1,3-5 Periods
K-W-L: Classification
Warm Up-Classification
Which one is a fish?
a) Jellyfish
b) Starfish
c) Crayfish
d) Silverfish
What is science?
1
The Work of Science
• Asking questions is one way scientists
find out about anything in the world and
the universe.
• Science is often described as an organized
way of studying things and finding answers
to questions.
What is science?
1
Solving Problems
• Besides critical thinking, solving a problem
requires organization.
• Scientific methods is an organized form of a
series of procedures used to solve problems.
What is science?
1
• An experiment should have only one control
and one variable.
• A control is the standard to which the
outcome of a test is compared.
• A variable is something in an experiment that
can change.
What is science?
1
Developing Theories
• After scientists report the results of
experiments supporting their hypotheses,
the results can be used to propose a
scientific theory.
• A scientific theory is an explanation of
things or events based results of many
observations and experiments.
What is science?
1
Developing Theories
• A valid theory raises many new questions.
• Data or information from new experiments
might change conclusions and theories
can change.
What is science?
1
Laws
• A scientific law is a statement about how
things work in nature that are true all the
time.
• Laws do not change.
What is science?
1
Measuring with Scientific Units
• You will use the same standard system of
measurement scientists use to
communicate and understand each other’s
research and results.
• In science we always use the metric
system.
How are living things classified?
4
Classification
• Libraries group similar
types of books together.
• When you place similar
items together, you
classify them.
• All organisms are
classified into groups.
How are living things classified?
4
Six Kingdoms
• A kingdom is the first and largest category.
• Species is the smallest classification
category is a species.
How are living things classified?
4
Binomial Nomenclature
• Binomial nomenclature is a two-word
naming system that Linnaeus used to name
the various species.
• Latin is always used because it is a dead
language.
How are living things classified?
4
Binomial Nomenclature
• The first word of the two-word name
identifies the genus of the organism and is
capitalized and the second word of the name
describes the organism.
How are living things classified?
4
Tools for Identifying Organisms
• Tools used to identify organisms include
field guides and dichotomous keys.
• Most field guides have descriptions and
illustrations of organisms and information
about where each organism lives.
How are living things classified?
4
Dichotomous Keys
• A dichotomous key is a detailed list of
identifying characteristics that includes
scientific names.
• Dichotomous keys are arranged in steps with
two descriptive statements at each step.
Parmishan
Creatures
Shark
Dichotomous
Key
Student Dichotomous Key
• As a simple example, you can construct a dichotomous key to
identify people (or another group of items) in a classroom, using
questions based on gender, hair length/color, glasses (or not),
clothing color, etc.
• Question 1: Is the person male or female?
Question 2: Does the person wear glasses or not?
Question 3: Is the person wearing blue jeans or not?
etc.
• The end of each branch of the key should be a person's name.
• A dichotomous key will have enough questions to identify each
member of the group. To test it, you can identify each person in the
group by going through the key and seeing if the right name comes
up.