Friday, June 4, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Eubacteria or true bacteria or monera

Kingdom Information

The kingdom name is Eubacteria which is also its scientific name. They are also called true bacteria or monera.

There are different sorts of bacteria and they each get their food in a different way. Some of them are producers. Producers change the energy they get from sunlight into energy which the cells can use. Other bacteria are decomposers. Decomposers get their energy by breaking down materials in dead or rotting organisms. They can also be parasites; these bacteria live on or in other organisms and get their food from them.

Eubacteria cells are prokaryotic because they don’t have a nucleus or organelles.

Eubacteria cells are unicellular organisms because they only consist of one cell.

Species Information
1) An example of eubacteria is the blue green algae with the scientific name cyanobacteria.

Interesting facts:

1) Blue green algae already exist for more than 3 billion years. They are the biggest group of photosynthetic bacteria. They live in shallow waters all over the world.

2) They produce energy (oxygen) through photosynthesis, and they contain chlorophyll. Blue green algae are important for the environment because they give the animals the oxygen they need to stay alive.

Blue green algae are unicellular prokaryotic cells which are very small. They do have a cell membrane, cell wall and DNA, but they don’t have a nucleus. It is classified in the eubacteria kingdom because it is a unicellular, prokaryotic organism. They are producers (photosynthetic bacteria).

2) Another example of eubacteria is Salmonella with its scientific name Salmonella typhi.

Interesting facts:

1) Salmonella bacteria give health problems like typhoid and food poisoning. Food poisoning will make you very ill and can even kill you. These bacteria can be found in raw meat and eggs. That’s why it is important to cook your food.

2) These Salmonella bacteria are rod shaped and. Rod shaped bacteria are called bacilli.

The Salmonella bacteria belong to the Eubacteria kingdom because they are unicellular, prokaryotic cells which are very small. They are rod-shaped, have a cell wall and contain DNA but have no nucleus and other organelles. They are classified in the Eubacteria kingdom because they are unicellular, prokaryotic organisms. They are consumers (decomposers).

Picture Blue Green Algae -

Salmonella typhi picture=

Science Book- Diversity of Living Things- McDougal Littell Science- pg. 16 till 21.


The scientific name for protist is protista. Protists are organisms with a nucleus that don't fit into other kingdoms. Protists get food in different ways. Algae, protists that use sunlight for energy, have chlorophyll in their cells, so they can make food from the sun. Plankton, protists that float in water, get food by eating other plankton or through photosynthesis. Fungus like protists get their food by sucking nutrients out of dead plants or animals. Protozoa, animal-like protists, get their food by eating other organisms. Protists are both unicellular and multicellular, and both eukaryotic and prokaryotic.

Protist Organisms

An example of a protist is seaweed. It's scientific name is Eucheuma Cottoni. Seaweed is green leafy floating organism. It's a protist because it doesn't fit anywhere else. Some interesting facts are:

1. Even though people think of seaweed as edible, some species are very poisonous.
2. Some weird species of seaweed are "dead man's fingers" and "cactus weed".

Another example of a protist is an amoeba. It's scientific name is Pelomyxa palustris. Amoebas are microscopic unicellular organisms. They can take whatever shape they want. Some interesting facts are:

1. Amoebas can have hundreds of nuclei!

2. Amoebas eat by surrounding their prey and absorbing it.
Protist info: The Diversity of Living Things


The common name is fungi, and so is the scientific name. A fungus is any organism that gets its food by absorbing nutrients from and breaking down the bodies of dead/dying plants or animals. They suck up food from tiny threads called hyphae. This means they’re decomposers, or heterotrophs. They reproduce by letting out spores, light reproductive cells that can grow into new fungi. Most fungi are multicellular, but yeast is unicellular. Fungi are eukaryotic.

Species of Fungi
One organism in the fungi kingdom is yeast. Its scientific name is Ascomycota. Yeast is a single celled fungi that grows in wet places. They’re in the fungi kingdom because they reproduce with spores and use hyphae to get food.
Interesting Facts:
1. Yeast can grow on human skin, plant sap, animal tissue, and even shower curtains!
2. Yeast helps bread rise by breaking down sugar.
3. Yeast can cause disease if it grows too fast.

