The living world class 11 one shot | All concepts and theory | Half NEET 2020 | Botany by Himansu Sir

By Botany Sir Himansu
Tags: #LivingWorld #Class11Botany #NEET2026 #BotanySirHimansu

🧭 Outline 1: What is “Living”? — Understanding the Meaning

Ever wondered — plants, animals, and microorganisms are all living, but why?
Science explains — living organisms are those that exhibit life processes such as growth, reproduction, metabolism, and response to stimuli.

In simpler terms, living organisms:

• Are made up of cells

• Show metabolism (chemical reactions within cells)

• Can respond to their environment

• Can reproduce (mostly)

👉 Important Tip:
Not every characteristic defines life. For NEET, focus on what applies universally to all living organisms.

🌱 Outline 2: Features of Living Beings — Which Are Defining and Which Are Not?

Let’s go step by step 👇

1. Growth
Increase in cell size and number.
Plants grow throughout life; animals grow up to a certain point.
Non-living things (like crystals or mountains) can also “grow” through deposition.
✅ Growth is a feature but NOT a defining one.

2. Reproduction
The biological process that produces new individuals.
Many organisms (like bacteria, fungi, and algae) reproduce asexually.
Mules and sterile honeybee workers do not reproduce.
✅ Reproduction is a feature but NOT defining (not universal).

3. Metabolism
All chemical reactions (anabolic + catabolic) that occur inside cells.
Occurs only in living cells — test-tube reactions are non-living.
🔥 Defining feature! Metabolism confirms life exists in cells.

4. Response to Stimuli / Consciousness
Living beings sense changes like light, heat, sound, and touch.
Humans have the highest level of consciousness.
Plants respond too (example: phototropism).
🔥 Second defining feature — all living things are conscious.

Summary Chart:

Feature	Living Show	Non-living Show	Defining?
Growth	Yes	Yes	❌
Reproduction	Mostly	No	❌
Metabolism	Yes	No	✅
Response to Stimuli	Yes	No	✅

🌎 Outline 3: Diversity in the Living World — So Many Forms of Life!

Earth hosts millions of species — from microbes to giant trees.
About 1.7–1.8 million species have been identified (as per NCERT).
This variety of organisms is called Biodiversity.
Scientists classify them for easier study and understanding.

Example:
Explore a garden across seasons — you’ll notice different plants, insects, and birds. That’s biodiversity in action!

👉 Fun fact: The more area you explore, the more species you’ll find.

📚 Outline 4: Classification, Taxonomy & Nomenclature — The Scientific System

🔹 1. What is Taxonomy?
The science of identifying, naming, and classifying living organisms.

Steps in Taxonomy:

• Characterization

• Identification

• Classification

• Nomenclature

🔹 2. Binomial Nomenclature
Developed by Carl Linnaeus.
Each organism has two names — Genus and Species.
👉 Example: Mangifera indica (Mango)

Rules:

• Both names italicized (underlined if handwritten).

• Genus → Capital letter, Species → Small letter.

• Author’s name not italicized.

🔹 3. Taxonomic Hierarchy (From highest to lowest)
Kingdom → Phylum/Division → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species

💡 Trick to remember:
King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup

🔹 4. Examples for Plants & Animals
Plants: Solanum tuberosum, S. nigrum, S. melongena → Family Solanaceae.
Animals: Panthera leo (lion), Panthera tigris (tiger), Felis catus (cat).

🧠 Quick Revision Box (for Last-Minute NEET Prep)

✅ Defining Features: Metabolism + Response to Stimuli
❌ Not Defining: Growth + Reproduction
📖 Nomenclature Rule: Genus + species (italicized)
🌿 Taxonomy Steps: Characterize → Identify → Classify → Name
🌏 Biodiversity: ~1.8 million species identified

🎯 Final Words from Botany Sir Himansu
“Living World chapter chhota hai, par bahut scoring!
Bas NCERT lines aur tables 3–4 times revise karo, diagrams practice karo —
aur NEET ke 2 questions yahaan se fix hain.”