Is it Alive? A video that complements the worksheet in your booklet.

The 7 life processes

Living organisms all demonstrate the 7 life processes that can be summed up in the phrase MRS NERG.  sometimes MRS GREN is used in stead.  They are:-

M --> Movement - All living organisms move even if it is a small amount or very slowly

R --> Respire - All living things respire (this is NOT the same as breathing)

S --> sensitive to stimuli - All living things respond to their surroundings such as heat, cold, light dark or more complex interactions

N --> Nutrition - All living organisms need nutrition of some description in order to survive.

E --> Excrete - What goes in must come out. Waste products that the organism does not need must be excreted.

R --> Reproduce - The organism must create more of itself if the species is to continue as a single organism only has a finite life span.

G --> Grow - All living organisms need to grow to become big enough to reproduce etc.

Click on Mrs Nerg for more information on the 7 life processes

Building blocks

Living organisms are complex objects.  They are made up of different modules or building blocks. The simplest building block is the cell.  There are several different types of cell.  These Cells go on to build tissues. Some examples are below.

Plant tissues                                    Animal tissues

 Tissues are used to build organs. In the human body there are many organs fitted into a 3 dimensional jigsaw puzzle the ones that you will need to be able to name first and know where they are found in the body are the brain, heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver and kidneys.

Groups of organs work together in systems. One such system is the digestive system shown below but there are many others such as the nervous and skeletal systems.

You will also need to know the major parts of a flowering plant and their uses.