Organizing Life

What is It?Why Classify?

I. Classification

A. What is it?1. Grouping of organisms based on similarities.2. Examples of classification:

a. books in the libraryb. parts in an auto shopc. names in the phone book

B. Why classify?1. It is easier to manage and use the information.2. It shows relationships among living things.

Taxonomy

def: The science of classifying living things.

Taxonomist

def: a scientist who studies classification

Early taxonomists…

Aristotle(334- - 322 B.C.)

*Greek philosopher

*devised the 1st formal classification system

for living things.

*said the earth was the

center of the solar system

AristotleAristotle

Said there were two types of living things:1. Plants

a. herbs (soft stems)b. shrubs (several, woody stems)c. trees (single, woody stems)

2. Animalsa. land dwellersb. water dwellersc. air dwellers

Problems with Aristotle’s System

– Frog- Half of life is in water (tadpole), half is on land

– Didn’t know about bacteria or one celled organisms (no microscopes)

Early taxonomists…

Carolus Linnaeus(1707 - 1778)

*Swedish botanist

*devised the 2-part naming system that is used today for

living things called Binomial Nomenclature.

CAROLUS LINNAEUSCAROLUS LINNAEUS

Carolus LinnaeusCarolus Linnaeus

Used the following criteria as his basis for classification:1. based on structural similarities (Morphology)2. used Latin names to name organisms.3. set up the system of binomial nomenclature. (scientific names)

*Rules for writing scientific names*

1. The GENUS is written first and the species is written second.Ex: Homo (Genus) sapiens (species) = Homo sapiens

2. The first letter in the first word (GENUS) is capitalized, and thesecond word is written lower case.

Ex: Homo sapiens

3. The scientific name must be underlined or written in italics.Ex: Homo sapiens Homo sapiens

Scientific Names…

An organism has only ONE scientific name.

common dog

Canus familiaris

wolf

Canus lupus

box turtle

Terrapene carolina

Odocoileus virginianus

White-tailed deer

Scientists DO NOT use common names of organisms !!!

*Common names are the everyday name of an organism.

Reason #1:The names are not very descriptive, which can be

confusing in naming the organisms.

*Common names are the everyday name of an organism.

Reason #2:There can be more than one common name for an organism

English sparrow

House sparrow

Sycamore tree

buttonwood

Tools of Classification

A cladogram is a branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships

Dichotomous Keys

• Aid in identifying unknown organisms• Pairs of statements with two choices of

characteristics• Only one choice will apply to the unknown

organism• This will lead to another pair of

characteristics.. And so on…

Until the organism is identified

Archaea

Archae-bacteria

Bacteria

Eubacteria

Eukarya

Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia

Cell Type (Prokaryote vs. Eukaryote)

Cell # (Unicellular vs. Multicellular)

Nutrition (Autotroph vs. Heterotroph)

Habitat

General Facts (at least 2)

Organisms are classified by the following criteria…

1. Structure is the basis. (Morphology)2. Early stages of development (Embryology)3. Chromosomes, gene sequence, amino acids (Biochemistry)4. The way they act (Behavior)

3 Domain System

Levels of Classification(Taxonomic Categories –

Taxa)

1. Domain2. Kingdoms “Most

Inclusive”3. Phyla *(Division)4. Class5. Order6. Family7. Genus8. Species “Least

Inclusive”

1. Did 2. King3. Phillip4. Came 5. Over6. From7. Great8. Spain ?

Memory Aid:

Taxonomy for Istrian Sheepdog

*Be able to compare two organisms on a chart.

How many “KINGDOMS” are there in Biology?

There are FIVEFIVE kingdoms

in Biology:

1. Monera

2. Protista

3. Fungi

4. Plantae

5. Animalia

There are SIXSIX kingdoms

in Biology:

1. *Archaebacteria

2. *Eubacteria

3. Protista

4. Fungi

5. Plantae

6. Animalia

OLD VERSIONCURRENT VERSION

***VIRUSES ARE NOT CONSIDERED TO BE LIVING!!! Classification Video

Kingdom: Monera

Type of cells: prokaryotic

Unicellular/Multicellular: most unicellular

Mode of Nutrition:Heterotrophic & Autotrophic

Examples: Bacteria

*New Kingdoms:*Archaebacteria - cell walls lack muramic acid(live in extreme regions)

*Eubacteria- cell walls have muramic acid.

Kingdom: Protista

Type of cells: eukaryotic

Unicellular/Multicellular: most unicellular

Mode of Nutrition:Heterotrophic & Autotrophic

Examples: amoeba, euglena,

paramecium

Paramecium

Amoeba

Euglena

Kingdom: Fungi

Type of cells: eukaryotic

Unicellular/Multicellular: Mostly multicellular

Mode of Nutrition:Heterotrophic

Examples: Mushroom, yeast, molds

Mushroom

Yeast

Molds

Kingdom: Plantae

Type of cells: eukaryotic

Unicellular/Multicellular: Multicellular

Mode of Nutrition:Autotrophic

Examples: Mosses, ferns, pine tree,

tomatoes

Moss

fern

tomatoes

Kingdom: Animalia

Type of cells: eukaryotic

Unicellular/Multicellular: multicellular

Mode of Nutrition:Heterotrophic

Examples: sponges, snails, insects,worms, jellyfish, birds