Another organism is mold. Its scientific name is Zygomycota. On food, mold’s hyphae grow into food, digesting it to grow. Mold can also cause disease, such as athlete’s foot or Dutch elm disease. Mold is in the fungi kingdom because it reproduces with spores and uses hyphae to get food.
Interesting Facts:
1. Molds can be used for treating disease. Penicillin is a medicine from the Penicillium fungus. It is used to fight pneumonia.
2. The hat thrower mold grows in animal droppings. It has a cap that holds spores in. When it gets enough water, the cap shoots off and sends spores in to the air. The spore cap can be shot up to two meters!
3. Trichoderma mold’s digestive chemicals are used to blue wash jeans.

All info: The Diversity of Living Things


Example 2)

Example 1)
Archea is the Latin word for a group of prokaryotic cells. They used to be called Archeabacteria and were thought of as bacteria but since they have different biochemistry, now they are separated from the Monera kingdom. They are uni-cellular organisms. These tiny critters are decomposers because they have mitochondria in their cell, which means they have to consume or in this case decompose.

1) Methanogen is the Latin word for methane. They produce natural gas. They die if they are exposed to oxygen. They live in the cows’ stomach and help digest food. They also live in muddy swamps.

2) Thermophiles live in extremely hot or cold temperatures. They can be found in geysers, very salty lakes, or ponds. They also can be buried deep underground and still survive. They are a prokaryotic cell.

Diversity of Living Things by McDougal Littell Science

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Animal or Animalia or Metazoa

Kingdom Information

The kingdom name is Animal. Its scientific name is Animalia also called Metazoa.

Animals are consumers. Consumers are living things which get their energy from other living things. Without eating food (other organisms), animals will not survive. This is called heterotroph. Animals get their food in different ways: Herbivores- eat plants, Carnivores- eat other animals and Omnivores- eat both.

Animal cells are eukaryotic cells because they have a Nucleus and they have organelles. They are animal cells because they have no cell wall and no chloroplast. Animals are multicellular organisms.

Species Information
1) An example of an animal is a Human with the scientific name of Homo sapiens.

Interesting facts:

1) Humans are the most complex and developed organisms in the Animal Kingdom, they can read, use tools, talk, write etc.

2) Humans are animals which stand on 2 legs, don’t have much body hair. Males are generally larger than females.

Humans are part of the Animalia Kingdom because they are multicellular organisms. They are consumers ( heterotroph). They have eukaryotic cells.

2) Another example of an animal is a sea bass

The scientific name of the European Sea Bass is Dicentrarchus Labrax.

Interesting facts:

1) To get oxygen the sea bass uses gills. When water flows over the gills it picks up dissolved oxygen.

2) The European Sea Bass is a fish which is about 1 meter long. It can weigh up to 10 kilograms.

It belongs to the kingdom Animalia because there are multicellular organisms which are consumers (heterotroph). They have eukaryotic cells.

Homo Sapiens Picture -
( Book) Science Book- Diversity of Living Things- McDougal Litell Science- pg. 58 till 64

Plantae or Plant

Example 1)
Example 2)

Plantae is the Latin word for plant. In this kingdom there are more than 350,000 species. This kingdom is a producer which means it produces it’s own energy by turning light in to sugars (photosynthesis). They don’t have mitochondria (energy producers in animal cell) because they can stay in one place and make their own foods; as long as they have sunlight and water This kingdom is multicellular which means it has many cells. Also it is eukaryotic which means it has cells that have specific organelles.


1) Tulipa gesneriana or Tulip is a very common flower. In this picture it is spring because the flowers have not blossomed yet. They grow up because they need sunlight to create sugar, which is what they produce. They are in the Plantae kingdom because they produce these sugars and are stationary.

2) Acer Ginnala or Amur Maple is a common tree, especially in the US. The tree grows up to reach towards the sunlight, to get more of it. The sugars it will get from sunlight is its’ meal. Also its’ roots go deep underground to get water. It is in this kingdom because it is stationary and it produces sugars.

Diversity of Living Things by McDougal Littell Science