Natural Sciences
Grade 7
Term 1: Life and Living
Biodiversity
(PPT 1)
Topic 2
Biodiversity
Classification of Living Organisms
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Classification systems
• We classify objects when we group them
with similar objects.
• This makes it easier for us to make sense
of the world around us.
• We group things all the time:
for example, kitchen utensils are grouped
into cutlery, plates, bowls and pots.
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Classification of Living Organisms
• Biologists sort living organisms into groups
to make it easier to study them.
• Grouping of living organisms is called
biological classification.
• Living organisms are divided into five main
groups called KINGDOMS.
• These are the bacteria, protists, fungi,
plants and animals.
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Biodiversity on Earth
Each Kingdom is very large and it contains
many different types of organisms.
4000
Bacteria
66000
Fungi
150000
Protists
290000
Plants
1200000
Animals
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Meet Carl Linnaeus
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Who was he?
•Famous for his work in Taxonomy:
the science of identifying, naming
and classifying organisms (plants,
animals, bacteria, fungi, etc.).
•He was born in 1707 in Råshult,
Sweden.
•He was the eldest of five children.
•His father, Nils, was a minister and a
keen gardener.
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Seven Level Classification System
He used seven groups or taxonomic levels
Kingdom
The broadest level
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
The most specific level
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Kingdom can be divided into smaller
groups.
Kingdom
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Kingdom can be divided into smaller
groups.
Kingdom
Phylum
Phylum
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Kingdom can be divided into smaller
groups.
Kingdom
Phylum
Phylum
Class
Class
Class
Class
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Kingdom can be divided into smaller
groups
Kingdom
Phylum
Phylum
Class
Family
Family
Class
Family
Family
Class
Family
Family
Class
Family
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Family
Each Family can further be divided into
smaller groups
Family
Order
Order
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Family can further be divided into smaller
groups
Family
Order
Genus
Genus
Order
Genus
Genus
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Each Family can further be divided into
smaller groups
Family
Order
Order
Genus
Species
Species
Genus
Species
Species
Genus
Species
Species
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Genus
Species
Species
Classification
of the cats
and dogs
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2
Classification
of the cats
and dogs
Gr 7 Natural Sciences - Term 1, Topic 2