1.6.1

Living Organisms

Test yourself

Living Organisms

To remember the seven characteristics that all living organisms share we can remember the acronym “MRS GREN”.

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What does 'MRS GREN' stand for?

  • M: movement
  • R: respiration
  • S: sensitivity
  • G: growth
  • R: reproduction
  • E: excretion
  • N: nutrition
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Movement and respiration

  • Movement:
    • Animals are able to move and fly.
    • Plants can move towards the light this is called phototropism.
  • Respiration:
    • Respiration is different from breathing.
    • Respiration is a chemical reaction that produces energy.
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Sensitivity and growth

  • Sensitivity:
    • Detecting changes in the environment that surrounds the organism.
    • For example, an octopus squirting ink when it feels threatened to the “touch-me-not-plant” or Mimosa pudica that closes up if you touch it.
  • Growth:
    • Living organisms can create new cells for growth.
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Reproduction and excretion

  • Reproduction:
    • Reproduction can happen sexually (humans) and asexually (plants).
  • Excretion
    • Removing waste products by going to the toilet or plants excreting via the stomata in their leaves.
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Nutrition

  • Nutrition:
    • Animals can eat to get nutrients and trees can absorb nutrients through their roots in the soil.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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