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Cbse Biology Class Xi Chapter 1

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UNIT 1
DIVERSITY IN THE LIVING WORLD
Chapter 1 The Living World Chapter 2 Biological Classification Chapter 3 Plant Kingdom Chapter 4 Animal Kingdom Biology is the science of life forms and living processes. The living world comprises an amazing diversity of living organisms. Early man could easily perceive the difference between inanimate matter and living organisms. Early man deified some of the inanimate matter (wind, sea, fire etc.) and some among the animals and plants. A common feature of all such forms of inanimate and animate objects was the sense of awe or fear that they evoked. The description of living organisms including human beings began much later in human history. Societies which indulged in anthropocentric view of biology …show more content…

In plants, this growth by cell division occurs continuously throughout their life span. In animals, this growth is seen only up to a certain age. However, cell division occurs in certain tissues to replace lost cells. Unicellular organisms also grow by cell division. One can easily observe this in in vitro cultures by simply counting the number of cells under the microscope. In majority of higher animals and plants, growth and reproduction are mutually exclusive events. One must remember that increase in body mass is considered as growth. Non-living objects also grow if we take increase in body mass as a criterion for growth. Mountains, boulders and sand mounds do grow. However, this kind of growth exhibited by non-living objects is by accumulation of material on the surface. In living organisms, growth is from inside. Growth, therefore, cannot be taken as a defining property of living organisms. Conditions under which it can be observed in all living organisms have to be explained and then we understand that it is a characteristic of living systems. A dead organism does not grow. Reproduction, likewise, is a characteristic of living organisms. In multicellular organisms, reproduction refers to the production of progeny possessing features more or less similar to those of parents. Invariably and implicitly we refer to sexual reproduction. Organisms reproduce by asexual means also. Fungi multiply and spread easily

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