7.
Diversity in Living Organisms
Check Point 01
1. Question
Certain regions of the earth have rich biodiversity of species. What are these
regions called? Give examples.
Answer
The regions of the earth which have a rich biodiesel of species are called
biodiversity hotspots. More than half of the earth's biodiversity is supposed
to be concentrated in these areas. For example Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador,
Australia, India, etc. Biodiversity hotspots in India are present in Western
Ghats, Eastern Himalayas, Indo- Burma border, etc.
2. Question
List the basis on which Aristotle classi ied organisms?
Answer
Aristotle classi ied organisms into two groups- plants and animals. The
animals were further classi ied based on their habitat, i.e. whether they lived
on land, in water, or in air. The plants were categorised as small medium and
large.
3. Question
Name an organism who carries out all its body functions through a single
cell?
Answer
Bacteria is one such organism which carries out all its body functions
through a single cell. Belonging to kingdom Monera , the bacteria are single
celled organisms which don’t have a well de ined nucleus or organelles. But ,
they have special mechanisms to carry out metabolic functions through
single cell only.
4. Question
Suggest, how does functional organization of any organism help in
classi ication?
Answer
In situations where cells are grouped together to form an indivisible
organism , the principle of division of labour is followed. All cells in these
organisms are not identical and particular group of cells perform particular
functions. This functional similarity of cells leads to their organisation in a
speci ic manner which dictates their body design. This makes a basic
distinction in the body design of organisms, simplifying the classi ication
process.
5. Question
Who wrote the book “The Origin of Species”?
Answer
Charles Darwin wrote “The Origin of Species” in 1859. It was his most famous
work .
Check Point 02
1. Question
State the contribution of Biologists, such as Wosse and Whittaker in
formulating the basis of classi ication?
Answer
Ernst Haeckel, Robert Whittaker and Carl Woese made attempt at classifying
all organisms into category or kingdoms.
Robert Whittaker proposed a ive kingdom classi ication, which includes
Monera, Protista , Fungi, Plantae and Animalia , and Woese modi ied it by
dividing Monera into archaebacteria and eubacteria.
2. Question
How is kingdom the highest category of taxonomic study?
Answer
All organisms have been grouped into ive categories called kingdoms , based
on cell structure, mode of nutrients, source of nutrition and body
organization. Kingdoms include organisms of different species, genus , class ,
family, order and phylum. Hence, it is the highest category of taxonomic
study.
3. Question
To which kingdom blue-green algae belongs?
Answer
Blue-green algae belong to kingdom Monera, because they lack well de ined
nucleus, organelles, and don’t have a multicellular body organization. They
are autotrophic in nature.
4. Question
Both bacteria and Amoeba are single-called, yet are placed in different
kingdoms. Give one reason.
Answer
Though both are unicellular, bacteria are prokaryotic whereas amoeba is
eukaryotic in body design. This means that the bacteria don’t have a well
de ined nucleus or organelles, but in amoeba, the nucleus and organelles are
well de ined. Thus they are grouped separately.
5. Question
An organism feeds on dead matter. Which kingdom is it most likely to belong
to?
Answer
An organism which feeds on dead and decaying matter is called a saprophytic
organism. Such organisms belong to kingdom fungi.
6. Question
In which kingdom would you place an organism which is multicellular and
without cell wall?
Answer
Multicellular eukaryotic organisms without cell wall are placed under
kingdom Animalia. Organisms of kingdom Plantae have cell wall and the
organisms of other kingdoms are unicellular.
Check Point 03
1. Question
Identify the group of plant kingdom, in which plant body is differentiated into
stem and leaf-like structure?
Answer
Bryophytes are differentiated into stem and leaf like structure. Thallophyta
don’t have such structures and Pteridophytes are differentiated into stem and
leaf.
2. Question
Give an example of vascular cryptogams.
Answer
Pteridophytes such as Marsilea are vascular cryptogams, because they have
specialised structures for transportation of water and nutrients, but their
reproductive organs are hidden.
3. Question
Gymnosperms as well as angiosperms bear seeds. Why are they classi ied
separately? Give one reason.
Answer
Gymnosperms have naked seeds while the seeds in angiosperms are enclosed
in a lower. Hence, they are grouped separately.
Examples: woody shrubs and trees include pines, spruces, irs, and ginkgoes.
4. Question
Which group of plants is known as lowering plants?
Answer
Angiosperms are known as lowering plants, because they produce lowers.
Examples: pines, cedars, spruces and irs.
