
 They are sea anemones, blue bottles and jelly fish.
NUMBER OF TISSUE LAYERS:
 In some animals there are
3 germ layers.
 The ectoderm and
endoderm are separated
by a middle layer called
the mesoderm.
 Animals who have 3 germ
layers are called
triploblastic.
 All bi-laterally symmetrical Triploblastic animal
animals are
triploblastic.
NUMBER OF TISSUE LAYERS:
 Ectoderm gives rise to the outer covering of the
organism.
 In some cases it also gives rise to the central
nervous system.
 The endoderm gives rise to the gut lining and all
the organs that arise from the gut.
 The mesoderm gives rise to the muscles and most
of the organs that are found between the
digestive tract and the outer body covering.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
 Diploblastic animals do
not have body cavities.
 They only have a gut as
shown in the picture
alongside.
 The gut is not a body GUT
cavity.
 A body cavity is a fluid
space found between the
digestive tract and the
ectoderm.
 This body cavity is called a
coelom.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
 There are 2 types of coeloms.
 These are true coeloms and
pseudocoeloms.
 A true coelom is a body
cavity that is surrounded by
mesoderm as shown in the
diagram alongside.
 Some triploblastic animals
such as vertebrates, annelids
and arthropods have
coeloms.
 Animals that have true
coeloms are called
coelomates.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
 However some
triploblastic animals
do not have true
coeloms.
 These animals have
body cavities that are
lined by mesoderm on
one side only.
 This type of body
cavity is called a
pseudocoelom.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
 Animals that do not
have either type of
coelom are called
acoelomates.
 The animals found in
the phylum
Platyhelminthes are
examples of
acoelmates.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
FUNCTIONS OF A BODY CAVITY:
 The body cavity creates space for the
development of internal organs.
 It separates the gut wall from the body wall so
that each wall can function independently.
 The fluid found within the body cavity acts as a
skeleton. This type of skeleton where the muscles
contract and relax against a fluid is called a
hydrostatic skeleton.
 The fluid also act as a cushion for the organs,
preventing injury.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
 The separation of the gut wall from the body wall
also means that the distance between the two
walls has increased.
 This means that diffusion is no longer an effective
means of transport.
 It also means that excretory waste can no longer
simply diffuse out of the body.
COELOM AND BLOOD SYSTEMS
These problems were solved in the following way:
1. A transport system was developed to
transport gases from the body wall to the gut
wall because some animals (earthworm) used
the skin as a gas exchange surface. The
transport system is also used to transport food
from the gut wall to the body wall.
2. An excretory system was developed to
get rid of nitrogenous waste.
NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN THE GUT
BLIND GUT: What is it?

Some animals have a gut with only 1 opening.
 This opening is usually called the mouth.
 Food enters and undigested food leaves the body
through the same opening.

This type of gut is called a blind gut.
 Cnidarians and some free living Platyhelminthes
are some examples of animals with a blind gut.
NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN THE GUT
BLIND GUT: Disadvantages:
 Since the digested and undigested food enters
and leaves through the same opening, there is a
mixing of the digested and undigested food.
 This occurs because the digested and undigested
food moves in 2 directions.
 This means that the gut cannot become
specialized.
 That is the gut cannot have separate regions for
separate functions.
NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN THE GUT
THROUGH GUT: What is it?

Some animals have a gut with 2 openings.
 These 2 openings are called a mouth and anus.
 The food enters the animal through the mouth
and undigested food leaves the body through the
anus.
 This means that food travels in 1 direction only, it
enters through the mouth and leaves through the
anus.

