PROCESS NAME
and DEFINITION |
PROCESS DETAILS
in ANIMALS |
PROCESS DETAILS
in GREEN PLANTS |
1
MOVEMENT
the ability to move
n.b. Locomotion - movement (of the whole organism) from place to place - is considered to be an animal characteristic, but simple "plants" may swim. |
1A
Humans usually use muscles to move by walking or running.
Other animals may move by other methods such as: hopping, crawling, swimming or flying.
Advanced animals usually (but not always) move faster, so they need more energy.
Even so called sedentary animals tend to move or drift in their larval stages to ensure dispersal to new habitats.
|
1B
Movement in plants is by growth.
Parts of higher plants - branches, flowers, roots - move as they grow, so the process is usually quite slow.
Some parts of plants, e.g. flowers, leaves - may open or close depending on the time of day.
Dispersal of seeds results in new plants being spread to new areas away from their parents.
Some plants (exceptions to the rule) can move (parts) quite fast, e.g. the Venus fly trap, and the sensitive plant Mimosa. |
2
SENSITIVITY
(IRRITABILITY)
the ability to respond to stimuli from the surroundings - changes in the environment - using "senses" |
2A
Humans are said to have 5 senses:
sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch.
These perceptions result from information from the corresponding sense organs:
eyes, ears, nose, taste buds, skin.
Insect antennae can detect these and other stimuli.
Higher animals have more complex nervous systems. |
2B
Plants react to fewer stimuli: gravity, water and light are the main ones.
The (growth) response is slower, and often directed either towards or away from the stimulus.
Some climbing plants, e.g. beans, also react to the touch of a possible support, such as the bean pole. |
3
GROWTH
increase in (size or) number of cells
(presumably in order to be more efficient) |
3A
Like most animals, humans stop growing at adult size
|
3B
In general, plants continue to grow throughout their lifetime. |
4
NUTRITION
(FEEDING)
obtaining and using food -
either to be built up (assimilated) for growth and repair,
or used as a fuel - see later.
n.b. Digestion itself is not a specific characteristic process of living organisms, or even of all animals. |
4A
Animals either eat plants directly, or eat other animals .... which themselves eat plants
This is because animals cannot "make" (chemically synthesise) their own food.
Complex substances of plant origin are broken down into simpler ones, and their energy is released as a separate process. |
4B
Green plants are able to synthesise their own food by the process of photosynthesis.
Simple (inorganic) substances are built up into complex (organic) ones - the same as those also used as foods by animals.
Mineral salts are also nutrients for plants, but not foods providing energy |
5
RESPIRATION
(getting energy from food - this occurs inside the cells)
n.b. Energy is not "made" - it is merely released from the organic molecules, by oxidation - usually needing oxygen .
Not the same as breathing, which is only done by some active animals. |
5A
More active animals need more energy, so higher animals like Man have a respiratory system with a specialised gas exchange surface, and also a circulatory system to transport oxygen around the body.
Breathing is a pumping action in order to get more oxygen, but not all animals perform it. |
5B
Plants are less active, so they need less energy, and so they can devote more resources to growth, etc.
Photosynthesis seems to reverse the respiration process, but it is an extra process only found in green plants. |
(Aerobic) Respiration is exactly the same process in animals and plants!
"food" + oxygen "waste" substances + energy
(e.g. glucose).... (e.g. water & carbon dioxide)
[n.b. energy is not a substance like the others] |
6
EXCRETION
removal of waste produced inside cells - not to be confused with removal of undigested food |
6A
Main excretory organs:
lungs, kidneys, skin (sweat glands) |
6B
Plants may store their waste in old leaves.
Oxygen is a waste product of plants! |
7
REPRODUCTION
production of new individuals
(offspring)
n.b. Sexual reproduction is not confined to animals |
7A
Humans give birth to babies, but other animals may have their young via an egg. Offspring may not initially resemble parents but eventually grow to do so.
In sexual reproduction, only one sex (female) produces offspring.
Some animals carry out asexual reproduction, e.g. aphids, and Hydra |
7B
Flowering plants reproduce sexually to produce fruits containing seeds which germinate to give rise to new plants.
Plants may also produce asexual structures to quickly make more individuals which are direct copies of the original. |