5. Question
What is the scienti ic term used for seed leaves?
Answer
Seed leaves are called cotyledons in scienti ic terms.
Check Point 04
1. Question
On the basis of the presence and absence of coelom how are animals
classi ied?
Answer
On the basis of presence or absence of coelom, animals are classi ied into
three groups :
1. Acoelomate – which don’t have coelom.
2. Pseudo coelomate - which have a false cavity.
3. Coelomate- which have a true body cavity.
2. Question
Write two characteristic features of the phylum the contains the irst animals
with complete alimentary canal.
Answer
Nematodes are irst animals to have complete alimentary canal.
1. They are pseudo coelomate.
2. They are cylindrical in body structure
3. Question
Animals of which phylum are considered to be the irst animals having true
body cavity, coelom? Name the phylum.
Answer
Annelida is the irst phylum to have animals with true body cavity.
Explanation: Annelida is a group commonly referred to as segmented worms,
and they are found worldwide from the deepest marine sediments to the soils
in our city parks and yards
4. Question
Name the animal and its respective phylum having parapodia for locomotion.
Answer
Nereis of phylum Annelida has parapodia for locomotion.
5. Question
Give the characteristics of phylum/group having the largest number of
animals.
Answer
Phylum arthropoda has the highest number of animals. It’s features are :
1. Open circulatory system.
2. It has blood illed coelomic cavity.
3. They have jointed appendages.
6. Question
Give the features of the phylum to which Chiton and Pila belong?
Answer
Chiton and Pila belong to Mollusca phylum. It’s features are :
1. Reduced coelomic cavity.
2. Little segmentation.
3. Kidney like organ for excretion
4. Open circulatory system
5. Foot like appendage for movement.
7. Question
Vertebrata is considered as the most advanced group of animals. Give one
reason.
Answer
Vertebrates are most advanced group of animals because they have a true
vertebral column and internal skeleton.
8. Question
Amongst sponge, mollusc, snail, lizard, which one is the simplest animals and
Why?
Answer
Sponge is the simplest animal of the given because it has the minimally
differentiated body design.
9. Question
Does feather star belongs to class-Aves?
Answer
No, feather star is an echinoderm, because it has a slender skinned body, and
is exclusively marine. It also has a water driven tube system to help in
moving around.
Check Point 05
1. Question
Scienti ic name is related to classi ication. What information does it provide?
Answer
Scienti ic name provides the genus and species name of an organism, thus
indicating the group in which the organism belongs . It also helps in grouping
organisms of same category together, thus helping in classi ication.
2. Question
Who proposed the binomial nomenclature?
Answer
Carolus Linnaeus proposed binomial nomenclature.
3. Question
Give two norms of writing scienti ic names.
Answer
1. The name of genus should start with a capital letter and that of species
with a small letter.
2. When printed, the scienti ic name should be in italics.
4. Question
Who is the father of Taxonomy? Name the book written by him.
Answer
Carolus Linnaeus is considered the father of taxonomy. He wrote a book
called Systema naturae.
5. Question
The genus name of potato is Solanum. Write two species name of organisms
which belong to genus-Solanum?
Answer
Solanum melongena – eggplant
Solanum dulcamara – bittersweet.
Chapter Exercise
1. Question
De ine diversity in the living world.
Answer
Diversity in living world is de ined as the variety of living organisms present
in the world.
2. Question
Give any two objectives of classi ication.
Answer
The objectives of classi ication are:
1. Grouping of related organisms based on similar characteristics.
2. Simplifying the identi ication of organisms.
3. Question
Are cyanobacteria, autotrophs or heterotrophs?
Answer
Cyanobacteria are autotrophic in nature and obtain energy through
photosynthesis.
These are a phylum of bacteria that obtain their energy through
photosynthesis and are the only photosynthetic prokaryotes able to produce
oxygen.
4. Question
name the group of organisms to which Amoeba belongs.
Answer
Amoeba belongs to kingdom Protista.
the This kingdom comprises of Eukaryotic organisms that are mostly
unicellular with some exceptional multicellular algae
5. Question
The cell wall of different organisms differ. Is it true?
Answer
Yes, it is true. The cell wall of different organisms differs in their composition.
Cell walls exist in all kingdoms except for the animals: plants, protists (algae),
fungi, bacteria, and archaea. And in all these, the cell wall is made of different
materials and composition.
Example:
6. Question
A weed is growing on the border of your play ground. How would you
recognize it to be a dicot or monocot?
