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Biology journal Cambridge IGCSE 0610

Topic 1 of 21 · 2 of 2 modules ready

Characteristics and classification of living organisms

What makes something alive, and how biologists sort and name millions of species.

Modules

  1. A hand holding up a single leaf with five pointed, toothed lobes against the bark of a large tree trunk; a small folding hand lens hangs from the wrist.

    Module 1 · syllabus 1.1, 1.2 · 3 parts

    Living things and keys

    How can you name a living thing you have never seen before?

    Put six mystery leaves behind a hand lens and name each one with a dichotomous key, one pair of statements at a time. Find out what a shared first part of a scientific name means, build a key of your own for four leaves you know, and (Supplement) compare short DNA strips to see which trees are most closely related.

    1. Is it alive? The seven characteristics of living organisms, and how to test whether something is alive
    2. Naming with a key Dichotomous keys: naming organisms by features you can see, and building a key of your own
    3. Species and scientific names Species, two-part scientific names and, in the Supplement, what DNA shows about relationships

    Experiment Six mystery leaves and a hand lens · name each one with a key, then build a key of your own

    Open moduleExperimentTeacher pack
Syllabus statements for this topic · for teachers · 15 statements

Core for every pupil · Supplement also for Extended entry. Paraphrased from the Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 syllabus (2026–2028); check the official syllabus for exact wording.

1.1 Characteristics of living organisms

Covered in Living things and keys

  • 1.1.1Seven characteristics of living organismsC

1.2 Concept and uses of classification systems

Covered in Living things and keys

  • 1.2.1Classifying organisms by shared featuresC
  • 1.2.2Species: interbreed to give fertile offspringC
  • 1.2.3Binomial names: genus and speciesC
  • 1.2.4Construct and use dichotomous keysC
  • 1.2.5Classification reflects evolutionary relationshipsS
  • 1.2.6DNA base sequences used to classifyS
  • 1.2.7Closer relatives share more similar DNA sequencesS

1.3 Features of organisms

Covered in Kingdoms and animal groups

  • 1.3.1Features placing organisms in animal or plant kingdomsC
  • 1.3.2Features of vertebrate and arthropod groupsC
  • 1.3.3Classify animals and plants by their featuresC
  • 1.3.4Features of the five kingdomsS
  • 1.3.5Features of ferns, monocots and dicotsS
  • 1.3.6Classify organisms into kingdoms and plant groupsS
  • 1.3.7Virus features: protein coat, genetic materialS