The Living World

SYNOPSIS

• Characteristics of living beings:
  Growth → Reproduction → Metabolism → Cellular Organisation → Consciousness → Interactions
  
  
• In binomial nomenclature, each name has two components, a generic name and a specific epithet.
  Example: Mangifera indica (Genus: Mangifera, Species: indica) 
  
  
• Taxonomic categories showing hierarchical arrangement in the ascending order:
  Species → Genus → Family → Order → Class → Phylum/Division → Kingdom
  
  
• Certain procedures and techniques are practised in order to store or preserve this information. These procedures are called taxonomical aids.
  
  
• Herbarium is a storehouse of collected plant specimens which are dried, pressed and preserved on sheets.
  
  
• Botanical gardens are specialised gardens which have collections of living plants for reference.
   
• Museums have collections of preserved plant and animal specimens for study and reference.
  
  
• Zoological parks are places where wild animals are kept in protected environments under human care and which enable us to learn about their food habits and behavior. 
  
  
• Key is the aid used for the identification of plants and animals based on their similarities and dissimilarities.