Living things are classified into five kingdoms: Animal, Plant, Monera, Fungi and Protista. The Animal kingdom contains vertebrates like mammals, fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians, as well as invertebrates like worms and snails. Mammals are distinguished by having lungs, skin, hair and usually four legs. Reptiles have hard scales, lungs, and many have four legs though snakes do not, and they lay eggs. Fish breathe with gills, have scales and fins/tails, and lay eggs. Birds have lungs, wings, legs and aerodynamic bodies and lay eggs. Amphibians have thin skin, four legs, gills as young

1. natural

2. How are living things classified?
Groups of living things with similar cells are called kingdoms. There are five
kingdoms: Animal, Plant, Monera, Fungi and Protista.
The Animal kingdom can be divided into vertebrates and invertebrates. Fish,
birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals are all vertebrates. Worms and snails
are invertebrates: they don’t have a spinal column.

3. What are the characteristics of mammals?
All mammals have lungs to breathe. Mammals have skin and hair. Most
mammals have four legs. Almost all mammals are viviparous.

4. What are the characteristics of reptiles?
Reptiles have hard scales. Reptiles have lungs to breathe. Many reptiles have
four legs, but snakes don’t have legs. Reptiles are oviparous.

5. What are the characteristics of fish?
Fish breathe with their gills. They have a long body covered with
scales. Fish have fins and tails. Almost all fish are oviparous.

6. What are the characteristics of birds?
Birds have lungs and four extremities: two wings and two legs. Birds have
aerodynamic bodies. Birds are oviparous.

7. What are the characteristics of amphibians?
Amphibians have thin, smooth skin and they have four legs. When they’re
young, they have gills to breathe. When they become adults, they grow lungs
to breathe. Amphibians are oviparous.

8. How do we classify invertebrate animals?
Invertebrate animals are classified into six groups: arthropods,
molluscs, porifera, coelenterates, echinoderms and annelids.

9. What different types of body coverings do
invertebrates have?
Hard shell Exoskeleton No protective body
covering

10. How can we classify seed plants?
Angiosperms Gymnosperms
Angiosperms produce flowers. Gymnosperms produce cones.

11. How can we classify non-seed plants?
Ferns Mosses
Non-seed plants produce spores.

12. What are the Monera, Fungi and Protista
kingdoms like?
Many multicellular
fungi consist of a cap, a
stem and a network of
hyphae. These are long
tubular structures.
Monerans are simple
unicellular organisms.
They don’t have
bodies.
Protists can be
unicellular or
multicellular.

13. What have we learnt?
There are five kingdoms ...
Plant Monera Fungi Protista
Animal

14. What have we learnt?
Vertebrates can be classified into...
reptiles fish amphibians birds
mammals

15. What have we learnt?
Invertebrates can be classifed into...
molluscs echinoderms coelenterates porifera
arthropods annelids