Answer
The difference between monocot and dicot can be made by opening the seed
of the weed. Presence of one or two cotyledons respectively would
differentiate between them.
7. Question
The protozoans are early animals. Do you agree? Give at least two reasons to
support your answer.
Answer
Yes, protozoans are early animals. This is because:
1. They have a very basic body design and minimal differentiation.
2. They are unicellular organisms, and only one cell performs all necessary
functions.
8. Question
Name the respective organisms.
(i) An arthropod that cannot ly.
(ii) A mollusk that possesses eyes.
Answer
(i) prawn
A prawn is a small shell ish with a long tail and many legs.
An “arthropod” is an invertebrate animal that has an exoskeleton, a
segmented body, and jointed appendages. Examples of arthropods:
1. Insects such as ants and bees
2. Spiders and scorpions
3. Crabs, lobsters, and shrimp
(ii) octopus
9. Question
Sea cucumber belongs to which phylum? Describe it’s structure associated
with locomotion.
Answer
Sea cucumber or holothuria belongs to phylum Echinodermata. For
locomotion, sea cucumbers use tube feet , which are small sucker like
projections present on the three ambulacral canals on the surface close to the
substratum. These are numerous and allow the animal to crawl .
10. Question
How are whales and electric rays different from each other?
Answer
Whale is a mammal, belonging to class Mammalia. The electric ray or
torpedo is a ish belonging to class Pisces . Whale is warm blooded whereas
the electric ray is cold blooded animal.
11. Question
Jelly ish is not a ish. Comment.
Answer
Jelly ish is an animal belonging to phylum coelentrata of kingdom Animalia.
It is not a chordate like true ishes. It is a medusa form of certain species of
cnidarians.
12. Question
An animal phylum has lowest structural organization. Name and describe its
features.
Answer
Lowest structural organisation is seen in phylum Porifera. Its features are:
1. They are marine nonmotile animals.
2. They have minimal differentiation of body design.
3. The outer skeleton is hard.
4. Canal system is present for the exchange of food and oxygen.
5. They have pores all over the body.
13. Question
Which group of organisms have segmented worms? Give it’s two major
characteristics.
Answer
Phylum Annelida has segmented worms. Its characters are:
1. They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic animals with true coelom.
2. They have extensive differentiation in body design.
14. Question
Differentiate brie ly the characteristics of kingdom-Plantae and Animalia.
Answer
15. Question
Describe two important characteristics of each division of kingdom-plantae.
Answer
1. Thallophyta
● Not well differentiated body design
● Primarily aquatic
2.Bryophyta
● Plant body differentiated into stem and leaf like structures.
● No specialised tissue for conducting food and water.
3.Pteridophyta
● Plant body differentiate into root stem and leaf.
● Have specialised tissue for conduction of food and water.
4.Gymnosperms
● They bear naked seeds.
● They are usually woody and perineal.
5.Angiosoerms
● They have enclosed seeds.
● Plant embryo in seed have structures called cotyledons.
16. Question
Compare among Pisces, Amphibia and Reptilia.
Answer
17. Question
Enumerate the characteristic of a class that contains organisms with two
types of symmetry in their life cycle.
Answer
Two types of symmetry, i.e. bilateral and radial both is found in phylum
Ctenophora. The characters are:
1. Incomplete gut, only mouth present.
2. No organ for excretion, respiration or circulation.
3. Diploblastic.
4. Biradially symmetrical
5. Eight rows of ciliated comb-like structures.
18. Question
Biological classi ication is a dynamic and ever-evolving phenomenon. Justify
with two examples.
Answer
Biological classi ication bases have to keep on changing depending on our
understanding of life forms.
The initial very basic methods of classi ication gradually have been replaced
by more advanced and complex ideas. For example:
1. The two kingdom classi ication proposed by Aristotle based only on the
habitat was replaced by three kingdom classi ication suggested by Haeckel.
2. Even the most accepted classi ication suggested by Whittaker which is the
ive kingdom classi ication was modi ied by whose based upon his
understanding of bacteria dividing the Monera into archaebacteria and
eubacteria.
19. Question
Anukool’s father works for an international bank and has been transferred to
Paris. He stayed in a rented house there. People in his of ice have come from
different countries and speak various language viz. Dutch, French, Urdu, and
English. Due to different mother tongues, he is inding it dif icult to
communicate with others and hence, could not work ef iciently.
One day, he told his communication problem to his son. Anukool discussed
his father’s problem with his teacher and then called him up next day to give
his advice.
(i) What advice did Anukool give to his father?
(ii) List two advantages of speaking the same language all over the world.
