Classification and the Five
Kingdoms
Activity 1
Button Activity
Explore: 10 min.
INSTRUCTIONS:
 In teams, continuously divide your set of
buttons into two groups until there is
only one button in each group.
 Organize your poster like a flow chart
(See next slide)
 At the end, share your classification
poster.
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Sub-Group
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
MiniGroup
MiniGroup
Individual
Button
Individual
Button
Sub-Group
Sub-Group
Sub-Group
Group
Group
Buttons
Why is a classification scheme
necessary?
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How do we organize?
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Think of things that we classify every day…
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Classification – the arrangement of objects,
ideas, or information into groups – makes
things easy to find, identify, talk about and to
study.
Important Points
YOU will be able to:

Describe the main characteristics of
each of the five kingdoms.

Discuss the importance of classification
in the science world.

Explain how things are given names in
the system of binomial nomenclature.
(e.g. Use an example of a ‘genus’ and
‘species’ name.)
History of
Classification
Aristotle (384 to 322 BC)
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Greek philosopher
Divided organisms into two
groups – plants and animals
Divided animals into blood
and bloodless
Also divided animals into 3
groups according to how they
moved – walking, flying or
swimming (land, air ,or
water)
His system was used in the
1600’s; looked more at
‘behavior’
Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778)
Hey, let’s get these
animals organized!
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Swedish botanist,
zoologist and physician
1735 publication of
Systema naturae
– Linnaean taxonomy
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Binomial system of
nomenclature – two
names.
Divided living things into
two “kingdoms”
System looked more at
similarities in ‘form’
When Linnaeus developed his system of
classification, there were only two kingdoms, Plants
and Animals. But the use of the microscope led to
the discovery of new organisms and the
identification of differences in cells. A two-kingdom
system was no longer useful.
Today the system of classification includes five
kingdoms.
Quiz – Are dolphins and whales a
type of fish?
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Yes or No
The Five Kingdoms: Plants, Animals,
Protists, Fungi, and Monera
(Archaebacteria and Eubacteria).
How are organism placed into their
kingdoms?
· Cell type, complex or simple
· Their ability to make food
· The number of cells in their body
Activity 2
You have 10 minutes to research your
assigned kingdom! (See handout)
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/eggtimer-countdown/
Plants
You are probably quite familiar with the
members of this kingdom as it contains
all the plants that you have come to
know – flowering plants, mosses, and
ferns. Plants are all multicellular and
consist of complex cells.
In addition plants are autotrophs,
organisms that make their own
food.
With over 250,000 species, the
plant kingdom is the second
largest kingdom. Plant species
range from the tiny green mosses
to giant trees!
Animals
The animal kingdom is the largest
kingdom with over 1 million known
species.
All animals consist of many complex
cells. They are also heterotrophs.
Monera -Archaebacteria
In 1983, scientists took samples from a spot deep in the
Pacific Ocean where hot gases and molten rock boiled into
the ocean form the Earth’s interior. To their surprise they
discovered unicellular (one cell) organisms in the samples.
These organisms are today classified in the kingdom,
Archaebacteria.
Archaebacteria are found in extreme environments
such as hot boiling water and thermal vents under
conditions with no oxygen or highly acid environments.
Monera - Eubacteria
Like archaebacteria, eubacteria are complex and singlecelled. Most bacteria are in the EUBACTERIA kingdom.
They are the kinds found everywhere and are the ones
people are most familiar with. Eubacteria are classified in
their own kingdom because their chemical makeup is
different.
Most eubacteria are helpful. Some produce vitamins and
foods like yogurt. However, some eubacteria, like
streptococcus, can make you sick with strep-throat!
Fungi
Mushrooms, mold and mildew are all examples of
organisms in the kingdom fungi.
Most fungi are multicellular and consists of many
complex cells.
lichen
mushroom
Fungi are organisms that
biologists once confused with
plants, however, unlike
plants, fungi cannot make
their own food. Most obtain
