Living creatures have certain life processes in common - there are seven things that they need to do in order to sustain themselves. A helpful was of remembering the seven life processes is to think of the phrase 'MRS GREN'.
• Movement - having the ability of motion. All living things move, including plants. All vertebrate animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians) have internal skeletons to support movement.
• Respiration - a chemical reaction that takes place in all living cells to release energy from glucose to keep organisms functioning. All living things need oxygen to survive. To obtain oxygen from the air, animals and plants exchange gases between themselves and their surroundings.
• Sensitivity - the ability to detect changes and respond to the surroundings. Humans have 5 senses - hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste, which are controlled by the ears, eyes, skin, nose and tongue.
• Growth - all living things have the ability to increase in size or number. For humans, growth is the process of developing from a child into an adult.
• Reproduction - making more living things, producing offspring. Living things need to make copies of themselves before they die in order to ensure the continuation of the species.
• Excretion - getting rid of waste. In the human body, the main organs which remove nitrogen waste from the body are the kidneys. Excretion can be seen as the process of cleaning up after respiration.
• Nutrition - taking in and using food. Animals cannot make their own food, whereas most green plants make their own food from carbon dioxide and water, which is combined in a process known as photosynthesis.
• Movement - having the ability of motion. All living things move, including plants. All vertebrate animals (mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians) have internal skeletons to support movement.
• Respiration - a chemical reaction that takes place in all living cells to release energy from glucose to keep organisms functioning. All living things need oxygen to survive. To obtain oxygen from the air, animals and plants exchange gases between themselves and their surroundings.
• Sensitivity - the ability to detect changes and respond to the surroundings. Humans have 5 senses - hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste, which are controlled by the ears, eyes, skin, nose and tongue.
• Growth - all living things have the ability to increase in size or number. For humans, growth is the process of developing from a child into an adult.
• Reproduction - making more living things, producing offspring. Living things need to make copies of themselves before they die in order to ensure the continuation of the species.
• Excretion - getting rid of waste. In the human body, the main organs which remove nitrogen waste from the body are the kidneys. Excretion can be seen as the process of cleaning up after respiration.
• Nutrition - taking in and using food. Animals cannot make their own food, whereas most green plants make their own food from carbon dioxide and water, which is combined in a process known as photosynthesis.