This type of gut is called a through gut.
NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN THE GUT
THROUGH GUT: Advantages:
 Since the food moves in only 1 direction
specialization of the gut can occur.
 The different regions become adapted
(specialized) for different functions.
 This allows for digestion to occur all the time,
even when ingestion and egesting occurs.
 This lead to greater efficiency.
TERMINOLOGY:
 Phyla: Large groups of organisms with similar
characteristics within the kingdom.
 Morphology: refers to the external and internal
structural characteristics.
 Body plan: refers to the combination of a set of
morphological and developmental characteristics into
a functioning whole.
 Symmetry: is when an organism can be divided into 2
identical halves.
 Asymmetrical: refers to an organism with no
symmetry.
TERMINOLOGY:
 Radial symmetry: is when the animal can be cut along
any vertical plane through the centre to form two
identical halves.
 Sessile: these are animals that do not move.
 Bi-lateral symmetry : refers to animals can be cut into 2
identical halves in the central longitudinal plane.
 Cephalisation: refers to the accumulation of sense
organs at one end of the body.
 Dorso-ventral differentiation: is when the dorsal and
ventral surfaces of the organism are different from each
other.
 Diploblastic animals: are animals that have only 2 germ
layers.
TERMINOLOGY:
 Triploblastic animals : are those who have 3 germ
layers.
 True coelom: is a body cavity that is surrounded by
mesoderm
 Pseudo-coelom: refers to body cavities that are lined
by mesoderm on one side only.
 Acoelomate: are animals that do not have coelom.
 Hydrostatic skeleton: is a type of skeleton where the
muscles contract and relax against a fluid.
 Blind gut: is a gut with only 1 opening
 Through gut: is a gut with 2 openings
 QUESTION 1
Animals that have an irregular shape are …

A. Symmetrical

B. Radially symmetrical

C. Bi-laterally symmetrical

D. Asymmetrical
 QUESTION 2
That animals that have a regular shape maybe…

A. Symmetrical

B. Asymmetrical

C. Both A and B

D. None of the above

 QUESTION 3
Accumulation of sense organs at one end of the body is called…

A. Dorso-ventral differentiation

B. Cephalisation

C. Radial symmetry

D. None of the above

 QUESTION 4
A gut that has 2 openings is called…

A. Stomach

B. Intestine

C. Blind gut

D. Through gut
 QUESTION 5
_________ leads to bi-lateral symmetry…

A. Through gut and blind gut

B. Acoelomate and coelom

C. Cephalisation and dorso-ventral differentiation

D. A and B only
 QUESTION 6
Dorso-ventral differentiation refers to…

A. Cells that have been differentiated

B. Cells that are still meristematic

C. A dorsal surface that is different from the ventral

surface

D. Organisms that show bi-lateral symmetry.

 QUESTION 7
A through gut allows for…
1. mixing of food
2. differentiation to occur
3. food to move in one direction

A. 1 & 3

B. 3 & 2

C. 1 & 2

D. 1 only
 QUESTION 8
The disadvantage of presence of a coelom is…

A. The animal becomes larger

B. Diffusion can no longer be used as a transport system

C. Food travels in 1 direction only

D. None of the above

 QUESTION 9
The fluid space that lies between the digestive tract and the
outer wall and is lined by the mesoderm on one side only is
the…

A. Coelom

B. True coelom

C. Pseudocoelom

D. gut
 QUESTION 10
A fluid filled space that lies between the gut wall and the outer wall
and is surrounded by the mesoderm on one side only is the…

A. Coelom

B. True coelom

C. Pseudocoelom

D. Gut
 QUESTION 11
Animals which arise from 2 germ layers are…

A. Acoelomate

B. Diploblastic

C. Triploblastic

D. A and B
 QUESTION 12

Animals that arise from 3 germ layers are…

A. Acoelomate

B. Diploblastic

C. Triploblastic

D. A and B
 QUESTION 13
The germ layer that gives rise to muscles and internal
organs other than those of the digestive tract is…

A. Ectoderm

B. Mesoderm

C. Endoderm

D. Both B and C
 QUESTION 14
The germ layer that gives rise to outer coverings of the animal
is…

A. Ectoderm

B. Mesoderm

C. Endoderm

D. Both B and C
 QUESTION 15
The germ layer that gives rise to the lining of the digestive
tract is…

A. Ectoderm

B. Mesoderm

C. Endoderm

D. Both B and C
SOLUTION:
1. D 11. D
2. A 12. C
3. B 13. B
4. D 14. A
5. C
15. C
6. C
7. B
8. B
9. B
10. C