(iii) What value shown by Anukool by his action?
Answer
(i) Anukool must have advised his father to either learn the different
languages or to use a translator for better communication.
(ii) speaking the same language over the world would provide room for easier
communication and decrease the chances of confusion and misunderstanding.
It will also bring about global harmony.
(iii) Anukool is considerate and caring.He has a sense of responsibility and
Helping Nature.
Challengers
1. Question
Choose the odd one out from the options given below.
A. Labeo
B. Hippocampus
C. Anabas
D. Scoliodon
Answer
Scoliodon is a mammal while the rest three are ishes. Thus it is an odd one.
2. Question
The scienti ic name of lion ish is
A. Synchiropus splendidus
B. Pterois volitans
C. Torpedo
D. Caulophyryne
Answer
lion ish is called Pterios volitans. Synchiropus splendidus is scienti ic name
for mandarin ish, Torpedo is the name of electric ray and Caulophryne is the
name given to fan ins.
3. Question
Which of the following statement is incorrect?
A. The chloroplast is Spirogyra is spirally arranged without pyrenoids.
B. Needle-shaped structure in Pinus is a leaf.
C. Dicot plant has a woody stem and its leaves show reticulate venation.
D. Pneumatic bone is an important characteristic of waves.
Answer
chloroplast in spirogyra are arranged with pyrenoids.
All the other options are true statements.
4. Question
Which among the following is a Pteridophyte?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Answer
Figure (a) is of Pinus, a gymnosperm.
Figure (b) is of Funaria, a bryophyte.
Figure (d) is of Cladophora, a thallophyte.
5. Question
Identify the incorrectly matched pair from the options given below.
A. Largest bird — Ostrich
B. Bat — Bird
C. Egg — laying mammals — Duck – billed platypus
D. Mollusks — Soft-bodied animals
Answer
bat is not a bird. It is a mammal. All the other options are correctly matched
pairs.
6. Question
The ish belonging to the phylum — Arthropoda is
A. Cray ish
B. Devil ish
C. Jelly ish
D. Star ish
Answer
Cray ish belongs to arthropoda. Devil ish is a chordate , jelly ish is a
coelentrate , and star ish is an echinoderm .
7. Question
The type of symmetry found in coelenterates is
A. asymmetry
B. circular symmetry
C. biradial symmetry
D. radial symmetry
Answer
coelentrata are radially symmetrical, as they have vertical symmetry around
a central axis.
8. Question
Pick out the incorrect statement.
A. All chordates have notochord some state of life.
B. Birds have a streamlined body to reduce resistance during light.
C. Whale represents a huge class of ishes (or Pisces)
D. A true coelom is derived from the mesoderm whereas pseudocoelom is not
lined by mesoderm.
Answer
whales are mammals, not ishes. All other statements are correct.
9. Question
The organism given below belongs to phylum.
A. Platyhelminthes
B. Nematoda
C. Annelida
D. Arthropoda
Answer
Ascaris belongs to nematodes. They are not as well differentiated as Annelida
or Arthropoda, but have different sexual forms unlike Platyhelminthes.
10. Question
Sea cucumber is
A. mollusc
B. coelentrate
C. echinoderm
D. protochordate
Answer
Sea cucumber is a coelentrata. It has a very basic structural organisation as
compared to Mollusca, echinoderms and protochordate.
11. Question
In a taxonomic hierarchy, family comes between
A. class and order
B. order and genus
C. genus and species
D. division and class
Answer
family is a taxonomic group between order and genus. The order of
taxonomic hierarchy is as follows:
Species, genus , family, order , class , phylum / division , kingdom .
12. Question
Among the following given options, a pseudocoelomate organism is
A. sea anemone
B. liver luke
C. Nereis
D. Wuchereria
Answer
Nematodes are pseudocoelomate. The others are not nematodes and hence
are not pseudocoelomate.
13. Question
Which of the following is a warm-blooded organism?
A. Ostrich
B. King cobra
C. Crocodile
D. Rohu
Answer
ostrich is a mammal, which is warm blooded. The other three are cold
blooded organisms.
14. Question
Similar characteristic among whale and crocodile is that
A. they both are cold-blooded organisms.
B. they both are warm-blooded organisms
C. their heart is 3-chambered.
D. their heart is 4-chambered.
Answer
Both reptiles and mammals have four chambers in the heart. Reptiles are
cold-blooded organisms, while mammals are warm-blooded organisms.
Three-chambered heart is found in other reptiles, except crocodile.
