Unit Two – God’s Living Creation
Chapter Four – Cells and Classification
Organism – a complete living thing
Life span – for living things, the process of birth,
growth, reproduction and death
Life cycle – another name for the life span
Life comes only from life
Living thing respond to their environments to
protect themselves.
Environments – surroundings
Energy – the ability to do work
Genesis 2:16-17
God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. If they ate of that tree, they
would “surely die.”
Rom 5:12
When Adam sinned, he brought sin into the world. The
punishment for sin is death. Because Adam sinned, every
descendant of Adam is born a sinner and will receive the
punishment for sin.
Rom 5:19, 1 Cor 15:12
Yet Jesus Christ obeyed God by dying on the cross. He made
it possible for all men to be saved from sin and punishment
of sin.
Robert Hooke – first to observe and name cells
Examined a small piece of dried cork with a
microscope and observed small, empty
chambers that he called cells
Theodor Schwann & Matthias Schleiden –
formed the basis of the cell theory
Found that all living things are made of cells
Cell Theory – the theory developed by Schwann
& Matthias that cells can function as individual
living organisms or as the smallest units in a
larger organism
Some characteristics of living things are also characteristics of
people that are spiritually alive in Christ. To be spiritually alive,
a person must accept Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin and be
born into God’s family.
Living things grow and develop
Spiritually alive people grow and develop in Christ
Gal 5:22-23, 1 Peter 2:2
Living things reproduce
Spiritually alive people spread the gospel to others
Prov 11:30, Matt 28:19-20
Some characteristics of living things are also characteristics of
people that are spiritually alive in Christ. To be spiritually alive,
a person must accept Jesus Christ as his Savior from sin and be
born into God’s family.
Living things respond to their environments
Spiritually alive people respond to their environments by
fleeing temptation and doing what’s right
1 Cor 10:13, James 4:7
Living things use energy
Spiritually alive people need energy (strength) from the
Lord
Phil 4:13, Ps 27:1
Microscope – an instrument that uses lenses to
magnify objects
Zacharias Jansen – credited with inventing the
first microscope
His father, Hans, was a lens maker and
probably began making the first compound
microscope.
Cell – a tiny unit of living material surrounded by a
thin membrane
Unicellular – organisms that consist of one cell
Multicellular – organisms made of more than one
cell
Most living things are multicellular and made of
millions and millions of cells.
Tissue – a group of cells working together
Organs – formed by tissues working together
Heart, lungs, liver, kidneys
Systems – formed by organs working together
In order, from smallest to largest
Cells – Tissues – Organs – Systems
Just as cells, tissues, organs and systems work
together in the body to perform specific
functions, Christians should work together in
Christ’s church to glorify His name and do His
will.
Cell membrane – surrounds every cell and provides
the external boundary for the material inside the cell
Cytoplasm – a jellylike substance inside the cell
membrane
Organelles – tiny structures inside the cytoplasm that
help carry out the functions of the cell
Nucleus – a large, circular structure that contains
DNA
Chromosomes – Tight little bundles of DNA
The cell follows the DNA code as it grows,
reproduces, and builds substances for the organism.
Mitochondria – breakdown the cell’s food and releases
energy
Endoplasmic reticulum – the cell’s transportation system
Ribosomes – make the proteins that cells need
Vacuoles – bubble-like storage organelles in the
cytoplasm
Cell wall – not found in animal cells; helps the plant cell
stay rigid and firm
Chloroplasts – structures found in plant cells that contain
a green pigment
Chlorophyll – a green pigment found in plant cells that
absorbs energy from sunlight
2
1
8
7
3
4
5
6
1. Chromosomes
2. Endoplasmic
Reticulum
3. Ribosomes
4. Cell
Membrane
5. Cytoplasm
6. Mitochondrion
7. Vacuole
8. Nucleus
1
2
10 9
3
4
5 6
7
8
1. Cytoplasm
2. Chromosomes
3. Nucleus
4. Mitochondrion
5. Cell
Membrane
6. Cell Wall
7. Endoplasmic
Reticulum
8. Ribosomes
9. Chloroplast
10.Vacuole
Cell division – the process of an individual cell dividing
into two cells
Mitosis – process through which organisms grow and
replace cells
Chromosomes duplicate once and the cell divides
once
Process produces two cells identical to the parent cell
Sexual reproduction – the process of creating new life
using cells from male and female organisms
Meiosis – process through which reproductive cells are
formed
Each reproductive cell ends up with only half as many
chromosomes as the parent cell
Chromosomes duplicate once and the original cell
divides twice
The process produces four reproductive cells
Classification – putting organisms with similar
characteristics into groups
Carolus Linnaeus – developed the method of
classification into six kingdoms
Bacteria – the smallest living things knows to man
Unicellular microscopic organisms that are almost
everywhere
Colonies – same kind of groups of organisms living
together
Bacteria do not have well-defined nuclei
Bacteria can make you sick
Some bacteria can be helpful
Your intestines contain bacteria that help digest
your food
Yogurt contains bacteria
Archaebacteria are also unicellular, but they have a
unique chromosome structure.
Archaebacteria live in conditions that are poisonous to
other living things.
Like Eubacteria, Archaebacteria do not have a true nuclei.
Unicellular organisms that have cell membranes and true
nuclei
Two kinds of organisms in this kingdom
Protozoans – can move around and often live in water
Paramecium – common protozoan that uses tiny
hairlike structures called cila to propel it through
the water
Amoebas – move around by constantly changing
their shape
Algae – like plants, they have chlorophyll in their cells
and therefore use sunlight for energy; not as mobile
as protozoans
Some species are unicellular, and some exist in colonies.
Common examples of a fungus
Mushroom
Mold
Yeast
Exodus 12:15, 1 Cor 5:6
The Bible uses the word “leaven” for yeast, which often
represents sin.
Just as a little yeast can cause a whole loaf of bread to
rise, a little sin is able to grow and affect others.
Group of multicellular organisms (plants) that provide
food and oxygen to all living things.
Have chloroplasts that contain chlorophyll which helps a
plant make its own food.
Photosynthesis – a process of converting sunlight energy
into a usable source of energy (sugar).
Through photosynthesis, plants also release oxygen.
Multicellular and do NOT have cell walls
Cannot manufacture their own food
Are dependent on the ability to move to find and gather
food for their needs
Man is in a class by himself. God created man in His own
image and gave him specific instructions about how to
live and rule over the earth.
Common names – names that are widely recognized
Different in different languages
Carolus Linnaeus – developed the ordering system to
help classify plants and animals according to common
characteristics
Seven levels of classification:
Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
Kate Poured Coffee On Father’s Good Suit.
King Phillip Came Over For Good Steak.
Scientific names – Latin names that are unique and are
not attached to any other organism
Made up of two names
Genus name – always capitalized
Species name
The scientific name must be underlined.
The classification system makes learning about living
things much easier.
Looking at classifications helps us appreciate the
orderliness of God’s creation.
Every creature is exactly how God planned it to be!