their food from parts of plants
that are decaying in the soil.
This makes them saprophytes
(saprophytic).
Budding
Yeast
cells
Protists
Slime molds and algae are protists. Protists
include all microscopic organisms that are not
bacteria, not animals, not plants and not fungi.
Most protists are unicellular. Protists are not
classified in the Archaebacteria or Eubacteria
kingdoms because, unlike bacteria, protists are
complex cells.
diatom
amoeba
paramecium
Graphic Organizer – Answer Key
Classification and the Five Kingdoms
KINGDOM
PROKARYOTIC/
EUKARYOTIC
SIMPLE CELLS/
COMPLEX CELLS
UNICELLULAR/
MULTICELLULAR
AUTOTROPHS/
HETEROTROPHS
PLANTAE
EUKARYOTIC
COMPLEX CELLS
MULTICELLULAR
AUTOTROPHS
Flowering Plants, mosses,
ferns
ANIMALIA
EUKARYOTIC
COMPLEX CELLS
MULTICELLULAR
AUTOTROPHS
All animals
MONERA
PROKARYOTIC
SIMPLE CELLS
UNICELLULAR
AUTOTROPHS
Methanogens; halophiles;
Thermo-acidophiles (live in
extreme conditions)
PROKARYOTIC
BOTH
UNICELLULAR
BOTH
MOSTLY MULTICELLULAR
SAPROPHYTIC;
HETEROTROPHS
EXAMPLES
Archaebacteria
Eubacteria
FUNGI
EUKARYOTIC
COMPLEX CELLS
(Saprophytic - Absorbs nutrients from
decaying matter)
COMPLEX CELLS
PROTISTA
EUKARYOTIC
MOSTLY UNICELLULAR;
MULTICELLUAR
BOTH
Clostridium; streptococcus;
E.coli; Bacillus anthracis
Bread mold; mushrooms;
lichens; budding yeast cells
(cell wall, nucleus, no
chloroplasts)
Amoeba; paramecium;
diatoms; algae; slime molds
(has a nucleus)
Card Sort Activity
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With your team, use your advance
organizer to re-create the chart using
the card sorts!
Classification & Nomenclature
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Classification: sorting things into
categories. Categories can be grouped
into larger groups.
– Example: M&M’s, Hershey Kisses, jelly
beans, and gumdrops = all different kinds
of candy.
– Could be put into categories “Chocolate
candy” and “Fruit-flavored candy”.
Rank
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More inclusive categories have higher ranks
and less inclusive categories have lower
ranks. As we go down this list, the categories
become less inclusive and of lower rank:
Application to Living Things:
Each category has it’s own basis for
organization an each (regardless of
rank) is a taxon:
 Kingdom-Division-Class-SubclassOrder-Family-Genus-Species
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You can remember the order the
system comes in with:
Keep ponds clean or frogs get sick.
The formula for nomenclature:
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“Genus” name tells the organisms
closest relatives – capital letter,
italicized or underlined.
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The specific epithet tells which “species”
it is – lower case, italicized or
underlined. (Example: Genus species)
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The authority who first described the
organism.
Example binomial nomenclature:
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Callirhoe involucrata (Torr.)Gray
– Callirhoe is the genus name
– Involucrata is the specific epithet.
– (Torr.) Gray is the authority, the
person(s) who work(s) you would
consult to find out why a plant is
named and classified as it is.
In this case, (Torr.) indicates
that the plant’s first describer.
Gray indicates the person responsible
for placing the plant in its current classification.
Felis domesticus
The scientific name for a common house cat is
Felis domesticus.
1.What
is the species name?
domesticus
2.Felis
is an example of a(n)
Kingdom
b.Class
c.Order
d.Genus
a.
Example: Humans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Primates
Family:
Hominidae
Genus:
Homo
Species:
H. sapiens
Binomial name
Homo sapiens
Linnaeus, 1758
Classification Pyramid
5
3
6
7
1
4
2
Quiz – Are dolphins and whales a
type of fish?
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Yes or No
Kingdom: ???
 Family: Cetacea
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Final Challenge!
What is the genus and species of
your organism?
Genus and species - ???
1. Box Jellyfish:
2. Green Sea Turtle:
3. Broad-winged Hawk:
4. Pink Frogmouth:
5. Bluntnose Sixgill Shark:
6. Black Mangroves:
Genus and species - Findings
1. Box Jellyfish: Chironex fleckeri
2. Green Sea Turtle: Chelonia mydas
3. Broad-winged Hawk: Buteo platypterus
4. Pink Frogmouth: Chaunax pictus
5. Bluntnose Sixgill Shark: Hexanchus griseus
6. Black Mangroves: Avicennia germinans
Ideas for your Students
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See examples of things you can use to
classify with elementary/middle school
students.
Q&A
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What are your thoughts about
classification and the five kingdoms?